Tips for buying a new computer
We’re often asked “What’s the best kind of computer to bring to Carleton?” or “What should we buy for an incoming student?”
The best answer we can give is “It depends.”
The best computer for any person is the computer that helps them to do the things they need to do and that they are comfortable using. For example, a person interested in digital art has a different “best” computer from someone who plans to spend four years writing English essays, or from someone who loves to analyze statistics.
The only way to determine what’s best for you is to think through what you want to do with a computer, and then find something that meets your needs. You may also want to spend some hands-on time with store display models, to get an idea for the size, feel and style of machine that you're most comfortable with.
To help you get started, here are a few general areas to think about:
Test Drive
If you don’t have a lot of experience with laptops, either Macs or Windows PCs, try them both out. Ask a friend who has one or the other and try a variety of tasks. Ask them what their likes and dislikes are about both the computer itself and the operating system and programs. Swing by a local retailer and compare different makes and models side by side. Examples of things to pay attention to are the keyboard size and layout, screen size and resolution (is the text too small to read?), screen type (normal ratio or widescreen, anti-glare or glossy). Another big thing to consider is weight, though you may not be able to check this at the retail stores, and even if you can, a lot of the weight comes from the battery which is rarely installed on a store demo model.
Apple/Macintosh versus PC/Windows
The Macintosh versus Windows debate has historically been something of a religious one, with individuals resolving it for themselves through experience and personal taste. More recently, however, the divide between these two worlds has blurred. Apple’s switch to Intel based hardware means that people can now buy Apple hardware and run the Windows operating system (though the reverse is not true). Within this debate there are really two things to consider: hardware and operating system.
Operating System - Mac OS X versus Microsoft Windows
Ultimately the choice of OS (or platform) comes down to personal preference: there really is no longer any feature or group of features which clearly separates the two. If you are uncertain as to which you prefer, you should visit your local retail store and play for a while with each OS (you may have to hunt down an Apple Store to test an Apple machine). The OS that seems to make the most sense intuitively to you is probably the one you should choose.
Perhaps the most influencing factor beyond personal preference is that of available software. General productivity tools such as Office Suites (word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tools, etc.) and graphics editing (e.g. Adobe Creative Suite) are normally available for both platforms. However, there are some specialized software applications which are only available for one OS, and this may drive your decision. This is one common reason that most gamers will choose a Windows machine.
For a potentially more confusing option, please read on.
All machines currently manufactured by Apple are capable of running the Windows operating system, in some cases better/faster than their PC counterparts. Student Computing recently compared Windows Vista installed on a similarly configured DELL desktop and Apple iMac. While both machines scored quite well on the Windows Experience Index (a feature of Vista), the iMac scored higher.
Once Windows is installed and running on a Mac, it’s virtually indistinguishable from any other PC running Windows. Theoretically then, if you preferred Apple hardware but wanted to stick with Windows, you could buy an Apple and install Windows offering you the best of both worlds. This can be particularly useful if you normally do all your work in one OS but find that you need to use one or two programs that are only available in the other. Getting Windows installed on a Mac is not trivial, requiring a few specialized steps in addition to the actual installation, but it’s not particularly complex either. Installing Windows will also require that you purchase your own individual copy of Windows – there is no Windows license included with the purchase of a Mac.
Hardware - Apple versus PC
Apple’s recent shift in hardware is what has blurred the divide between Mac and PC, at least in terms of the OS. As mentioned above, any Mac available today will happily run Windows. It is important to note, however, that the reverse is not true. It is not currently possible to install Mac OS on a non Apple manufactured machine such as Dell or HP. This of course may change in the future.
