We are happy to assist with your computer equipment purchases. You are welcome to discuss your needs with us, and we can provide advice and facilitate purchasing and computer setup for you.

For Windows and Linux workstations, we currently recommend the standard Dell desktop system from the U's Technology Products web site.

• Dell Optiplex “University of Minnesota Standard Desktop” or “Standard Minitower” (the minitower version can accommodate an extra hard drive).
• optional: upgrade warranty to 5 years
• tell us your needs and we can help base your system on one of the many other “standard” systems available.
• for Linux systems we usually specify an aftermarket (nvidia) video card.

For general use, we recommend Xerox Phaser and HP Laserjet printers. Among recent models, we are tending to prefer the Xerox models.

If you need support for your printer to be accessible from our central systems, please consult with us before buying. Printer features we require include a network connection which supports printing via port 9100, and PostScript support.

Regardless, feel free to ask us before buying as we may be aware of low cost suppliers.

Monochrome networked laser printers:

• Our current favorite workgroup printer is the Xerox 4510N (or 4510DT for duplex)
• Dell have some reasonable low-cost network printers for personal use (check with us).

Color network laser printers

• Xerox Phaser 6280
• Xerox Phaser 8560

Printer models can change over time, so if this page seems out of date you might want to ask us instead.