Buying Your Laptop Computer

** Please read this entire document before making any decision **

You need to buy five things:

Laptop computer
Recommended software
Printer
Service contract
Internet connection service at your home

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) staff will help anyone with any problems, concerns or difficulties installing software on their laptop.

Virus Protection.

This can be downloaded and installed through your VIP account, which the university gives every student.

Go to https://vip.sc.edu/login.html to login to your VIP account and download Trend Micro's virus protection program. It is free to all students, faculty and staff.

Each student will need a copy of Microsoft Office to access student lectures and other materials. It can be purchased through the university at a special discount. Information on purchasing Office can be found at http://www.sc.edu/software/personal.shtml.

Office Standard ($70): includes components you need, such as Excel, Word, Powerpoint and Outlook.
Office Pro Plus ($90): includes components you need as well as a database application, along with other additional Microsoft Office programs.

Recommended Dell laptop

OIT has chosen a computer that will meet all your medical school needs for the next four years. We strongly recommend that you buy one of these particular Dell laptop models. We believe that these models will give you the reliability you need and we support this computer. This means that, if you have a problem, we will diagnose the problem and, in most cases, fix it. Since we have certified Dell technicians, we can usually get a hardware part overnight and install it the next day. We'll also help with Apple (and other model) computers, although we can not help with in-depth repairs.

Problems that require Dell to send a technician onsite, also can be handled through our department in a couple of days. Usually, the laptop can be left in our department, where a technician has room to work and quickly fix the problem. This is more efficient than having a Dell technician go to your residence.

Dell's especially priced models are the Latitude D830 and the D630 and Dell has setup a special Web site to make it easy for you.

The first page contains information about the laptop. Once you click on the link below, you will be taken to the order page. By clicking on "customize," you can select additional components, such as a faster processor and some options that we recommend.

The laptop comes with XP Professional but you can upgrade to Vista Business at no cost or to Vista Ultimate for $79.

OIT recommends that you upgrade to one stick of 2.0 gigabyte of memory, which is an additional $81. This leaves one memory slot open so you can add additional memory later, if you wish.

We also recommend that you upgrade to a 120-gigabyte hard drive for an additional $18.

Ordering system documentation on CD (XP Pro) or DVD (Vista), which is free, is also recommended.

Service Contract

OIT recommends you buy the Gold Technical Support from Dell for three years.

Warning about "inexpensive" laptops from big box stores.

One of the most important features of buying the Dell laptop is the warranty and onsite service. Although you can purchase a less expensive laptop, it usually doesn't include the same warranty. This means it will have to be taken back to the store and sent off for repair, usually for 8-to-10 days, possibly more. With the Dell warranty, a student usually is without their laptop for a few hours using a Dell onsite repair technician or with one of our technicians doing the repair. (Software repairs take longer and require backing up data, which some repair centers charge extra for or expect you to do before bringing it in for repair.) Since a student needs their laptop on a daily basis for class and study, ask store personnel how long you'll be without your laptop before you buy and about backing up your data.

Internet connection

If you want to access the library facilities or course materials on Blackboard from home, you will need to purchase an Internet connection. You can buy a dial-up service that is relatively slow but inexpensive (say $9.90/month for Netzero or Juno, for example), or you can purchase a fast connection that is a lot more satisfactory but much more expensive (about $45/month) from either the telephone company or from the cable company. If you are not familiar with either approach, talk to your classmates and see what they are using before you sign any contracts.

For more help, contact Charlie, Jane or Bruce or call 803-733-3341.

To buy your laptop, click here for the Dell Laptop Purchase Link and follow the instructions there. You should have your credit card ready!

USC LINKS: DIRECTORY MAP EVENTS VIP SITE INFORMATION