Hardware Recommendations

At the request of new Rice parents, IT staff members created a minimum specification (spec) list for a general undergraduate computers. These specs can be utilized by departments, but IT support staff in your building or at the Help Desk can assist you with customized computer specifications that meet the unique needs of your faculty and staff.

Parents and students: IT recommends buying as much computing power as you can afford, since you may expect this computer to last at least four years.

For a desktop, a flat screen (LCD) monitor is much smaller and easier to transport but can cost over $100 more than a similarly-sized CRT monitor.

To connect to the network ports in the dorm rooms, you will need an Ethernet cable (25 feet is an adequate length). (Cable should be 568a (standard Cat 5/6) with RJ-48 jacks, which is the common type sold in computer and office supply stores.) Alternatively, if you have wireless (802.11b or 802.11g - most laptops and some desktops have this capability), you can use this instead. NOTE: Wired access is faster than wireless.

A printer is recommended for students, for the sake of convenience; however, each college computer lab (as well as other computer labs around campus) has a printer. Printing costs 6¢ per page (black and white).

Please bring a thumb/flash drive (usb) to campus to facilitate backups and file transfers. Additionally, an external hard drive is useful for backing up all your documents.

A list of Rice's approved vendors can be found here.

Further questions can be directed to helpdesk@rice.edu.

PCs

You can't go wrong with this spec list for a general undergraduate computer.

• 2GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 2 GB of system memory
• 802.11 A/B/G/N wireless card
• 80 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space
• RW DVD/CD Drive
• Audio output capability
• Internet access capability
• Gigabit ethernet card
• Warranty for 3 years

Macs

• Go for the most power currently available and in your budget
• Minimum 2GB RAM
• Firewire 800 ports preferred,but not required
• Drive spin speed minimum 5400 rpm if you plan to edit video or audio files
• Apple Protection Plan for 3 years

Linux

If you are looking at Linux,you probably already know what you want,but here is the list for a general undergraduate computer anyway.

• Certified to run red Hat enterprise Linux (RHEL)
• A modern processor (at least 1GHz)
• 2 GB of system memory (more is preferred depending on your computing needs)
• 80 GB hard drive (more preferred depending on your data storage needs)
• RW DVD/CD Drive
• Gigabit ethernet card