PRINTERS

Printers were owned by 90% of our new students last year. We have no model-specific recommendation.  High-speed, networked B&W and color printers in the University's public student computer labs are also available for use for a nominal per page print fee.

SOFTWARE

Software for classes is either bundled with the course textbook or can be purchased at attractive educational prices at U.Va.  In our first year engineering course, we use the Excel spreadsheet software, which is also part of the Microsoft Office suite.  Both Microsoft's newest edition Office 2007 Pro and the prior edition -- Office XP containing Excel2002 are okay.

Under a new U.Va./Microsoft Campus Agreement subscription license, our students can obtain a license for the Microsoft Office suite, or upgrade their computer from XP to Vista at no additional cost.  Installation discs will be available for $10 at Cavalier Computers effective 8/23/08.

WEIGHT

Engineering students are starting to carry their laptops throughout the day, so most of you would be happier with a lighter weight choice (~5 pounds or less).  (In the case that you plan to do a lot of graphics or CAD on your unit, then the larger video card and screen of a bigger, slightly heavier model might be advantageous).

MORE ON VISTA

Microsoft Vista is available in six editions, and in 32 bit (and 64 bit versions for the advanced hardware that runs it).  Our recommendation is a 32 bit version because device drivers and application software are much slower in being ported to the 64 bit editions.   A link to information about the various Vista Editions are given in the references below.  Choosing one of the professional editions (Business, Enterprise, Ultimate) is recommended.  Many laptops sold in retail outlets, however, are outfitted with the consumer versions (Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium).   Of those we recommend Home Premium.  In the future, an edition upgrade may be required in order for you to access all of the computing services that the University will provide to students.

Hardware minimums to run Microsoft Windows Vista are greater than XP.  We therefore don't recommend installing Vista on a computer that was sized to run XP.

The listed advice by the Vista experts for best running Vista effectively are at least 2 GB of RAM, a 5400 rpm hard drive or faster, 256 MB or more of graphics RAM, and at least a 2 GHz CPU. Having a dedicated video card can improve graphics performance compared with other PCs having only default on-board graphics. This is an important aspect for smooth graphics performance.  In reality, last Fall UVa students bought hundreds of laptop PCs outfitted with the dedicated video cards containing 128 MB Graphics RAM, and ran Vista without video problems.  In the advanced editions of Vista, there is a snazzy user interface called Aero which has higher graphic performance and graphics memory requirements.  Vista works without Aero.  If you are interested in the details, we've provided links below.

OTHER OPERATING SYSTEMS

Microsoft Windows operating systems earlier than Vista or XP are not recommended or supported.

There are also alternative platforms for running Vista and XP, but they too are not supported.  They may function quite well for many pieces of software, but technical support is not available if something doesn't work right.  There may be cases where some engineering software or connected devices may not work at all.  Examples include:

          --Mac OS X enthusiasts deploying a dual-boot (Apple BootCamp in Leopard with Windows partition), or virtualized environments including Parallels, VMware Fusion, and Codeweavers CrossOver.

For those interested in Apple Mac computers, please keep in mind that even though BootCamp is included by Apple in the current Leopard operating system, Apple does not support Windows running on their hardware, Microsoft doesn't support Windows running on Apple hardware, and the U.Va.'s ITC Help Desk does not support dual boot or virtualization modes. Basically you're on your own to try and make it work, and this may not appeal to many students.  Last year, 94% of our incoming class had a PC and 6% had a Mac.  A copy of Microsoft Vista and the Office suite will be available under the Microsoft Campus Agreement to run on Macs.  MacBook and MacBook Air models don't really have enough horsepower (particularly graphics)  for Vista.  MacBook Pro models can run Vista using BootCamp for 2 GB RAM systems.  Trying to run Windows Vista software in a virtualized mode with less than 4 GB of system RAM may not yield a satisfactory user experience, and Windows XP sales are slated to be terminated this June.

MORE ON SOFTWARE for Civil & Mechanical students

Students enrolled in civil engineering and mechanical engineering programs can access a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software suite from Autodesk, Inc. to support upperclass coursework.  For the 2008 edition, the firm recommends a computer with at least 1 GB RAM, 128 MB graphics RAM, and Direct3D 9 or OpenGL capable graphics.   For better performance, company representatives recommend 2 GB RAM and 256 MB Graphics RAM.  The software is a 32 bit application and a 32 bit edition of Windows is recommended. (Not all of the Autodesk modules run on 64 bit Windows.)  The Cavalier Computers Back-to-School models meet the minimum suggested requirements.