The College of Engineering expects all incoming students to own a laptop or tablet. If you are planning to purchase one, you will find the following advice and statistics helpful.
We have recommended the ThinkPad T Series laptops since the pilot project began in 2001. During this time, these machines have proven durable and reliable, and the support from Lenovo (previously IBM) has been outstanding. This year we added Lenovo's new W500 laptop series with workstation-class performance.
The MacBook Pro covers the range of powerful yet affordable laptops all the way to Apple's top-of-the-line laptop. All of the models in the MacBook Pro family will meet the recommended specs for use in the College of Engineering. Below are five representative models.
Beginning in the Fall 2009 ordering season, the Dell Latitude E6400 and E6500 model of notebooks have joined the offerings from Lenovo and Apple as recommended laptops. The Latitude models come in both 14.1" (E6400) and 15.4"(E6500) screens with the specs necessary to meet College of Engineering standards.
All models recommended by the College of Engineering as shown above are configured with a 3-year warranty.
In Fall 2009, there will be an on-campus repair technician authorized to work on IBM and Lenovo ThinkPads as well as Apple computers, as long as the laptops are still under warranty. This service will be available in the new OIT Walk-In Center in the West Dunn Building.
We recommend at least 3 years parts and labor.
The warranty covers parts that break on their own through a defect, not parts that break in an accident, e.g., drops or spills. Some computer manufacturers sell accidental damage protection that is an add-on to the warranty. For example, if you drop your laptop and break the screen, the standard warranty will not cover the damage. Lenovo offers ThinkPad Protection to cover damage, but it does not cover theft.
Loss due to theft is not covered by warranties but may be covered by insurance. Theft may already be covered by your homeowners' insurance, so check your policy for the deductible and other details. If it is not already covered, you may be able to add a rider for it.
NC State is not a particularly dangerous place, but just like any densely populated area, the risk of theft does exist. We recommend that owners of laptops secure them as much as possible. This might involve purchasing a cable lock to secure the laptop to a desk in a dorm room, or storing the laptop in the trunk of your car rather than the front seat, etc.
Yes! We recommend at least 3 years parts and labor. The December 2004 issue of Consumer Reports addresses extended warranties:
You might consider an extended warranty on a laptop computer. Laptops are expensive, fragile, and hard to repair. And the parts are made to fit within the manufacturer's unique case design. For that reason, you should buy the warranty from the computer manufacturer, not from the retailer.
We know specific examples of students who purchased their laptops and extended warranties from retail stores. When the laptop needed to be repaired, the repair process took anywhere from two weeks to a month, a long time to be without a computer. You will be better served by buying your warranty from the computer manufacturer. If you purchase a laptop well above the recommended specifications, you might consider a 4-year warranty.
| CPU | Dual-core 2.0Ghz or greater |
|---|---|
| System RAM | 2 GB |
| Optical Drive* | Combo Drive (DVD/CD-RW) |
| Hard Drive | 120 GB |
| Video RAM | 128 MB |
| Operating System | Windows XP Pro or Vista (Home Premium, Business, Ultimate) Mac OS X 10.5 Linux |
| Wireless** | 802.11 a/b/g/n |
| Warranty*** | 3-year parts and labor |