Hi, my name is Bill Finch and I am the Systems Administrator for the

department of Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Ed Hensel, the Department Head of

Mechanical Engineering asked if I would post an article for prospective students

or parents that would like some general information on a computer purchase.

The department does not require a student to have a computer. It is

however a general recommendation for the convenience and availability of

having one’s own system. All of the software your son/daughter will encounter in

our program will be available for use on the department computers found in the

labs. Most of the applications are licensed to the department and will not be

available for the student to use on their personal computer. This has to do with

licensing and the prohibitive costs of purchasing single user applications of these

programs. There are other computer labs situated throughout the campus that

are available for every student to use as well.

In general, the computers available today will be able to run the types of

software that most students use. e.g.; MS Office, Internet Explorer, sound and

video files, CD burning software, etc. Unfortunately, no matter what choice of a

system you make, it will only be a matter of time before it becomes outdated. My

recommendation to other purchasers in the past has been to look at a system

that is the top of the line with all the bells and whistles. Then, drop back one or

two versions. The thinking is that usually, the fastest CPU, video card and

memory are not worth the extra money you will be spending for the amount of

performance that you will gain from them.

Whatever you are most comfortable with. The Microsoft programs are compatible

so that won’t be an issue for homework assignments. This is really a personal

preference.

If you choose a MAC: Mac’s now come with Mac OS X Leopard. Ms Office for

the MAC is MS Mac 2008.

If you choose a PC: Most of the systems you can buy today will have the Vista

Operating system. I would choose Vista Home or Vista Ultimate. We are also

using MS Office 2003 and 2007.

We will continue to use XP on our department machines for the immediate future

due to compatibility issues with our other programs. Feel free to purchase a

system with Vista. We will eventually be upgrading as well. I would recommend a

minimum of 2 Gig of Ram if you purchase Vista.

Laptops are great for portability and will run many of today’s computer

applications. There is good coverage on campus for wireless networking.

Laptops are more likely to “disappear”.

Desktops give you more power for the money. They generally have a faster CPU,

and are capable of more internal devices. They are also more upgradeable. It is

really a personal choice and what a user is more comfortable with.

CPU’s Single CPU systems are slowly fading from view as companies strive to

provide faster, cooler cheaper processors. I would advise the newer Core 2 Duo

processor for the latest technology. Faster is generally better. Following my

earlier advice, look at the fastest CPU speed and drop back one or two steps.

Many students have purchased systems with both INTEL and AMD CPU’s. The

AMD processors are generally cheaper and the performance is comparable to

the INTEL chip.

that have dual cores in one package. Core 2 Duo is a trademark of Intel that

describes a CPU that has 2 cores. This would be the recommended processor of

choice. These newer processors from Intel have 64 bit capability but will run

either 32 bit or 64 bit applications.

64 Bit vs. 32 bit. 64 bit computers are fast but at this point, a little overkill for

most users needs. You really need 64 bit applications that take advantage of the

system resources and there are still compatibility issues with 32 bit applications

running an a 64 bit system. Standard 32 bit applications will run slower on a 64

bit operating system, (OS). I would recommend 32 bit OS unless there is some

specific reason to go with a 64 bit OS.

AMD vs. INTEL These companies are the big CPU developers. Generally,

systems with AMD processors are a little cheaper due to competitive pricing.

However, either of these processors would be fine for your system.

Today’s operating systems and applications need more memory than ever. I

would not get a system with less the 2 GB of Ram. 4 GB is better. The more the

merrier. You generally can save money and installation costs if you purchase

extra memory when you order your system. Remember, most laptops use

“shared” video memory. The amount of memory the video card is setup to use

will be subtracted from the system memory. This is something to keep in mind if

you are a big time game player and are purchasing a laptop. Look for a laptop

video card with dedicated video memory.

More software is becoming available on DVD's. This is necessary to

accommodate for installation of larger data files in more complex programs. In

addition, a CD or DVD burner would be very helpful for data storage; music files

etc. and I would recommend one. DVD writers also read and write CD images as

well and will hold over 7 CD’s worth of data. The newer type DVD’s (dual layer)

will be able to hold 14 CD’s worth of data. The newer Blu-ray is the next

generation of DVDs. They were developed to read, write and edit High Definition

video files. Blu-ray DVD’s can hold up to 25 GB data on a single layer disc or 50

GB on a dual layer disc. At this time, Blu-ray technology is still very expensive

and probably not worth the investment at this time.

I would recommend a USB Jump or Flash drive, (or 2) for file transfer (See

below), and maybe an external hard disk for backups.

Many files have become too large for floppies. I believe floppy drives are

becoming a device of the past in terms of storage. With the proliferation of other

technologies such as USB, networking and wireless, floppies are not really the

necessity they once were. Most of the computing labs on campus no longer

support floppies.

These are the small devices that connect to a USB port on the computer. They

can hold from a few megabytes up gigabytes of data. They will work on almost

any computer that has a USB connector. I would recommend one with at least

512 MB of memory.

A flat panel is great if you have the money. It's a real space saver and the

resolution is crisp. I would recommend a minimum of 17" though 19" monitors are

nicer and are much cheaper than they used to be. Many companies now have

flat panel/wide screen monitors. It’s really a personal choice. I would check it out

at a local store before purchasing a wide screen flat panel before I bought one.

The Institute has an OC3 backbone, (very fast), that is provided throughout the

campus in the academic and living areas. Road Runner and DSL are available in

the area for those away from campus. An Ethernet connection is a must. You can

also connect to the campus network via modem for free. The connection is

usually around 45-53kbps. Not bad for a modem connection but not near the

speed of Ethernet. If you have a laptop, wireless would be a great choice if you

plan to carry your laptop around. Wireless technology is available across the

campus as well. However, there are limitations to the coverage and it may not be

available in all areas.

128 MB Ram should be sufficient for most applications and some games. Select

256 MB or 512 MB for games, CAD applications or TV/Video applications.

NVIDIA GeForce 7 series or Quadro FX series are good choices.

Plenty of storage space and drives are cheap now. You will notice a difference in

performance between a 5400 rpm compared to a 7200 rpm drive.

There are plenty of black and white printers on campus and we have a color

laser available for our students. However an inexpensive DeskJet might be

advisable for those quick print jobs or to print pictures or papers of a personal

nature.

Besides MS Office, any special applications you learn will be installed on the

department lab computers. There are some other types of Microsoft software that

we have student licenses for, Visio, Project, and Visual Basic that you will be

able to download in the future if they are needed for your course work. Let me

know if you have any other questions or concerns.

I realize this is a lot to digest, especially if you haven't been looking. There are

still a couple of months before classes begin so take a look and get back to me

with any questions you may have. Maybe I've missed something that may be

important to you. I'd be happy to help out any way I can. Let me know if you have

questions or if I can clarify any details.

You can find other helpful information at the RIT ITS (Information and

(Right side of page, under Products – Buying Guidelines)

Regards,

Bill

Bill Finch

Rochester Institute of Technology

Mechanical Engineering

76 Lomb Memorial Drive

Rochester, New York 14623-5604

Tel 585-475-2964

Fax 585-475-7710

wgfiee@rit.edu

Updated 07/22/08