Purchasing should be straightforward; Send the order to ChBE, include the account you want to charge to, and cc your fsc. CC’ing your fsc gives them a heads up a charge is coming their way so they can reserve the needed money.
We order computers through workday. Dell is the only manufacturer we can easily order from. Computers from any other manufacturer, except for Apple, requires us to get a quote which can vary from the price you see on their website or ad. For Apple, if the product is listed in CDW-G’s product list, we can buy it directly. Anything else requires us to get a quote.
You know what you want:
If you can find the computer you want from workday simply send the cart (or the model number, specs, and who you are ordering through) to us and we can order it for you. Don’t forget the account you want charged and to cc your fsc. If the computer you want is from a GT approved vendor but not specifically listed we will try to get a quote from that vendor – remember this price may vary. If the computer you want is not from a GT approved vendor we will go through a third party to see if we can get a quote on the desired machine – this price will almost certainly differ from the ad or website you found the computer from.
Even though Amazon is a GT approved vendor many items for sale on Amazon are prohibited from purchase through workday. This means there will have to be an attempt to go through a third party to get the desired machine. Delays and increase cost should be expected.
You just want a standard machine:
Standard office machine – We go with a mid-tower Dell Optiplex with the latest, or very close to latest, generation processor, 16 GB of ram and at least a 512 MB hard drive (technically a m.2 nvme ssd nowadays). Depending on the day this machine costs $1000-$1200.
Basic instrument computer – We drop our specs to get a mid-tower Dell Optiplex with a late generation (generally one possibly two back), 8 GB of ram, and at least a 256 MB hard drive. This machine should run $800 – $1000. *If you know the instrument you are running generates or works with lots of data please do let us know to increase the ram or hard drive to accommodate this.
Standard laptop – We go with a 13.3″ Dell Latitude with a 1080p or better no-touch screen and 16GB of ram and at least a 256 MB hard drive. This machine will run around $1200-$1500. Don’t forget to tell us if you want a docking station, extra power supply, carrying case, etc.
You want something custom:
You need or want something different. Let us know what this difference is so we can help narrow down a computer to purchase for you. For instance if you want a more powerful machine for number crunching you can expect us to ask whether a risc architecture is better for you, if not whether you want a core i or xeon processor, is a GPU is helpful, how much memory you think you’ll need, etc. As there are many options a solid budget to keep things from getting out of hand is recommended.
If you want a laptop be prepared for a lot of options. We can easily get 6 variants on the screen alone with some models. Having a firm opinion on a few of these options like touch or no-touch for the screen, minimum hard drive size, how heavy is too heavy, etc. can make this easier.
Standard Questions we will ask about your custom machine:
budget:
type: desktop/laptop/tablet
processor:
ram:
hard drive: type, number, and total storage space desired
form factor: microcomputer, full tower, mid tower etc. for laptops – screen size
additionally for laptops
weight – actual or just ultralight or not
power supply – if we have the option what wattage of power supply
screen type – resolution, touch – non touch, matte or glossy finish
color
No, we don’t need all of these questions answered but the more you can answer the faster we can get available options to you.
As a general rule we do not have the option to custom build computers in workday which means that we are either asking for a quote for a custom machine (generally more expensive) or going through dozens of individual models trying to find a machine whose specs match or exceed your requirements without going over budget. This takes time and, since we’re going through workday, some patience.
FAQ:
Why do we favor mid-tower’s in desktops?
They are generally cheaper. More importantly they can house add-on cards for if/when the computer
is repurposed or has an unexpected function thrust upon it.