New River Recommendations for Computer Purchases and Replacements (Last Updated: August 30, 2008 11:10 PM )

New River strives to replace computers using a four-year replacement cycle.  Rather than simply using the purchase date as the basis for the replacement decision (because computers purchased on any particular date may vary significantly in performance), there are essentially three primary factors that determine when a computer should be replaced.  Those factors are:

1. CPU Speed
2. RAM
3. Storage

These recommendations apply not only to New River-purchased equipment, but also to recommendations for faculty, staff, and students who purchase their own personal computers. 

To determine if you should be replacing an existing computer you should look at Row 1. To determine what type of computer you should currently be purchasing you should look at Row 4. While no one can accurately predict future events, this table provides a reasonable estimate and should effectively guide computer purchasing and replacement decisions. 

NOTES:

1. Yellow indicates the current year for (a) new purchases (When Purchased) and (b) replacements (When to Replace).
2. Any new computer purchase should include a network card (100Mb or 1Gb).
3. We recommend that laptop purchases include a wireless card in addition to Ethernet.
4. Laptop specifications (CPU, RAM, Storage, Display) are typically less than desktops and are more prone to damage and theft with perhaps a shorter life cycle. 
5. Removable media drives are recommended which currently include CD/DVD-RW.
6. Processor speeds are indicated and x2 indicated Dual Cores and x4 indicates Quad Cores.

Computer Purchasing Recommendations

To determine the configuration of a new computer please refer to ROW 4 above.

Computer Replacements and Minimum Configurations

To determine the minimum configuration of an older computer that you might want to replace refer to ROW 1 above.