Information Technology Office |
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This is a summary of Recommendations on Computers for Incoming 1st Year Students arriving August 2009. Click here to read a copy of the posting from last Fall 2008, for your reference. |
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These recommendations are for residential students. If you are enrolled in the Engineering School's PRODUCED in VA Program or another distance learning initiative, please contact the respective program office directly. |
| updated: 6/15/09 rev. 2 |
The School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) requires that students have their own laptop or a convertible tablet PC. [The mobile computer requirement is new, starting Fall 2009] Students are dependent on their computers. The laptop is needed to complete homework assignments and other course work, capstone design, the thesis, and special projects. We
therefore advise that you acquire a unit with a first-class hardware
repair plan with rapid turnaround. Also, regularly backing up
your data is critical. Keeping your system secure is an on-going
and essential task. Students are carrying their computers around more & more. Some SEAS instructors have starting asking students to bring them to class, and often students form work groups in and outside of class that use their computers. A
model that is a combination of readable screen size, light weight &
good battery life with decent CPU power and dedicated graphics is
advised. With units transported on a regular basis, coverage for accidental damage and loss is recommended, or at a minimum develop a plan of what you will do if you quickly have to replace your computer should it be damaged beyond repair or stolen. Most of the software used throughout the Engineering School curriculum is available in editions that run on Microsoft Windows. This general compatibility is not the case for the Mac OS or Linux. The operating system recommended as most compatible with our student computing environment is 32-bit Microsoft Vista. For $10 at the U.Va. Bookstore's Cavalier Computers Branch, you can get a copy of the installation disc for Microsoft Office 2007 Suite (that contains Word/Excel/Powerpoint/...) or an upgrade copy of 32-bit Microsoft Vista. The licensing costs are already covered under a special U.Va. student program. We use Excel in the first year engineering curriculum, so acquiring it this way can save you money compared with retail prices. Our curriculum includes an increasing use of modeling and simulation software, interactive applications, animations, and SEAS is implementing a virtual world presence in Second Life. We
therefore suggest that your computer have a dedicated video card with a
256MB minimum of video RAM, and at least a 1280 by 800 video resolution
for the newer widescreen models (or at least 1024 by 768 in an earlier
4:3 format laptop). [Updated for Fall 2009] If you already own a relatively new laptop that is powerful enough to meet the recommended hardware specs, operating system and recommended support plan, then it is not necessary to buy a new one for your first year of studies. You
should look toward replacing it in the next year or two, depending on
what shape it is in and its warranty coverage expiration date. |
| Frequently Asked Questions from Students & Parents that were received this Spring 2009 | RESPONSES BY: Professor M. C. Rosen Chief Technology Officer U.Va. School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) |
| "I still have questions. Who can help me?" | For Specific Questions related to the School of Engineering and Applied Science requirement, please contact: Professor M. C. Rosen Telephone: (434) 924-1414 E-mail: rosen@virginia.edu For General Questions including Dormitory Computing Issues, please contact the: ITC Help Desk Telephone: (434) 924-3731 E-Mail: consult@virginia.edu Web: http://www.itc.virginia.edu/helpdesk/ For Back-to-School PC specials, please contact: U.Va. Bookstore Cavalier Computers Telephone: (800) 759-4667or (434) 924-4447 Web: http://www.cavcompbts.virginia.edu E-Mail: BTS-Questions@virginia.edu |
| "Of the laptops available at the U.Va. Bookstore - Cavalier Computers in their Back-to-School offerings, what do you personally recommend?" | As
examples of specific models, I'll provide some comments here --- but
these are examples. You are not required to purchase a computer
at Cavalier Computers. An advantage there is the bundled four
year warranty and accidental damage coverage on the Dell's &
Lenovo's, and the local repair service desk. -On specific models for sale at Cavalier Computers, I have my eye on the Dell XPS13 and the Lenovo T400. -Dell XPS13 with 13" screen has a lot of horsepower/graphics/etc. and smaller size for portability. Also has a cool shape that makes it easier to handle. -Lenovo T400 with 14" screen is the best deal of performance for the price of the choices at the Bookstore. T400 has higher specs than the Dell choices, and this Lenovo is less expensive; both have full four year warranty and accident coverage. Lenovo T400 is a boxy shape, and similar to Dell's 14" in size/weight. -From both my observation and in talking with students, any of the 15" & 16" choices are too bulky for most students to want to carry around in their backpack on a regularly basis. (Main reason to look at these models is if the student intends to use the laptop for personal tasks that need a bigger screen, was willing to lug it around, and didn't want to buy a desktop monitor as an accessory for their dorm as an alternate way to achieve a larger screen size.) -The Lenovo R400 looks to be a great price deal, but the graphics are weaker than the others, so I don't recommend unless finances are constrained. |
| "I am leaning toward buying an Apple Macbook Pro. Will it work for me?" | Bootcamp
is Apple's solution for running Windows. Many pieces of software
will work well, but there is no guarantee though that all of your
Windows software and peripherals will operate, or that you will feel
