Desktop

Guidance for desktop computers

A desktop should be comfortable and expandable to meet your requirements. Some parts will last indefinitely. My preference is to build my own; if you do not have the skills to do this, do not attempt it at the start of a module, it will cost you too much time.

Pick a processor which supports virtualization. Most modern processors do but check before purchase. Typically, students buy an i3 or i5 processor or the AMD equivalent.

If you buy memory well, you can expand it as you need to. Buy fast DDR4 in the largest package you can afford. For example, my desktop motherboard will only take 4 x 8GB DIMMs, if I buy small DIMMs (2GB, 4GB) I will have to discard them to get 32GB.

We are now recommending a minimum of 32GB of main memory for all students; make sure your motherboard is upgradable to 64GB.

Every motherboard should have gigabit ethernet.

There are a few options for hard disks and there is an optimal suggested configuration. For performance, buy a small SSD (500GB) or other solid-state technology for the operating system. Magnetic hard disks (HDDs) are a relatively inexpensive component. You could get a big magnetic drive (1TB) for data, but you still need to know how to back it up or use cloud storage. As it fills, it will get progressively slower. For performance, plan to add a separate SSD for virtual machines (VMs) as you can afford to and as you need to. This should be the biggest you can afford, I use a 1TB SSD for VMs.

Think of comfort! You should get a large monitor and good quality keyboard and mouse for working from home. If your motherboard/video card support multiple monitors, this is a good upgrade path, multiple monitors will increase your productivity greatly.

You will need Windows 11 for this computer, the Education version is included in your Microsoft subscription. You should not purchase additional software, as a registered student, you are entitled to MS Office and other software for free. Use Windows 11, 64-bit, Professional or Education. We do NOT recommend buying commercial anti-virus software. Use the free version which comes with Windows.

Video cards have become scarce and expensive. For the work we are doing, the embedded video on most motherboards is fine.

Make sure your computer is configured to download and install updates automatically.