A Student Computer Workstation

Either a Laptop or Desktop Computer Workstation is fine for students.

A wireless laptop with a printer would be just right for college.  They are getting much cheaper, smaller and light-weight.

Laptop Workstations should include the following:

• Wireless Notebook Adapter (for access to the Internet)
• Speakers and/or Headphones
• Printer

Desktop models are good for multimedia activity and have larger storage capacities, although a good laptop with a portable hard drive would be fine.

Desktop Models should consist of the following:

• LCD Flat-Panel Monitor (17" or larger viewable wide-screen)
• Tower (Processor with over 2.4 GHz & over GB RAM, THE FASTER THE BETTER!) 
• Internal hard drive (at least 80GB storage)
• Internal DVD-RW/CD-RW (dual , nice!)
• Keyboard (can be wireless)
• Mouse (can be wireless)
• Printer (can be wireless)
• Speakers and/or headphones

Access to the Internet is a necessary part for school research papers.  Most laptops and desktop computers will have an internal network card installed.  A modem such as a cable modem will provide Internet access to one computer.  If you have more than one computer at home, a router will allow the computers to share the Internet. With wireless technology widely available, please make sure you have the latest software updates against viruses, spyware, malware, etc. 

Optional:

• Scanner/printer (Combo fax/printer/scanner & copier saves desk space)
• Subwoofer (for music lovers)
• Microphone (for narration or talking on Skype)
• Portable External Hard Drive (at least 80GB for backup)
• USB Flash Drive (at least 8 GB storage)
• Digital Camera (at least 5 Mega Pixels)
• i-Pod or MP3 player 
• Game Controller, etc. for computer games
• LCD Projector

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