Purchasing a computer for use at Williams.
If you plan to buy a new computer for the Fall semester, we recommend making the purchase no earlier than May. Waiting until June or July is preferable because computer performance/price ratios increase with time. We do suggest ordering the computer before August to ensure that it arrives in time for September. Questions regarding computer purchases can be sent to firstyear.techinfo@williams.edu
If you do not want to buy a new computer at this time, please be aware that older computers may not be adequate for the Williams network. Therefore, please check our Recommended PC Specifications or Recommended Mac Specifications to ensure that the minimum requirements are met. Computers that don't meet minimum specs will still receive Help Desk support, but they invariably take longer to configure and are harder to repair.
PC or Mac?
Williams College is committed to supporting both PCs and Macs. Academic departments and our public labs are split evenly although departments tend to choose one platform or the other depending on the software they use. Contact the departments of your interest to see if they have a recommendation. Administrative departments are almost entirely PC.
Office Software
We strongly recommend purchasing Microsoft Office (the Academic or Home/Student version). All public lab computers have Microsoft Office but you will likely want your own copy to run on your computer. At the very least you will need Microsoft Word (any version) and we recommend Excel and Powerpoint.
For Mac you can get the Office 2008 for Mac - Home and Student Edition for $149.95 from Microsofts web site http://www.microsoft.com/mac.
For Windows you can get the Office 2003 - Home or Student for apx. $125 from the Williams Premier Dell page OR until the end of April 2008 you can get Office 2007 for $59 from http://www.theultimatesteal.com; These are significant discounts off the normal Professional price of $500.
Anti-virus Software
Sophos Anti-Virus will be provided for student PCs and Norton Anti-Virus will be provided for student Macs. If you plan on using your PC computer before September and you have already received your Williams account information in the mail, you should uninstall any existing anti-virus software that came with the computer (usually a trial version) and install Sophos from sophos.williams.edu. If you have not received your Williams account information, then continue using your existing AV software until you do. Other academic software can be downloaded from the Williams servers after connecting to the network.
Printers
There are many public network printers available at Williams, in the Library, OIT, academic buildings, but only a few located in dorms. If you choose to bring your own printer there are many inexpensive options. You will need to decide whether you want a color inkjet or a black and white laser printer. A black and white laser printer will tend to be faster, be more efficient with consumables (toner lasts longer than inkjet cartridges), but will cost a bit more initially and be heavier. Dell offers many printer options, so it may be convenient to purchase a printer at the same time as your computer, but any usb model from Staples or Best Buy should also work. If you choose a Dell model, the Dell Laser 1110 (laser) or the Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 924 (inkjet) are both under $100.
Wireless Cards
Wireless at Williams is currently available in all buildings on campus. You should choose to have a wireless a, b or g (or some combination of the three) card in your PC laptop or an airport extreme card in your Mac laptop. Note that most laptops will have an acceptable wireless card in them by default, so you should only need to buy one seperately in rare cases. There is no reason to get a wireless card in a desktop computer. Full details on the Williams wireless network are available in the Wireless Center. Please do NOT bring your own wireless router or airport base station to campus as it will conflict with our wireless network.
Network Cable
Please remember to bring a network cable. We recommend a 25-foot Base-T network cable, to allow for flexibility in arranging your room. The cable is also known as an RJ45 patch or ethernet cable. It can be purchased at stores like Staples, Walmart, local computer shops, or online.
Backup Storage Device
When shopping for a new computer, remember to include a backup storage device. Floppy disks are a poor medium for storing files. Every semester, there are several students who lose papers, lab reports, etc., due to inadequate backup. CD-R (recordable) and CD-RW (re-writable) are the most common backup peripherals used on campus. DVD-R and zip disks are also good choices for backup. USB flash drives are becoming popular. For the ultimate in storage, consider purchasing an external USB harddrive. Please read our FAQ on backing up data for further information.
Financial Aid
There are no scholarships available for purchasing a computer. However, financial aid recipients may be eligible for a one-time increase of their student loan by up to $2,000. Students interested in this program should come to the Office of Financial Aid to discuss.
Green Computing
There are a number of steps you can take to reduce the environmental impact of your computer. More information about this, including estimated power use for a number of different computers, can be found on our Green Computing pages.
