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Miscellaneous

Student Computer System Recommendations

1) Laptops

Do you need a laptop?

About 93% of all Pepperdine Law students use laptops for class, exams, and/or homework. Laptops can be a very valuable tool in your law school education. However, laptops are not required for any official purpose, nor is there any statistical evidence that students who use laptops for note- and exam- taking perform differently than those who don't.

Examples of good laptop configurations

The School of Law does not require any specific manufacturer, but the Law Information Services Department strongly recommends that you purchase a Dell Latitude laptop. See General Tips for more information.

For examples of appropriate hardware (how much RAM, how much hard drive space, etc.), see Pepperdine's internal purchasing website: http://www.pepperdine.edu/it/computerstore/information/chart.htm.

Typical PC* laptop configuration

2.0 GHz Pentium M Processor
14.1" WXGA+ Display
512MB SDRAM
40GB Hard Drive
32-64MB Video Card
 CD-RW/DVD Drive
Internal Wireless Card (802.11b/g-compatible Wi-Fi)
Internal 56K Modem Card
Internal Ethernet Card
Internal Sound
Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2***
3 year parts + onsite labor
Virus Scanner (Pepperdine provides Trend Micro's excellent OfficeScan scanner to current students; if you wish to purchase your own software, we recommend Norton or McAfee)

*Macs are not recommended or supported by Law Computing Support (though you may get some support for Macs on the main Pepperdine campus). Macs cannot run the exam-taking software used by most bar examiners and law schools (including Pepperdine Law). Macs also may not be able to connect to certain Pepperdine Law student resources, such as printing. For more information, see our page for Frequently asked questions about Macs. Or you may contact Law Computing Support for more information.

***Windows XP Home is highly discouraged for technical reasons. XP Home is not designed for use in a business environment and may have serious problems connecting or staying connected to resources like printing and Internet. Contact Law Computing Support for more information.

2) General Tips:

• The School of Law strongly recommends Dell business (Latitude, Optiplex) computers (http://www.dell.com). Dell is the standard at many universities, including Pepperdine; therefore, networks and software such as our exam-taking program are designed to function best with Dells. Furthermore, because Dell is the standard for staff and faculty machines, Pepperdine support technicians will have much more experience with Dell machines. If you are instead considering other "well-known" companies like Sony and Compaq, please carefully research your decision. Understand that when you are in law school, stability, consistency, and broadest possible support are your chief priorities for your laptop experience, and our observations have led us to strongly recommend Dell.
• A very good support service contract and/or replacement guarantee is extremely important, more so for you than the average laptop user. Don't let downtime determine your law school experience.
• Despite Corel WordPerfect's predominance in the past, the vast majority of today's law students use Microsoft Office. Microsoft Office can be purchased for a nominal fee (currently around $26) from the Pepperdine Computer Store. Other software can also be ordered from the Computer Store. Check out their website at (http://www.pepperdine.edu/it/computerstore/products/software/) or call (310) 506-4848.

3) What about Desktop Computers?

Do you need a desktop/tower computer?

Desktops are cheaper, faster, more reliable, and have more features than laptops. However, desktops are not available when you are taking notes in class or taking your exams on computer. Therefore, most students purchase notebooks.

Examples of good desktop configurations

For examples of appropriate hardware (how much RAM, how much hard drive space, etc.), see Pepperdine's internal purchasing website: ( http://www.pepperdine.edu/it/computerstore/products/desktop/dell/default.htm).

Desktop accessories:

• A modem (or network card, if using broadband Internet like cable or DSL) is necessary if you wish to dial up to the Internet.
• If you are in a dormitory that has been wired for the network, a network card is necessary for your desktop.

4) Printers

If you would like suggestions for your printer purchase, please consider models similar to those on the Pepperdine Computer Store website: (http://www.pepperdine.edu/it/computerstore/products/printers/).