Purchasing Standards
Below you will find links to Mac and PC hardware purchasing standards. Purchasing standards exist in order to provide reasonable, sustainable, and timely support to the university community.
Appropriately configured computers are designed to meet university end user needs and allow TSS to leverage resources appropriately. The considerations outlined below have been carefully configured in collaboration with technology professionals from across campus to offer the broadest set of solutions for Appalachian constituent users. These standards are reviewed frequently and adjusted as new needs are identified and future technologies become available.
For answers to questions concerning this configuration, please contact your college IT consultant or support.
Windows Desktop Purchases
Any Dell Optiplex 755 Models (Ultra Small Form Factor, Small Form Factor, Mini Tower, and Desktop) with the minimum hardware configurations outlined below.- Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (2.33GHz, 2M, 1333MHz FSB)
- Genuine Windows XP Professional w/SP2,x32, w/media or Windows Vista
- 2.0GB Memory DDR2 Non-ECC SDRAM, 667MHz, (2DIMM)
- 19 inch Flat Panel Monitor, Adjustable Stand, VGA/DVI
- 256MB ATI Radeon 2400XT Video Card, Dual Monitor - DVI or VGA (TV-out), LP
- 160GB SATA 3.0Gb/s and 8MB DataBurst Cache Boot Hard Drives
- 3-year Next Business Day On-site Support Warranty
Windows Laptop Purchases
Appalachian has standardized on the Dell Latitude D630 (14 in.) and the Latitude D830 (15in.) with the minimum configurations listed below.- Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7300 (2.00GHz)
- 2.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
- 80GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 5400RPM
- 24X CD-RW/DVD w/ Cyberlink PowerDVD
- 3 Year Limited Warranty
Apple Purchases
Apple no longer sell PowerPC based computers, however any Apple desktop computer with a PowerPC based processor can be fully supported on the campus network.
Apple's newest line of computers feature the Intel processor and are supported with the following considerations in mind:
- Classic applications do not work on Intel-based machines. All Mac OS 9 based applications must be upgraded to the most current version if available. Please contact the manufacturer of the software for more information.
- For maximum functionality, any application running on an Intel processor should be a Universal application. Visit Apple's web site for more information about Universal Applications.
- Applications which are not Universal, such as Microsoft Office 2004, use a real-time translator named Rosetta. For peak performance, at least 1 Gigabyte of memory should be installed.
- Internet plug-ins may have problems loading web content. Check with the plug-in vendor for a Universal version. If no such version exists, Safari can run in Rosetta. For more information read "Intel-based Macs: Forcing a Universal application to run with Rosetta."
Apple Desktop Minimum Hardware Configurations
iMac
- 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
- 1GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x512
- 250GB Serial ATA Drive
- ATI Radeon X1600/128MB VRAM
- SuperDrive 8X (DVD+R DL/DVDRW/CD-RW)
- Apple Keyboard & Mighty Mouse + Mac OS X (US English)
- 17-inch widescreen LCD - (Built-in on iMac models)
- AirPort Extreme
- Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
- AppleCare Protection Plan (APP)
Apple Laptop Purchases
- 13 inch screen
- 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo
- 1 GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x512
- 80GB Serial ATA drive @ 5400 rpm
- Superdrive 6x (DVD+R DL/ DVD+-RW/CD-RW)
- AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook
MacBook Pro
- Mac Book Pro 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
- 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
- 120GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400rpm
- SuperDrive 6x (DVD+R DL/ DVD+-RW/CD-RW)
- AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro
MacBook Pro - Desktop Replacement Equivalent
- MacBook Pro 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
- 2GB memory
- 160GB hard drive
- 8x double-layer SuperDrive
- AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro
