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Lee R. Minardi
Senior Lecturer, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
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Buying a PC?
May 25, 2011
What Computer Should I buy?
As the instructor for the introductory computer courses
EN 2 and the new
ES 2,
I am often asked to recommend a personal computer
configuration for Tufts engineering students.
Apple or Windows
"Is an Apple computer a good choice for engineering
students at Tufts?" This is often the first question I
am asked by entering students about choosing a computer
to bring to college. The answer is not a simple yes or
no. Apple and Windows-based computers provide
similar capabilities for the most popular tasks like web
surfing, word processing, preparing presentations, and
editing pictures and video. Apple computers are
extremely popular in several markets such as secondary
schools and graphics production. When it comes to
commercial engineering software however, Windows is the
clear leader. Many specialized engineering software
products do not have a version that works with the Apple
operating system. The primary software products I use in
EN 2 and ES 2 (required courses for first year
engineering students) are AutoCAD, Excel/VBA, and
Mathcad. All three original versions of these products
require Microsoft’s Windows operating system. Last fall
a version of AutoCAD was introduced that runs natively
on a Mac. Although AutoCAD for Mac does not include all the
capabilities of Windows version it is sufficiently
compatible to be used for EN 2 and other courses. The
version of Excel in Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac
includes VBA (Visual Basic for Applications). Excel/VBA
is used in ES 2. Note that Excel 2007 for Mac does not
include VBA. Unfortunately, Mathcad does not have a
version that runs with the Mac operating system. It can
be run however in a Windows shell running on a Mac.
Mathcad is a minor component of ES 2 and it is not
necessary to have the software on your personal
computer. If you are engineering student wedded to Apple
computers I think you will find them satisfactory for
most of your college computing needs.
If you will be majoring in engineering and plan to use
an Apple computer I think you may want to consider making
Window 7 available on your Mac. Boot Camp
and Parallels
are the most popular methods I have seen for running
Windows on a Mac. Boot Camp has the advantage that it is
free and runs Windows XP faster than Parallels.
Parallels has the advantage that it runs simultaneously
with the Apple operating system OS X whereas Boot Camp
requires the computer to be restarted to switch between
Windows and the Apple operating system. Software standards for the Mac can be found
here. If you choose not to install Windows on your
Mac (a feasible option) the Tufts computing labs are
available for those instances when you need access to
software not supported by Apple.
Windows 7 Home Premium 64
Established Microsoft Windows users are in the middle of a
transition from older version of Windows to Windows 7.
If you are making a new computer purchase, the Tufts
University Information Technology (UIT) group recommends
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit version. Windows 7 Professional
and Windows 7 Ultimate are also supported but are not required.
UIT recommended system configurations can be found
here
I recommend 4 GB RAM for engineering students.
PC Hardware
As for the hardware specs for the computer, I think a
mid-priced processor should be fine but be sure to get
at least 2GB of RAM , 4GB of RAM is
preferred. Most PC’s come with more than enough disk
space. A CD R/W drive with read and write
capabilities is important. If you have a choice of video
options I would recommend trying to upgrade at least one
step from the base configuration as the performance of
Windows 7 will benefit from better graphics hardware. The PC
should of course support high-speed network access and
if a notebook, wireless communication. Almost all PC’s
now sold will provide acceptable network support. Most
students find having a portable USB Flash Drive
of at least 4GB capacity to be a good inexpensive investment.
MS Office
As for MS Office software, I will be using the 2010
versions of Excel, Word, and Power Point in the classes
I teach. The Microsoft Office 2007 versions of these products is also acceptable. You can
purchase the Microsoft Office Professional 2010 suite at a
great price at
http://elms07.e-academy.com/tufts.
As mentioned earlier, Mac users should use Microsoft
Office 2011 for Mac. It is also available at the
e-academy site
http://elms07.e-academy.com/tufts.
AutoCAD and Mathcad
First-year engineering students in the class of 2015
are required to take EN 2 "Introduction to Engineering
Graphics and CAD" in the Fall semester. The primary
software for this course is AutoCAD 2012. Students may
download a free 1-year license of AutoCAD. I will
provide more information about this at the start of
classes.
First-year engineering students are required to take
my course "ES 2 Introduction to Computing in
Engineering" in the Spring semester of their first year.
The primary software products for this course are
Microsoft Excel with its embedded Visual Basic for
Application programming language, and MathCAD 15.
MathCAD 15 is available at a greatly discounted price at
the Tufts bookstore. MathCAD is only available for
Windows.
Information Technology Services at Tufts
Contact
University Information Technology at 617-627-4TOL or
via tolhelp@tufts.edu
for advice and assistance regarding matters of computer
support. For help with email and network problems
(including passwords and client issues), please contact
Information Technology Services or email
student-email@ase.tufts.edu.
Sample Configuration
The following is a sample laptop I configured at the
Dell website for $637 (http://www.delluniversity.com
and navigate to Tufts). Tufts does not recommend any
specific brand of computer but it should be noted that
Tufts Online is certified to perform Dell warranty work
on campus. I think this would be a good system for an
entering student. The primary additional items I would
consider for this purchase would be to add a carrying
case, a wireless optical mouse, and an extension to the
warranty that covered accidental breakage for another of
year! Of course your tastes and budget may favor
something smaller-lighter-bigger-faster. Notice that
this Dell is sold with Windows 7 Home Premium 64.
Dell Inspiron 15R Notebook Computer $637 (5/25/2011):
| Processor: |
Intel® Core™ i5-2410M Processor 2.3GHz |
| Operating System: |
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English |
| Display: |
15.6" High Definition (720p) LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera |
| Video Card: |
Intel HD Graphics |
| Memory: |
4GB Shared Single Channel DDR3 |
| Hard Drive: |
500GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) |
| Internal Optical Drive: |
8X CD/DVD Burner |
| Wireless Network Card: |
Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1030 |
| Integrated Webcam: |
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam (bundled, not required) |
| Battery Options: |
56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell) |
| Network Card and Modem: |
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem |
| Warranty And Service: |
2 years Basic Service Plan
Additional years of warranty support should be
considered but may be more expensive than they are worth. |
| Office Software: |
Purchase separately |
Here's another notebook configuration with more memory,
better graphics, and a longer life battery.
Dell XPS 15 Notebook Computer $936 (8/24/2011):
| Processor: |
Intel® Core™ i5-2410M Processor 2.3GHz
w/ Turbo Boost |
| Operating System: |
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English |
| Display: |
115.6 in HD WLED TL (1366x768) with Skype-Certified 2.0MP HD Webcam |
| Video Card: |
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 525M 1GB graphics with Optimus |
| Memory: |
6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 Memory |
| Hard Drive: |
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive |
| Internal Optical Drive: |
8X CD/DVD Burner |
| Wireless Network Card: |
Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000 |
| Integrated Webcam: |
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam (bundled, not required) |
| Battery Options: |
90 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery |
| Network Card and Modem: |
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem |
| Warranty And Service: |
1 Year In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis
Additional years of warranty support should be considered. |
| Office Software: |
Purchase separately |
Lee Minardi
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Tufts University
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