Transitioning to UNL

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College of Engineering Students:
Guidelines for Purchasing a Computer

Guidelines 1-7 work for either a laptop or desktop computer.

1. One gigabyte or higher of RAM (more is better; don't get less than one gigabyte)
2. Stay away from processors that have "on" at the end of their name (AMD Athalon, Celeron, etc.). Get a Pentium (4, or D), Duo Core, or Centrino
3. Get at least an 80 gigabyte hard drive
4. Load a good virus protection package before using the computer on the web (UNL uses Sophos, which you can get from the campus Computer Store). Other high quality packages are MacAfee and Norton.
5. Get a good printer--those that feeds from the bottom are better, as they last longer than gravity feed printers.
6. Get Microsoft Office from the campus Computer Store. The university has a contract with Microsoft so the software is available to students for approx. $15.
7. Wait before you purchase software for classes until the instructors tell you exactly what is needed. Most of the packages are sold at the campus Computer Store at reduced prices, and most of the Engineering Computer Labs include the software that instructors want students to use, so you may not have to purchase any extra software.

If you are purchasing a laptop and plan on taking it to classes, you should consider the weight of the laptop. Be aware that some of the smaller laptops do not have a CD or DVD drive built into them. You have to purchase a docking station and the disc drives separately (you can add them to the order if you use the Web site below).

The University has agreements with Dell and Gateway. Go to the Web site below and select either Dell or Gateway on the right side (personal purchases). This link will take you to the sites created for the University of Nebraska, including discount information.

UNL Computer Store:

http://sales.unl.edu/catalog/primevendors.asp