comfortable with some different keystrokes and mouse strokes. With running 32-bit Vista on an Apple MAC Book Pro 15" with the upgraded graphics card-- technically Vista runs well, but there is no support from either Apple, Microsoft, or the University of Virginia. Note too that Apple doesn't offer accidental damage coverage. Students who choose this path need to be aware they are selecting an unsupported path; are capable of providing self-help; and prepared with alternates if for chance specific pieces of software don't load or can create alternates if certain peripherals do not work on the Windows-boot side. There have been a limited number of Engineering students who get an Apple Mac, and enjoy dealing with computers & these issues. Those students seem to find a way to make things work out just fine. The majority of Engineering School students though seem to want to focus on other things and tell me their difficulties with that path (incl. one who traded in their Mac). You are welcome to call me where I'll talk with you about your comfort zone and flexibility to take on an unsupported option, and assess your fluency, & skill set with Mac's/PC's. There is also another variable that depends on the specialty within a particular major you may choose. The Mac usage may be easier or harder, but there is no way to determine what specialty software will be need as you pick your technical electives in your program of study down the road. |
| "If I purchase an Apple Mac and some software doesn't run, can I use the computer labs?" | There
are two categories of student computer labs that have software for
engineering coursework, one for general access known as 'public labs'
and another set that the engineering school departments maintain for
their advanced undergraduates (for 4th year, or sometimes 3rd &
4yr) and graduate students, often called 'design labs or capstone labs'
(i.e., specific computer labs for for civil eng. majors, system
eng. majors only, etc.) Because of the ubiquitous ownership of computers by students, the UVa's central computing organization known as ITC is decreasing the number of public lab seats this starting this summer, and eliminating them by the summer of 2011. These labs were set up at a time where students didn't own computers and had no where else to get the their work done. There are no current plans to eliminate the design labs at the engineering school, but funding constraints may require some trimming of their size. |
| "I am looking at one of those smaller, lighter, cheaper laptops called netbooks. Will it work for me?" | Last
year, the entering class of 2012, 7% had more than one computer. I
anticipate that this number will grow this season, with much of the
growth in students' second computers being netbooks. As as primary unit, I recommend a laptop or convertible tablet PC with more screen size 13" or higher, dedicated graphics, and vertical screen resolution of at least 768, plus it should run Microsoft Vista well. A compromise of light weight, good battery life and 12" screen might be close, but I think a 13" is easier to read the detail and fit the higher resolutions. As you may know the current generation of netbooks are 12" screens or smaller, integrated graphics, and many limited to 1 to 1.5 GB of system RAM, and run WinXP or Linux. (For 32-bit Vista that is most compatible with the UVa computing environment, 3 GB seems to be a minimum amount of RAM that is needed.) |
| "Do I need to have my own printer?" | Most
of the engineering students have their own printer. I believe
that most have found it worthwhile because I haven't received any
negative comments or bad feedback. I just pulled out the statistics from last Fall. 80% had inkjet printer; 8% had color laser printer; 6% had black & white laser; and remainder was unspecified as to model. In addition to the student-owned printers, the University also provides some places where students can print (8 cents per side of page for black and white print. 60 cents per side of page for color print). The number of locations where these print stations exist will likely be downsized over the next two and a half years. |
| "Can I use the 64-bit Vista instead of 32-bit Vista operating system?" | Most
Windows applications that are available today are 32-bit applications,
though many run on 64-bit (although sometimes slower than on 32-bit
Windows). A concern is that any peripherals you want to connect
to your laptop need to have 64-bit drivers (this is getting better, but
not yet completely resolved), and any pieces of software that don't yet ship in 64-bit versions. An example is UVa's VPN client which gives secure, access to UVa's computing resources when you are traveling or off-grounds. There is no 64-bit version, currently only 32-bit. One path is to try to see how far the 64-bit system takes you, and if you run into any snags. If you hit a snag with a driver or piece of software, you might consider picking up the install disk for $10 of 32-bit Vista from the U.Va. Bookstore, then partition your hard drive to make room, and install it so you can dual boot. (Another alternative is to overwrite the factory installed 64-bit edition). |
| "Do you know of any TabletPCs that have a 256 MB video RAM card?" | I'm not aware of any tabletPCs with 256 MB dedicated graphics, and only one with a powerful CPU that has a 13" screen. The majority have a 12" screen. We've been in touch with leading tabletPC manufacturers, evaluating equipment, and discussing the trade-offs. Some the lower-powered tabletPCs had jerky renderings of the graphics/animation content. There is a chance that we will move in the future toward selection of a higher performing tabletPC for Engineering School students, and compromise a bit on the graphics capability in order have the inking capability. All of this under evaluation for our School's distance learning initiatives, and further downstream for our engineering students in general. A few of our students have acquired tabletPCs in the past year, and they seemed to like them. |