Information Systems & Computing (ISC), in consultation with the Penn community, annually publishes recommendations for desktop computers. These recommendations reflect institutional and industry trends but do not necessarily take into account the computing requirements of specific Schools, departments, or Centers. You can view the current fiscal year's desktop recommendations here.
Before making purchasing decisions, administrators, faculty, and staff should always consult their Local Support Providers (LSPs) to ensure that local requirements are fulfilled. LSPs consider local costs and operational requirements, and are responsible for ensuring that connectivity to University-wide systems is maintained as necessary.
Students should consult their School's computing department for recommendations for individually owned computers.
Key Considerations for This Year
Considering Desktop Virtualization
For many areas and use cases at the University, desktop virtualization or thin client deployments may serve to replace the traditional desktop. Support providers should carefully assess their environment for these alternative desktop delivery methods, keeping in mind that cost savings on the client side often are offset by greater server and storage needs.
Obsoleting Operating Systems
Support for Windows XP and OS X Leopard (10.5) will be retired effective July 1, 2012. Please refer to the Operating System Life Cycles charts for long-term guidance on the University's supported operating systems.
Awareness of Windows 8 & OS X Mountain Lion & Operating System Life Cycle Support
Windows 8 and OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) are expected to be released later in calendar 2012. Providers should be aware of these forthcoming operating systems, along with their strengths and weaknesses (such as Windows 8's optimization for touch), but should be comfortable deploying Windows 7 and OS X Lion systems for most users, understanding that these operating systems may not be supported for a full four year life cycle.
Desktop Recommendations for General Use
ISC's recommended configurations for new systems are shown below. Estimated prices are effective June 1, 2012, and are based on small form factor Dell OptiPlex (Windows) systems with three year next day warranty service or all-in-one Apple iMac (OS X) systems with one year next day warranty service. ISC will support these systems for four years, from July 1, 2012 until June 30, 2016.
| Operating System | Windows | Mac OS |
| Processor |
Core i5 (any) or Core i7 (any) or Athlon Phenom II (any)1 |
Core i5 (any) or Core i7 (any)1 |
| Memory (RAM) | 8.0 GB | 8.0 GB |
| Hard Disk | 500 GB2 | 500 GB2 |
| Display & Graphics |
19-inch or 20-inch LCD3 discrete video card or Intel integrated graphics (HD3000 and above) |
21.5-inch LCD3 discrete video card |
| Sound | Built-in audio & speaker | Built-in audio & speaker |
| Miscellaneous |
DVD+R/CD-RW drive 80% efficient power supply hardware-based systems management |
DVD+R/CD-RW drive 80% efficient power supply |
| Network Connection | 10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet | 10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet |
| Recommended Operating System |
Windows 7 SP14 see important notes below |
Mac OS Lion5 |
| Support Period | Until July, 2016 | Until July, 2016 |
| Estimated Price | $1,100 to $1,5006 | $1,350 to $1,7506 |
Footnotes:
- Processor speed is no longer considered important, but the class of processor (such Core i5, Core i7, etc.) is. A more detailed University-centric perspective on AMD and Intel processors is available from ISC's Processor Guide.
- Systems that use network storage for their entire life cycle may be deployed with smaller (i.e., 250 GB) hard drives. Some systems, in particular those from Apple, ship in standard configurations with substantially larger hard drives. An option, often called something like "Keep Your Hard Drive", allows the retention of a defective hard drive when receiving a replacement hard drive under warranty. This usually costs about $20 and is a good choice for many Schools and Centers in order to avoid possible disclosure of sensitive data.
- There is often significant variance in features, resolution, and display quality among LCD monitors of the same size. See ISC's Display and Graphics Guide for more information on LCDs and video cards.
- Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (32-bit and 64-bit Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions) is supported and recommended for new systems. ISC does not recommend, but will support the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 Home Premium Service Pack 1. Home Premium lacks important networking, security, and compatibility features, such as domain-based authentication, that are essential to many Schools and Centers in the University. Note that Windows 7 Professional includes all of the multimedia features present in Windows 7 Home Premium, and therefore is recommended as superior to Home Premium. ISC does not recommend and will not support any version of Windows 7 Starter or Windows 7 Home Basic. Starter and Home Basic lack many important networking, maintenance, and security features that are critical to many Schools and Centers at the University.
