THE FOLLOWING IS A SHORT GUIDE THAT IS MEANT TO ASSIST NEW AND CURRENT UCSB STUDENTS, STAFF AND FACULTY IN PURCHASING A COMPUTER.

Please do not depend solely on this guide.
Please review UCSB ResNet’s page for further information. (http://www.housing.ucsb.edu/resnet/default.htm)
All computers available through the UCSB Bookstore come ready for use on the UCSB Network.

Most UCSB Students prefer a Laptop over a Desktop for portability and ease of use. Apple computers are the #1 selling computers for Higher Education. In recent years the majority of all incoming students have selected a Mac as their college computer of choice.

APPLE COMPUTERS
If you would like to see the options available from Apple, you may view their entire line of computers at an educationally discounted price by going to http://www.apple.com/edu.ucsb or visit us in store. The Bookstore Computer Store offers these same prices in addition to specials, instant rebates and promotions not available online.

All new Apple come pre-installed with their latest Operating System OSX Leopard. The built in suite of programs will cover most any and all needs of a college student. However in order to assure that documents and files be as widely compatible as possible, the Computer Store recommends the purchase of Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac. This is available at an educationally discounted price in the Computer Store.

WINDOWS COMPUTERS
The Computer Store currently does not feature any in store demo’s or promotions involving Windows based computers.
Dell Computers has a customized Education store for UCSB customers that you may view by visiting http://www.dell.com/ucsb

RECOMMENDED HARDWARE

PROCESSOR– The speeds of laptop computers now approaches or surpasses many desktop computers. A 2.0GHz processor or higher is recommended for today’s computing needs.

RAM – 1GB of RAM is the minimum required for most operating systems and programs. However the more RAM installed in a computer, the faster it will operate. Many computers come with 2GB of RAM standard and this would be ideal.

Hard Drive – A bigger hard drive is always better. An average size would be 120GB, with that amount of storage it is unlikely to be completely filled. However the Computer Store STRONGLY recommends backing up all data with an External Hard drive.

CD/DVD Drive – When considering the purchase of a computer, it is recommended that you look at a computer with a DVD burning capable drive. This will allow you to fully use the tools available in an Apple computer for example as well as having the ability to burn large amounts of information to a disc.

Wireless – All new computers come equipped with built in wireless cards. These will be compatible with the widest variety of wireless networks, including those found at common spots on campus.Please contact the UCSB Bookstore Computer Store for any further questions you may have at 805.893.3538 or email computers@bookstore.usb.edu