In terms of performance, there is little to distinguish between Macs and PCs, though PCs typically offer more and simpler upgrade options should performance become an issue after a year or two. Should a repair become necessary, PC laptops are generally easier to open or (partially) disassemble, allowing the average user to perform some basic repairs or upgrades themselves. Macs, on the other hand, are built in such a way that repairs and even some upgrades have to be done by Apple themselves. Almost all PC desktops are designed to be easily opened for upgrade reasons, which is also true of Apple's Mac Pro desktops. However, the Apple iMac line only allows owners easy access to RAM. Any other repair or upgrade will have to be done by Apple.
Hopefully this will provide you with a starting point for your decision. Just remember, you’ll be using this computer for several years, so you want to be sure you get something you’re comfortable with. When all is said and done, it really does come down to your own personal preference. Whichever you choose is fine with us.
Windows XP vs. Windows Vista
For the 2008-09 academic year, Carleton made the decision to continue using Windows XP Pro rather than implementing Windows Vista. With between 70-100 software applications in use on campus, a change in operating system requires extensive compatibility testing and any resulting changes or upgrades to the software must then be evaluated in terms of impact to the curriculum. As this process is ongoing, the decision was made to continue to use XP Pro through the 2009-10 academic year with a view to implementing Windows 7 the following year.
While this approach has distinct operational advantages for college owned hardware and software, it may not make as much sense for personal equipment. In fact, it may not even be an option. So what should you do
In some cases, PC manufacturers will make this decision for you and only offer one of the Windows Vista variants. Some manufacturers do, however, still offer you a choice. In fact, a number of manufacturers re-instated XP as an option to meet massive customer demand for the older OS. One common option we've seen is to ship the machine with XP installed, but only include installation disks for Vista, should you need or want to wipe the machine and rebuild it. Service Pack 3 (SP3) was the last major upgrade to XP and will cotinue to be supported through regular updates and patches for a numer of years.
The choice between XP and Vista once again comes down to personal preference. Vista offers a newer look and feel with what is generally acknowledged as a better (friendlier?) user interface, but still seems to be experiencing teething troubles. XP is a known entity but is a little old and is officially superceded by Vista. If you're familiar and comfortable with XP, perhaps the best approach would be to opt for it and upgrade to Windows 7 when it is released next year. If, however, you have no preference or your needs are fairly straightforward then Vista is probably the easiest option and eliminates the the cost & hassle of upgrading in the near future.
With respect to versions, Student Computing recommends either Windows XP Professional (Service Pack 3) or Windows Vista Home Premium. For more information on Vista variants, Microsoft has a page which allows you to easily compare editions.
Laptop vs. Desktop
As with the platform decision, whether you should purchase a laptop or a desktop computer is driven your personal needs and preferences, based on how you want or intend to use the machine. We suggest that you consider a laptop as that tends to be the better fit for most students, but both are in common use at Carleton.
Laptops
In the past, laptops were always much more expensive than desktops but in recent years the price gap has narrowed. In terms of performance, desktops used to be the clear winner, but this too has changed such that our recommended baseline spec for computer purchases this year does not distinguish between laptops or desktops. Laptops continue to have a higher cost of ownership, though.
The user-upgradable parts of a laptop (really just the hard drive and RAM) are priced about the same as their desktop counterparts. However repairs to laptops—which tend to suffer more abuse—are more difficult and expensive than repairs to desktops. Purchasing an extended service plan and insurance on a new laptop is often a good investment.
On the other hand, laptops offer complete mobility and can be used pretty much anywhere on (or off) campus. And Carleton's campus has extensive wireless coverage so you'll rarely lack a network connection.
Desktops
Desktop computers lack the portability of a laptop, but you’ll typically pay slightly less for equivalent computing power. There are also a greater number of upgrade options, which are typically easier to install. Effecting repairs are often simpler should they be needed. If you think your computer will never leave your room, a desktop might save you a little money; otherwise, a laptop may be a better choice.
Service Plans
Most computer manufacturers offer a basic service plan with the purchase of a new machine, with an option to upgrade. While it tends to be a fairly pricey upgrade, we strongly recommend that you purchase an extended service plan, especially in the case of a laptop.
