Buying a Computer...

<p>Does anyone have information about buying a computer through CMU?</p>

<p>what kind of info do u need??</p>

<p>Do you have a link to a website where they can be purchased? Also, are there any particular requirements depending on your major/school (I'm Tepper)? Any help would be greatly appreciated...</p>

<p>what laptop are you lokin at?</p>

<p>Not sure yet. Any recommendations?</p>

<p>actually...heres the link for the computer store.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.cmu.edu/computing/store/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.cmu.edu/computing/store/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>CMU has no computer buying requirements; technically you don't even need a computer. While there are lots of clusters on campus, they may not be close to your dorm and/or available when you need them.</p>

<p>Before you commit to buying a computer through CMU, research prices online. CMU's prices on Dell computers are much worse than the prices you can get by Googling "dell coupon" (generally if you search regularly for a month, you can find $750 off). If you want a Mac, check with the Apple education store. I believe that CMU can get you better prices on IBM.</p>

<p>Get a computer you'll be comfortable with. I've observed that most people in Tepper have IBMs, but that doesn't make one a requirement. CMU is very friendly towards Apple users, so if that's what you want, it's not a problem at all. If you're in CFA, going with a Mac is your best option. Also, I think most English majors also of Macs.</p>

<p>Anything you buy, if it's new, should do what you need it to, unless you're a design/art major needing to photoshop and render things. As a Tepper student, I think you would use it mostly for web surfing, writing papers, and checking email, so specs aren't a big issue. If you plan on having it with you alot, get a lighter laptop (less than 5 lbs.).</p>

<p>if you're buying a laptop I wouldn't suggest buying through CMU's computer store unless you want a lenovo/ibm thinkpad bc of price differences</p>

<p>Oh, also, this might matter to some people.
If anything happens to your computer and it's still under warranty, CMU's computer services thing is certified for repairs for Dell, IBM, Apple, and HP. If your computer is from another maker, though, you'll probably have to ship it in yourself and/or take it back to where you bought it and have them ship it in.</p>

<p>I have a dell that I got for cheap, but I know a lot of people are very happy with their IBMs that they got from the school at a good discount. They are much sturdier.</p>

<p>Also, I second the idea of getting a light computer. Even if you only haul it around twice a month, you'll appreciate getting a smaller one.</p>

<p>Finally, there are recommendations posted at the CMU website:
<a href="http://www.cmu.edu/computing/documentation/buy-computer/buy-computer.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.cmu.edu/computing/documentation/buy-computer/buy-computer.html&lt;/a>
they're worth checking out.</p>

<p>Here is an article for Purchasing a Personal Computer from a freshman advisor of SCS.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.cs.cmu.edu/%7Epattis/advising/articles/computer.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pattis/advising/articles/computer.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>