Current PC prices

The current standard "SelectPC" we (the School) buy for windows is a Dell Optiplex 790 or HP DC8200 business desktop. The price is typically about £700.
Generally we tend to buy "small form factor" desktops these days. Our standard configuration for 2011 will be a quad-core CPU, 8GB RAM, 250GB hard drive (we generally don't want you to store your important files on your PC, so we don't need large hard drives) and a 20/22" widescreen display, of at least 1680x1050 resolution. This will typically be a slightly higher specification than the base level "Select PC". Staff should generally have a PC provided for them by the School, and PhD students can buy a PC from their "RTSG" account, with a contribution of £250 from the Graduate Organisation, giving a cost to pay from your RTSG of about £450. As a PhD student, if you buy a new machine in your first few months it will generally see you through to the end of your degree.

Portable PCs (Notebooks/Laptops/Netbooks): If you need a portable, you may be able to borrow one from the School. We have a number of machines intended to be used for fieldwork. If you spend most of your time away from your desk it may make sense to use a portable PC as your main/sole PC. The University has a "Select Notebook" scheme to try and standardise on a relatively small number of machines so as to make support and procurement as straightforward as possible. A typical "Select Notebook" will have a dual core CPU and 4GB RAM, with a 250GB hard drive or 128GB SSD, DVD/RW optical drive, and a battery that should last several hours of light use. Screen sizes are typically 14" or 15". The "standard" screen resolution for most notebooks is currently 1366x768 - we usually recommend an upgrade where possible to 1600x900 or so. You may also wish to upgrade to a discrete graphics chip, higher capacity battery, etc. As for price, a basic laptop should be comparable in price (though not in capability) to the standard desktop PC, about £700. Upgrades to hardware (e.g. SSD in place of a mechanical hard drive) or warranty/insurance cover (e.g. 3 years' accidental damage/theft insurance), or the addition of a "desktop kit" consisting of a docking station and desktop screen, keyboard and mouse, can each add well over £100 to the cost. A fairly highly specced notebook that is intended to be a user's only PC will probably cost in the region of £1250, possibly more.

In each case faster processors and/or more RAM or hard drive space are available at additional cost, however these are the minimum specifications we would be happy to recommend.

Staff and PhDs may use Apple Macintosh desktops and/or portables, but we recommend against it quite strongly - we are not able to give you as much support as we would like, and occasionally Apple manage to break access to one or more of our services (printing, file storage, etc.). In the last few years, it has been known for it to take weeks or even months for such issues to be resolved by Apple. If you absolutely must use some software that is only available for MacOS then it may make sense for you to buy a Mac. Generally Macs tend to be a bit more expensive than the roughly-equivalent PC we would recommend.