A repair to a laptop can and typically does cost hundreds of dollars e.g. replacing the LCD on a laptop normally costs around $300-500 plus labor; this is similarly true for anything that is attached to the main motherboard such as the power jack or network port. An extended service plan will often pay for itself with a single repair such as this. Based on our experience at the Student Computing Information Center, most laptops will experience some fault over the course of four years, either due to normal wear and tear or due to manufacturing issues. With this in mind, we once again strongly advise purchasing an extended service plan.
Some manufacturers will also offer an insurance plan which covers damage as the results of accidents such as drops or the always popular spilled drink. This isn't an option we recommend as strongly, but it may be worth considering. There are very few laptops on the market which will survive a spill of any kind.
Backup Options
Most people don't consider the value of backups until the first time they lose data. When the Student Computing Information Center takes in machines for repair, one of the most common things they hear is "The machine's not working and I don't have backups of any of my stuff! HELP!" In many cases, the data can be retrieved. There are times, however, when some or all of the data is lost.
Hard drives are really the last complex mechanical part of a computer and are the most susceptible to physical damage or failure. In the case of a failure, the only way to retrieve data is through a professional data recovery service which is likely to cost many hundreds if not thousands of dollars. And while it's a horrible thing to lose your academic portfolio or all the pictures of you've taken during your time at Carleton, very few people can afford this option.
We highly recommend that students consider not if but how they will back up data from their personal computers. Here are some options to think about:
- External Hard Drive—This option will cost a little more but is in many ways the best option. You purchase an external drive (e.g. LaCie, Western Digital), connect it to your machine and simply copy the files over to back them up. These devices typically have a lot of disk space—500GB or more versus 160GB in a typical laptop—and can be used to store multiple backups. Another advantage is that most external drives include some kind of backup software.
- CDs or DVDs—This is the cheapest and simplest option. Buy yourself a stack of CDs or DVDs then establish a backup schedule (e.g. weekly, monthly) and set reminders in your calendar to burn a backup disk according to that schedule. If you're just backing up documents, a CD will suffice. However for music or picture collections you'll want to opt for DVDs. Music collections in particular can easily span multiple DVDs, though applications such as iTunes provide the option of just backing up newly added music.
- Backup Software—While you don't need special software to create backups, there can be some advantages. The biggest advantage is that you should only have to specify the files or folders to be backed up the first time you run the program, after which it will remember and take care of them automatically. The software can also be scheduled to run at regular intervals, relieving you of the need to remember to do it yourself.
Peripherals
Once you’ve settled on a computer, you can choose from many possible add-ons, including:
Wireless and Bluetooth—These days, almost all new machines ship with built-in wireless cards as standard. If you're bringing an older machine to campus which does not have one, we would recommend purchasing one so that you can take full advantage of the wireless coverage on campus. There are a number of different wireless options available, including a/b/g/n. "g" is the current standard and should be considered your minimum requirement. (Note: The "n" standards have still not been finalized, though most current cards which offer "n" are likely to be fully compatible when that happens). Bluetooth is offered as an option on most laptops though is rarely included as standard. If you plan to connect a bluetooth device (such as some wireless keyboards and mice, or cellphones), this may be a worthwhile and cheap upgrade.
CD/DVD—Most (but not all) machines ship with a combination drive that allows you to read and burn both CDs and DVDs. If you're looking at a machine that burns CDs but only reads DVDs (CD-RW/DVD), we would recommend upgrading to a model that also burns (DVD+/-RW). DVDs are much higher capacity—4.5Gb versus 800Mb—and are extremely useful for backing up your personal files.
Modem—You won’t need a modem while living on campus . Modems are being dropped as standard equipment from a number of machines, so if this is something you know you will need, be sure to check the specifications and/or upgrades available.
