Computer Recommendations
Suggested Minimum Specifications for New Computers
Buying a computer with the following specifications will protect you from obsolescence for three to five years. If your needs do not dramatically increase, you may be able to keep using your computer for even longer.
The most common question we are asked is: “Should I buy a Mac or a PC?” There is no clear-cut answer. The choice of PC vs. Mac is mostly a personal one; Windows Vista and Mac OS X are both stable, mature, and full-featured. Besides personal preference, however, there are a number of other factors to consider in your choice of computer. Read more about Macs vs. PCs.
Below are the suggested minimum specifications for new computer purchases.
- Laptop or Desktop — Sarah Lawrence College recommends a laptop. Though a desktop will be cheaper and more powerful, a laptop’s portability will come in handy on campus.
- Processor — Almost any recent processor will be sufficient, though we do not recommend Celeron or Sempron processors.
- Memory (RAM) — 3 gigabytes.
- Hard drive — At least 160 gigabytes is recommended; 250 or greater if you intend to create digital art.
- Display size — 12 inches or greater on a laptop; 17 inches or greater for a desktop.
- Wireless internet access — A wireless card is a necessity for a laptop, but not required for a desktop.
- Disc burning — Make sure that your computer can burn CDs. If you edit videos, DVD burning can also be useful. Look for a CD-R or DVD-R/DVD+R drive.
- Warranty — A three or four year warranty is recommended, especially if you have a laptop.
- Removable Media — A 1 gigabyte (or larger) USB flash drive is recommended for quick file transfers, and you can use it for backing up important documents as well.
After you buy:
- Web browsing — We recommend that Windows users use Firefox, a free, powerful, and secure web browser. Firefox is easier to use than Internet Explorer 7, and more secure than Internet Explorer 6–which should be avoided. Download Firefox here. For Mac users, we recommend either Firefox or Safari (the web browser that comes installed).
- Security — Sophos Anti-Virus (Mac and Windows) is offered free to students by Sarah Lawrence College. Beyond that, Ad-Aware SE and Spybot S&D are excellent free anti-spyware tools for Windows.
Further Reading
- Laptop or Desktop?
A laptop’s portability allows you to take it to class, the library, with you on plane flights, and home over breaks without having to ship it through the postal service. A desktop will give you more “bang for your buck.” - Mac or PC?
Today Macs and PCs are both capable of performing the same tasks in roughly the same amount of time. No matter what platform and what computer you choose, it will be perfectly sufficient for word processing, reading email and browsing the Web. However, Macs and PCs are still very different in their “feel,” price, and software libraries. Click here for a more in-depth discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each. - Processor
Modern processors–such as the Intel Core 2 Duo–are all extremely fast and powerful. However, some manufacturers still sell computers with Celeron or Sempron processors which are very slow in a misguided attempt to cut costs. Avoid these computers, no matter how cheap they are. - Memory (RAM)
More RAM allows you to run more programs at once and still have your computer feel responsive. Less RAM will limit your ability to multitask and make your computer feel slower–in fact, not enough RAM is the most common bottleneck a computer can experience. RAM is so cheap these days that even 2 gigabytes is fairly inexpensive. Consider more (4 GB), especially for extreme multitaskers, video editors, or heavy Photoshop users. - Hard drive
A larger hard drive will let you store more data (pictures, music, movies, conference papers, etc.) on your computer. Because of the relative difficulty and expense involved in removing and replacing a hard drive, we recommend that you buy a computer with a hard drive you can “grow into” to avoid space cramps later. - Display size
On a laptop, a larger display will add considerably to the weight of your computer, limiting your ability to easily transport it. It will also probably raise the price, too. On the other hand, it will give you more room to work and make multitasking easier. On a desktop, bigger is always better, since the computer isn’t going anywhere. Though 17 inch displays are common, a 20 or 22 inch display is likely to be a better idea, and prices are always coming down. We recommend a widescreen monitor (16:9 rather than 4:3). - Wireless internet access
A wireless card is not very important if you have a desktop, as the dorms have ports to the wired network. On a laptop, though, a wireless card is vital, and will make your life easier anytime you need to connect to the internet away from home. - Disc burning
Beng able to burn CDs is less important if you have a decently-sized flash drive, but it is still handy. Being able to burn DVDs can be quite convenient for moving larger amounts of data than can fit in a flash drive, and CDs or DVDs are excellent for distributing digital media you have created. For the most storage capacity, look for a dual-layer DVD burner. - Word processing/productivity
Microsoft Office has become the de facto standard. If you need many of the advanced features of Office but would like to avoid the “Office tax,” you might consider OpenOffice, which is free, does most of what Office can do, and reads and writes Office file formats (.doc, .ppt, .xls) natively. Mac users may prefer NeoOffice, which is a more Mac-like version of OpenOffice. Please note that we are unable to provide support for OpenOffice or NeoOffice. - Warranty
A good warranty is essential for any computer, especially laptops, which typically see more wear and tear than desktops. A warranty will protect you from having to pay expensive repair costs should anything go wrong with your computer during coverage, and will have paid for itself should even one repair be required. - Web browsing
We recommend Mozilla Firefox for a variety of reasons: security, speed, standards compliance, and user customizability. Firefox outmatches Internet Explorer 6 in all these categories, and Internet Explorer 7 in most of them. Firefox is also free (zero cost and open source). - Security
Anti-virus and anti-spyware software is very important for any Windows computer. Ad-Aware and Spybot Search & Destroy are both free and easy to use, and failure to use them can result in infections of malware–spyware that can steal your personal information or viruses that can hold your files hostage or even turn your computer into a spam zombie. Macs are mostly immune to these threats, as little to no malware exists that targets Macs.
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