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For those areas on a 4-5 year hardware renewal schedule and not the usual 3 year, please be aware that you must purchase a mid to high end model machine to ensure the computer has enough power and resource to run newer software at a minimally acceptable performance level 4-5 years down the line. Minimum memory specifications must be no lower than 16GB and the processor must be no lower than an Apple M1 or Intel i5. For users that require Adobe Creative Suite or for users doing video or photo editing or web development that takes up at least a quarter of their time, the minimum memory should not be lower than 32GB and the processor must be no lower than an Apple M1 Pro or Intel i7. For users who will be using their machines for video or multimedia development more than half the time, either the higher end Apple M1 Pro, M1 Max, M2 or Intel i9 processors may be worth consideration. We will update these requirements annually as the computer technologies advance.
If you are thinking Dell for business machines, do not purchase any machines outside of the Latitude, Optiplex, or Precision lines. Dell drops available spare parts for all other models once the maximum warranty period has expired. Of particular note Inspiron notebook spare parts are not available 1 year after they're sold once their warranty expires. Once these laptops die, there is no way to repair them if someone doesn't already have the spare parts.
For Dell users hoping for better video performance, Alienware machines may be reasonably considered as a viable alternative.
Quality
Manufacturers in recent years have started to realize that computers are being cycled out every 3 years as technology progresses. As a result they are no longer making their devices last more than 3 years. To this end they are making their machines less upgradeable with more plastic and lower quality components. They are also soldered past user upgradeable parts like Hard Drives and memory modules to the motherboards.
Apple and Dell warranties
Our recommendation remains to ALWAYS get the warranties. This is especially true for laptops which generally have a higher rate of failure due to their smaller micronized parts.
Apple does not warranty their machines for more than 3 years so be aware if your machine fails at year 4 or 5 the repair costs could be high depending on the issue.
Dell does sell service contracts for more than 3 years, however they are more expensive and may not be available for all makes and models. Make sure your purchase the service contract that is appropriate to the length of time you expect to have to keep your Windows machine. It is never always a good idea to buy a warranty with your computer without a warranty.
Lenovo
Repairs are now your responsibility
Following the end of the Covid-19 Pandemic, IS&T permanently closed its ATLAS hardware repair services. All users must now contact their machine manufacturers for service. Apple users may schedule appointments with the Genius Bar at an Apple Store. Dell users may contact Dell support to either have a technician come on site (depending on the warranty) or a box for the machine to be sent to depot for repair.
Lenovo
Going forward, As it turns out, Lenovo Thinkpads CAN be serviced at the IS&T walk-in customer service desk. Thinkpads are however the only model Lenovo apparently allows to be serviced outside their repair depot. For all of their other models Lenovo must be contacted and they will send a box for return to depot. If you are someone who expects reliability, word has it to stay away from Lenovo's Ideapad line for now.
Lenovo Thinkpads have long had a reputation in business for dependability, durability, and reliability. However this comes at a cost. Lenovo tightly controls the firmware of their machines so non-Lenovo certified parts or operating systems won't work in their machines. This means Linux Distros and lower versions of Windows (like Windows 7) could be blocked from installation. Also users will be unable to tweak the CPU or RAM clocking and hardware to boost performance. This makes Lenovo machines distinctively unsuitable for gaming or application where other non-shipped OS implementations or hardware customizations are required.
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