Printer—It’s nice to be able to print papers in your room, but not crucial. The most common type of personal printer is an InkJet, and you may well receive one "free" as part of your computer purchase. However, replacement ink cartridges can cost a lot of money and you will print a lot during your time at Carleton. All of Carleton’s public labs offer free black-and-white laser printing, and some offer color as well. However, we do ask that you print responsibly and not to excess, as if you were using your own personal equipment.
Other Toys—Retailers will be happy to sell you scanners, cameras, and a host of other marvelous things. Several different types of scanners are available in the public labs and are freely available for use. Beyond that, any additional fun extras are your own choice.
What about wireless routers?
Devices that provide wireless network connections within your home have become almost ubiquitous—Apple’s Airport technology is a well-known example. While these devices work well in a private setting, they can (and do) cause problems in shared environments like Carleton’s residential network if they are not configured correctly.
We do permit the use of personal routers in the dorm rooms, but require that they are set up specifically according to our requirements. If you plan to bring a router to campus, please review these requirements and make sure that you can set it up as a pass through device beforehand. Additionally, as we increase college-provided wireless coverage across campus, a personal router may become redundant. If the network admins start to see personal routers interfering with the colleges coverage, it may become necessary to restrict their use in the residence halls. At the time this article was written, however, this is not the case.
Software
In addition to the software required to run the computer, you may want to pick up a few other items. Often these come bundled with new computers, so find out what you’re getting before you buy these separately.
Word Processing—Whatever else you get, make sure you have a good word processing program, as life at Carleton involves a lot of writing. Microsoft Word is the most common example in use on campus, so whatever you get needs to be able to read and write Word files.
Other Productivity Software—It's most likely that you will want a full office suite. These tpically include a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool and perhaps even web publishing tools. The most commonly used example is of course Microsoft Office. A popular alternative on campus is OpenOffice, a free, open source office suite.
Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware—Many new computers will ship with an anti-virus application set up on a trial basis (such as 90 days), with the option to purchase a full license either at the time of purchase or after the trial expires. However, Carleton has a campus wide license for McAfee VirusScan which is freely available to all enrolled students and we typically recommend this option. Using the college provided software makes for easier updates, upgrades and maintenance. Please note that you must have a fully-licensed anti-virus application installed on your machine in order to connect to the college network. There are a lot of anti-Spyware software options on the market, though the industry continues to tag the more popular free applications as the most effective. Worth considering are Lavasoft's Ad-Aware, Spybot Search and Destroy, and Microsoft's Windows Defender. (Note: You should never buy from or even respond to an ad for anti-spyware software that pops-up in your web browser. There's a very good chance that it is a Trojan and will in fact infect your machine rather than clean it).
Digital Imaging—If you are particularly interested in digital imaging of any kind, such as digital art or photography, this will be an important option for you. Some computers, printers, scanners, and even digital cameras will bundle software which will allow some basic tweaking or touching up of digital pictures. However, for more serious work, you will want to consider beefier applications such as Adobe PhotoShop or Corel PaintShopPro, though these can be a little pricey. All of Carleton's public lab machines have complete installations of the Adobe Creative Suite.
Other Software—You can buy many other kinds of programs—image processing, design, publishing, audio and video, etc. Unless you know for sure you’ll be using them, it’s probably best to wait. We have many of the major packages in all those categories available in the computer labs on campus.
Where to buy
It really doesn’t matter if you buy from a traditional retailer or direct from the manufacturer, but do some comparison shopping beforehand. Most manufacturers offer “build-to-order” options which allow you to customize your configuration and peripherals. This is a good option if you know exactly what you need, though it can mean a slightly longer wait for the machine. If you're more flexible, you may be able to get a good deal and fast turnaround shopping at a retail store.
For recommended specifications, please refer to our article What do you need in a computer? which has been updated for 2009-10. Also look for educational discounts, where available, such as those available from Apple. Carleton has agreements with some PC manufacturers to provide special purchasing options for Carleton students that will allow you to easily select models and configurations that will work well on our network.