Technology buyers' guide: hardware

Technology plays an increasingly important role in all areas of our curriculum and in the professions we serve. For this reason, the college recommends all new students bring a laptop to class. Although you may not use it every day in every class, developing the ability to use digital tools is important for artists of all types.

What to look for

Here are general recommendations if you are considering a laptop purchase:

• A Fast Processor
  At the time this is being written, we recommend you look for a system with an Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor with a 2.0 GHz or faster processor speed. This chip delivers better performance at the same processor speeds than the previous Core Duo and older single-core processors.
• 2 GB Memory or more (Random Access Memory, or RAM)
  2 gigabytes (GB) minimum, 4 GB will provide a noticeable speed improvement.
• Monitor Size
  Laptop screens range from abut 13 inches to 17 or even 20 inches, and should be evaluated along with portability and performance. Working with a larger screen may be wonderful, but carrying it everywhere may not be. Consider these hidden differences (although look carefully at the specs for each system, because these don’t apply to every system out there):
  • processor speed: faster processors are often available in 15- and 17-inch systems, but they also run hotter and use battery power more quickly.
  • video performance: larger laptops also frequently include higher performance video circuitry, delivering better performance for creating video, 3D, or motion graphics, and rendering tasks. You really won’t notice the difference when working with text, web pages, or YouTube videos, or when creating print graphics.
• Large Hard Drive
  200, 250, or 300 GB Hard Drives are common and affordable. Faster drives (7200 rpm) can improve performance when working with large files, such as still and motion graphics and video.
• CD/DVD Recording Optical Drive
  also referred to as a SuperDrive, you will need the ability to read and write CD and DVD discs.

In general, art & design applications demand more from the hardware, including processor speed, memory, and storage space.

Which Platform: Macintosh or Windows?

Your choice of platform is largely personal preference, since Macintosh and Windows systems are more alike now than ever before. Mac systems can read and write Windows-formatted discs and USB memory devices, making the exchange of files easier than ever. CCAD has about the same number of Macintosh and Windows systems in classrooms and labs on campus, and the platform choice is often determined by the software needs of a specific field of study.

Much of the software used on campus is available for both Macintosh and Windows platforms, and is virtually identical on each. So if you have a Macintosh and save a Photoshop document, you will be able to open that file and work with it on a Windows computer in any of our labs.

Macintosh systems are used in our Foundation Studies, Ad & Graphic Design, Fine Arts, Illustration, Still-Based Media Studies, and Video classrooms and labs. Our Fashion Design, Industrial & Interior Design, and 2- and 3-D Animation labs have Windows workstations, because of specific Windows-only software applications used in those majors.

How Long Will a Computer Last?
We find that the usable life for computers in our classroom and labs is three to four years. After that length of time, changes in the operating system or applications usually require faster processors or more memory than the older computers can provide. That means a computer you purchase for your first year likely will be showing it’s age by the time you graduate. You may want to consider purchasing an entry-level system when starting at CCAD, with the expectation that you may want to purchase a new system three or four years from now when your projects are more complex and your needs may be more clearly defined.

A Note about Running Windows on the Mac
Because new Apple computers contain the same Intel processors that Windows systems use, it is possible to install and run Windows (and Windows applications) on these Macintosh systems. Although you cannot currently purchase a pre-configured system, there are two alternatives which allow you to run Windows on an Intel-based Mac — through virtualization software, or by using Apple’s BootCamp Assistant to configure a dual-boot system which can start up either in Windows or Mac operating systems.

For more information about running Windows on a Mac, take a look at Apple's Online Resource.

Security Recommendations

• Virus Protection
  Every computer should have virus protection installed and configured to update automatically — and that includes Macs! We tend to prefer simple anti-virus solutions such as Trend Micro Anti-Virus, rather than more elaborate security suites that include firewalls, spam filters, and more.
• Laptop Security Cable & Lock
  With any laptop purchase, we recommend that you invest in a security cable and use it every time your computer will be out of your site. Find one with a combination lock, and you won’t have to worry about losing a key.
• P2P File Sharing Applications (Gnutella, KaZaA, Limewire, and more)
  We strongly advise you not to install Peer To Peer (P2P) applications on your computer, which allow users to share files located on their computers with others on the Internet. Often used to share music and videos, these applications expose users to many different risks, including:
  • Prosecution: Illegally sharing copyrighted music and video files is stealing. Both the Recording Industry Association of America and Motion Picture Association of America increasingly are targeting college students for prosecution.
  • Sharing Files and Risking Infection Without Your Knowledge: These applications often share files and allow others to copy files onto your disk whenever the computer is on (perhaps all of your files), and not just when the application is open.
  • P2P Applications Often Degrade Network Performance: Many P2P applications will consume all available bandwidth and saturate any size network connection. This can bring network performance to a crawl for all users connected to that network, and may result in disciplinary action by the college.

Visit http://www.staysafeonline.org/ for more safe computing tips, visit our Safe Computing page.