Computer purchase and support

Desktop computers

CSG currently support the following PC-compatible desktop computers, installations of which can be found throughout the department:

• Dell Optiplex 780 and 980.

• HP Compaq 7X00 and [[|8000]] series.

Older model computers (Shuttles and earlier Dell/HP Compaq desktops) may also be found in the department but the currently-available models are the Optiplex 980 and HP Compaq 8000 range.

If you wish to purchase a Dell Optiplex 980, CSG has a limited stock of these models 'in-house'. The Dell Optiplex 980 Mini-Tower (MT) with an Intel Core i5-650 processor (3.2Mhz dual-core with hyper-threading) with 8GB of DDR3 RAM, a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT330 graphics card and a 250GB hard-drive. This costs 668.47 pounds + VAT and includes a twenty-three inch Dell P2311H adjustable flat-panel display. A three-year, on-site, next business day warranty is also included in this price. You can purchase one of these computers through a journal transfer: please e-mail help@doc.ic.ac.uk for further inquiries.

If you wish to purchase an HP Compaq 8000 series computer, you can do so by visiting the ICT purchasing page (college log-in required). The 'Products' link on the left-hand side of that page allows one to choose specifications on HP desktops and other related hardware. Prices are listed on the web-site. You can purchase these computers via I-Procurement: please contact the departmental finance team (Teresa Ng and Chandy Edirisinghe).

CSG support the departmental versions of Windows Vista/7 and Ubuntu Linux 8.04/9.04/10.04 on the Optiplex 780, 980 and HP Compaq 7900 and 8000 series computers. In principle, any modern PC-compatible should work with the DoC OS installs but please note that we can only provide support for the computers listed above. It would not be realistic for us to either test or support all existing PC models. We strongly recommend, therefore, that you purchase conventional desktop PCs through us or ICT if you want guaranteed support.

Notebook computers

The DoC OS installs are primarily for desktop computers. If you wish to purchase a notebook computer for college use (that is, using grant or research funding), please note that HP is the preferred supplier for all such equipment. If you want to buy a notebook from a non college-approved supplier, college central purchasing may ask you to demonstrate that the equivalent configuration is not available through the ICT purchasing page. CSG cannot help you make such cases: if you have in mind a particular laptop, you should have the facts to hand in order to justify the purchase. Please note that Apple Macintosh computers do not fall under this rule (see below).

It is still possible to buy notebooks from college-approved suppliers such as BT Business Direct and [[http://www.dell.co.uk|Dell]. Simply obtain a Quicklinx code or quote for the product in question and then contact the departmental finance team with this information (along with a cost-code to which the purchase should be charged).

In terms of Windows support, most laptops have certified support for Windows OSes. If you want to put a different Windows OS on a purchased laptop, please use DoC MSDNAA: all current members of the department should have access to this. If you have any queries about the MSDNAA service, e-mail help@doc.ic.ac.uk. You can also download software (such as an anti-virus client and Microsoft Office) from the ICT Software Shop. CSG do not operate a laptop customisation service --- please do not come to the help-desk asking

In terms of Linux support, please check the laptop manufacturer's web-sites and more general web-pages and http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/linux-laptop.html.

The key features in terms of notebook use in the department are Wi-Fi, 10/100Mbs Ethernet and disk-space. Most modern notebooks include these features so it is only

Choose/spec a desktop from the ICT HP web-portal: http://www.imperial.ac.uk/spectrum/ict/hp/hp.asp computer (including one using the newer Intel Core processor), get a quote and ask Teresa Ng (tng), say, to order that computer for you. - Find a computer on the web-page of a college-approved supplier - e.g.http://www.btbusinessdirect.co.uk,http://www.scan.co.uk, http://www.misco.co.uk [It is not straight-forward to obtain a list of college-approved suppliers of computers] - Do a wider search for a Desktop computer supplier then be prepared to justify why you would make a purchase from a non-approved supplier. e.g.http://www.dell.co.uk. We would encourage you to get a Dell Optiplex 980 with dual-core Intel Core i5 processor from us (please see below). > Is there CSG software support for non-CSG machines? Any modern PC-compatible should work with the DoC Ubuntu install but CSG can only provide software support for hardware configurations that we have tested ourselves, naturally. Similarly (indeed, moreso) for Windows. We cannot provide hardware support for such machines: you would have to depend on whatever warranty arrangements you make at the time of purchase. > - Ho do we maintain user profiles when buying new machines (with Windows > pre-installed)? If the standard DoC Windows and Linux OS images can be successfully installed on the machines, then you should find that them to behave exactly as other, current DoC machines do in terms of user profiles. If they do not work but networking does, then you can either use Samba under Windows to mount a home directory ('\\fs-vol.doc.ic.ac.uk\wl', for example) of ssh/sftp to access files under Linux ('sftp wl@sftp://ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk', for example). > - Can CSG provide software installations (standard installation of lab > software) for our new machines? As stated above, we can attempt to do such an install but cannot guarantee that it will work. CSG can offer the Dell Optiplex 980 Mini-Tower (MT) with an Intel Core i5-650 processor (3.2Mhz dual-core with hyper-threading) with 8GB of DDR3 RAM and a 250GB hard-drive. This costs 668.47 + VAT and includes a Twenty-three inch adjustable flat-panel display. These are covered by a three-year, on-site, next business day warranty. http://www1.euro.dell.com/uk/en/enterprise/Desktops/optiplex-980/pd.aspx?re[..] http://accessories.euro.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=uk&l=en&s=pad&cs=[..] Please let us know how you wish to proceed.