- OS X Lion is the only supported and recommended choice for new Macintosh systems, as Apple's newly released systems always require the latest version of OS X. Apple's Boot Camp technology offers added flexibility for users who need to use Windows 7 Service Pack 1 occasionally. It should not be used to turn a Macintosh into a full time Windows system. Boot Camp requires that both the Windows and the OS X operating systems be patched and maintained.
- Pricing is generated using online configurators available from Apple and Dell and is for general reference only. Support providers may be able to generate significantly more competitive pricing for volume purchases, often with the assistance of the University's Computer Connection.
In response to what is often rapid technological change, ISC's Performance Desktop Purchasing Guide offers quarterly purchase recommendations for new systems that meet or exceed these specifications.
Penn's administrative systems desktop requirements are consistent with the recommendations for general purpose systems specified above. ISC maintains detailed information on the specific desktop environment requirements for systems such as BEN Financials, the University's budget planning applications (Oracle EPM/Hyperion), and Webi/Business Objects. In general, ISC is comfortable with Windows 7 Service Pack 1 as the operating system of choice for administrative systems.
Several distinct categories of notebook systems are available, each designed to suit the needs of a particular class of users. Given the physical conditions to which they are often subjected, notebook systems generally have a shorter useful life than desktop systems (typically three years or less). Therefore, ISC provides support for three years for major brands of notebook systems that meet or exceed the 2011-2012 recommendations.
The current Notebook Purchasing Guide can help you determine which combination of features and capability will best serve your needs.
Extending Warranties
For computers with warranties of less than three years, ISC strongly recommends purchase of extended warranties when departments are not prepared to make repairs themselves, especially beyond the first year or two of a computer's useful life.
Manufacturers such as Apple and Dell now offer four year warranties, up from the fairly standard three years. If a system will be in use for the full four year life cycle, these warranties (which typically add about $70 to the overall cost) often are appropriate, though support providers should expect the rate of system failure in the fourth year to be higher than that in the first three years.
Another option is to self-insure for the fourth year — put the additional $70 per system that would otherwise be spent on warranty extension into a fund to fix or replace systems that fail during the fourth year of service.
Operating System Life Cycle Support
While ISC generally expects support for recommended operating systems to persist through the four year life cycle of the desktop recommendations, often that may not be possible. In particular, OS X support cycles are expected to shorten over the next few years.
Please refer to the Operating System Life Cycles charts for long-term guidance on the University's supported operating systems.
Improving Sustainability
University IT staff are encouraged to continue adopting measures that promote "Green IT". One option for LSPs is to purchase small form factor or all-in-one desktops when possible — they use less power and significantly less materials than towers. The University's hardware vendors now offer high-efficiency (80% or higher - often branded as 80 PLUS) power supplies at little or no additional cost. For information on the relative power usage of modern desktops and notebooks commonly used at the University under various operating conditions, see the Computer power usage tables page.
Hardware-based systems management technology (examples are Intel Standard Manageability, iAMT, and VPro) offers the capability of booting from a completely off (not just sleep) condition. It allows Windows-based systems to save substantial energy and still be available for remote access, patching, and backup.
Low-Cost Desktops – Not Recommended
Price reductions resulting from market competition and continued technical innovation make definition of "Low-Cost Desktops" a moving target. It is generally true that computers priced in the bottom 40% of the current range compromise some combination of performance, reliability, compatibility, expandability, and warranty period to achieve the lowest possible costs.
Bearing in mind that you get what you pay for, and since total costs of ownership associated with supporting any desktop system always far outweigh the actual purchase price, ISC does not recommend that "Low-Cost Desktops" be purchased for general use.
As an alternative, the Value Desktop Purchasing Guide offers recommendations for competitively priced systems that are compatible with Penn's computing environment and are widely supported on campus. ISC has certified low-cost enterprise-class systems for use at the University, but these systems may not always be the best choice, as they often lack important manageability or configurability features.
Controlling Costs
Controlling costs continues to be important, though other considerations also must be weighed to insure that business needs are met. A cost and resource savings option already commonly employed at the University is to buy high quality displays with LED backlights every other life cycle instead of every life cycle. Another option is to bundle significant numbers of identical systems into a single purchase, often resulting in an additional discount from the system vendor (note that most desktop systems available from the University's Computer Connection already reflect bulk purchase pricing).
Further Information
The Computer Connection offers Apple and Dell configurations that match the recommendations discussed above.
ISC provides information on supported computing applications, middleware, and operating systems.
All desktop systems should have important data backed up and be virus-free. Additional security information from the Office of Information Security can be found here.
The Office of Environmental Health and Radiation Safety provides information on computer ergonomics.