PC requirements for your course

Off-campus students will need good access (at least 10 hours per week) to a computer system to complete your course. You will do some of your work on-line and communicate with staff via on-line newsgroups and possibly e-mail using the Internet. Many of your course materials will be made available through our World Wide Web pages.

You will therefore need a computer comparable to the systems outlined below.

Purchasing Computers

A minimum system configuration is provided in the table below; on the basis of this information, you can decide whether your current PC will be suitable for the course in 2004. [Note that even the "suggested" system is only likely to be adequate for two or three years; part-time students in particular should not expect to complete a six-year degree using just the one PC!]

Most problems with computers show up in the first few minutes of use. Therefore, before paying any money, it is worth having the actual computer you are about to buy assembled and turned on for at least five minutes. Most reputable PC suppliers will be happy to cooperate with this (unless they have a policy that permits you to return the computer for any reason and receive either a new replacement or full refund). This is also a good chance to make sure that you can read the text on the display easily, and that you are happy with the "feel" of the keyboard.

Here are the details of the kind of computer system you will require:

	Minimum Workable System	Suggested System (if buying a new PC)
Type of CPU	Pentium II	Pentium 4 2.6 GHz
RAM	128 M	512 M
Hard disk	6 G	80 G
Floppy disk	1.44 M 3.5"	1.44 M 3.5"
CD-ROM	Any CD-ROM drive	CD rewriter/DVD combo drive
Sound	Any sound card and speakers/headphones	Any sound card and speakers/headphones
Monitor	15" SVGA monitor	15" LCD monitor
Video card	4M display card	32M display card
Printer	Any printer	Inkjet or laser
Mouse	Any mouse	Optical mouse
Modem	28800 bps AUSTEL (or local telco) approved modem	56K or ADSL or cable modem, or any other means of Internet connection
Operating system	Windows 2000	Windows XP Pro

Multimedia Students

Students enrolled in multimedia based courses or subjects will also need to deal with large files for assignment submission. Although it is possible to transfer such files via the Internet it can take a long period of time unless you have high speed Internet access such as a cable modem. Such students should consider a CD burner to be essential.

Operating System

If you purchase a new system then it will most likely be delivered with Windows XP (Home or Pro) pre-installed.

An alternative to Windows is Linux. Linux is a free Unix-type operating system originally created by Linus Torvalds with the assistance of developers around the world. Linux is an independent POSIX implementation and includes true multitasking, virtual memory, shared libraries, demand loading, proper memory management, TCP/IP networking, and other features consistent with Unix-type systems. Developed under the GNU General Public License, the source code for Linux is freely available to everyone. Linux can run Java for use in the core programming subjects, plus a range of other software which would be used across your course. Requirements for most subjects can be met by working in the Linux environment. At this point in time, GSCIT recommends that you use the Fedora Core distribution.

If you do set up Linux, your PC should also be able to run Windows, since some subjects (particularly electives) use software specific to Windows platforms. It is possible to install both Linux and Windows on separate hard disk partitions and use both systems on the one machine.