I already have a laptop. Can I use it instead of purchasing a new laptop?
If you have an existing machine with Pentium M processor or better, 1024MB of RAM, 60GB or better hard drive, compatible wireless, and the Windows XP Professional operating system, you should be able to run the current required software. However, as new software is released and required in your coursework, you may need to upgrade or replace your laptop.
What can be included in the estimated cost of education for loans and financial aid?
The costs of hardware and software purchased in order to meet the laptop program’s requirements may be included in the estimated cost of education for loan and financial aid considerations. For more information, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at finaid@poly.edu.
Must I use the vendors with whom you’ve made an arrangement?
No. The vendors with whom we’ve negotiated discounted prices for your benefit are an option, not a requirement. They are familiar with our program and its implementation. The decision of whether to use them is yours. You will want to compare prices, convenience, and other factors. They are an excellent starting point for your price comparisons. The decision, however, is yours
What is the rationale behind the minimum and recommended hardware requirements?
· Overall configuration: The Intel Centrino® configuration was designed for laptop use, specifically providing a high level of performance with relatively low battery usage. It consists of an integrated package of the Core™ Duo processor plus wireless capability, designed to work together for low power consumption. Your primary concern should be battery life between charges, and overall battery life. You should ensure that any alternate configurations would provide a similar level of performance with equivalent battery life.
· CPU: The Intel® Core™ Duo is designed specifically for use in laptop computers. If you choose a laptop with a different CPU, be sure to pay attention to expected battery life. For example, the desktop Pentium-4 is used on some laptops, and frequently is the cause of short life between battery charges and/or reduced battery life. Within the Core™ Duo line, a higher clock rate will generally have a longer technical life of the laptop throughout your college career. If you choose a CPU other than the Intel® Core™ Duo, it should have equivalent performance in industry-standard benchmarks.
· Display: You’ll be spending a lot of time looking at your laptop’s display, so quality is an important issue. In general, the larger the size and the higher the resolution, the better. If there’s a tradeoff, size is more important.
· Memory: Windows XP Professional and Windows Vista are designed to handle a large amount of main memory, and recent experience has shown that with the increased use of streaming video and increased use of MPEG3 for music, more memory is better. Given the current pricing for main memory, 1024MB is the minimum you should consider.
· Hard Drive: Given the growing use of MP3 music, streaming video, and multimedia applications in general, the general rule of thumb is “bigger is better”. We believe 80GB is the smallest acceptable size for a hard drive, and 100GB is much better. The speed of the drive in RPM is important for large files, and you should seek the highest value you can. 5400 RPM is a speed that you should be able to find easily, and 7200 RPM will give you noticeably better performance.
· CD-RW/DVD Drive: The ability to make permanent media is important, and we believe that DVD will become the dominant medium over the next few years. Therefore, a combo drive that supports both formats is necessary. DVD writing standards are not firm yet, and there have been problems with different drives being able to read disks created by each other. Therefore, we are recommending using CD-RW technology, but still having a DVD drive.
· Wireless: Polytechnic’s current wireless network is IEEE 802.11b, and will be for the indefinite future. Therefore, a laptop that supports IEEE 802.11b or compatible is mandatory.
· Ethernet: Any reasonable laptop will support 10/100/1000 technology, and there are many wired ports throughout the University that support the higher speed and greater security of wired Ethernet.
· USB: Version 2.0 ports are now commonplace and are much faster than the USB 1.0 or USB 1.1 technology. It should not be hard to find a laptop that supports USB 2.0, and anything less is not cost effective.
· IR port: It is crucial to have this device on your laptop. Students will have the capability to print anywhere on campus especially in the designated areas such as the computer labs, library, student lounge, and places where there is a printer available. Without this, students would have to use the university’s computer to print documents.For laptops that do not come with a built-in IR port, you can easily find an IR adapter for which you can connect it to a USB port that are readily available in most computer stores.
· Battery: This is one of the most critical parts of your laptop. Many students like to work in places where there is no electrical power (e.g. coming in on the train or subway in the morning, sitting in the park outside Rogers Hall), so having a good battery is extremely important. Lithium Ion technology currently has the greatest battery life. In fact, you might consider buying a “booster” battery as well. The older Nickel Hydride or Nickel Cadmium technologies have MUCH less battery life, and should be avoided. After you acquire your laptop, be sure to read the manual on how to prolong battery life, and follow the manufacturer’s recommended practices.
· Case: A titanium/magnesium case is extremely desirable. Students usually keep their laptops in a backpack or similar arrangement, and have damaged their displays due to pressure on the case of the laptop. A titanium case will resist this damage more effectively. In addition, there are slip cases you can buy for you laptop in computer accessory departments which may help minimize this damage. Buying a laptop with a normal plastic case and putting it in a case with other items (e.g. textbooks) is asking for trouble.