These guidelines cover graduate workstation options in the School of Computer Science. Before the beginning of the term, the supervisor/advisor of a new full-time graduate student in the PhD, MMath (thesis option) or MMath (research paper option) program is asked to specify what desktop equipment will be provided on the student's desk.
All options will provide access to Windows, Unix and Linux servers in the general computing environment, as well as the student environment.
Please note that most faculty are covered by a Research Support Subscription and the cost of the workstation is included in that support. In those cases, there is no additional cost for requesting a workstation for your graduate student. A small number of faculty do not have a support subscription and can request a basic workstation with no support from Research Support Group (RSG). They can, however, get help from our CSCF Help Desk.
In order to choose an option, repsond to the email you received from "RT" with your preference
These are the current options:
- Option one: Laptop or desktop PC with Linux OS (no support)
Provided at no cost to researcher. There is no RSG support of this equipment. If there is a problem with the equipment, it will be swapped out with a replacement. Contact the CSCF Help Desk if you need service. Please note that machines are selected from a pool of computers that may include older machines that have been returned, as well as machines recently purchased. There are no guarantees about which machine a specific student might receive.
- Option two: Laptop with Linux OS (RSG support)
The School can provide a laptop that meets or exceeds Computer Science Computing Facility (CSCF) workstation standards. Students will be given administrator privileges on this machine, so that they can install any additional software they may require. An on-going subscription to research computing support is required. If the faculty supervisor is already part of a group that has a subscription, this machine can be added to it. Otherwise, they can get their own, individual subscription. Please note that machines are selected from a pool of computers that may include older machines that have been returned, as well as machines recently purchased. There are no guarantees about which machine a specific student might receive.
Support is provided by one of the Research Support Group staff, who will be assigned as your Point of Contact. You may also request assistance from the CSCF Help Desk if your Point of Contact is not available when you need them.
Fall 2022/Winter 2023 Specifications (may vary based on availability):
- ThinkPad P15s Gen 2 20W7S16200 - Intel Core i7-1165G7 Processor (2.80 GHz, up to 4.70 GHz with Turbo Boost, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 12 MB Cache) - 16 GB DDR4 3200MHz Onboard - 512 GB SSD, M.2 2280, PCIe NVMe, OPAL, TLC - NVIDIA Quadro T500 GDDR6 4GB - 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Anti-Glare 300nits Multitouch -100/1000 Ethernet - Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 2x2ax, Bluetooth - Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit - Lenovo 3Y Onsite Warranty
- Option three: Laptop with Microsoft Windows OS (RSG Support)
The School can provide a laptop that meets or exceeds Computer Science Computing Facility (CSCF) workstation standards. Students will be given administrator privileges on this machine, so that they can install any additional software they may require. An on-going subscription to research computing support is required. If the faculty supervisor is already part of a group that has a subscription, this machine can be added to it. Otherwise, they can get their own, individual subscription. Please note that machines are selected from a pool of computers that may include older machines that have been returned, as well as machines recently purchased. There are no guarantees about which machine a specific student might receive.
Support is provided by one of the Research Support Group staff, who will be assigned as your Point of Contact. You may also request assistance from the CSCF Help Desk if your Point of Contact is not available when you need them.
Fall 2022/Winter 2023 specifications: (same as Option 2)
- Option four: MacBook Air
The School can provide a laptop that meets or exceeds Computer Science Computing Facility (CSCF) workstation standards. Students will be given administrator privileges on this machine, so that they can install any additional software they may require. An on-going subscription to research computing support is required. If the faculty supervisor is already part of a group that has a subscription, this machine can be added to it. Otherwise, they can get their own, individual subscription. Please note that machines are selected from a pool of computers that may include older machines that have been returned, as well as machines recently purchased. There are no guarantees about which machine a specific student might receive.
Support is provided by one of the Research Support Group staff, who will be assigned as your Point of Contact. You may also request assistance from the CSCF Help Desk if your Point of Contact is not available when you need them.
Fall 2022/Winter 2023 specifications: 13-inch MacBook Air - Space Gray, 16-core Neural Engine, Apple M1 w/ 8 core CPU, 7 core GPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, AppleCare+
- Option five: Advisor-provided desktop
This option allows for the faculty supervisor or the graduate student to provide their own preferred equipment. A network connection will be provided at no charge. If desired, the machine can be supported through a research support subscription.
- Option six: Research "Loaner" PC
We have now standardized to providing laptops for graduate students, but we may have some older desktop machines. These can either be in the form of a small form-factor Intel NUC or a desktop PC with an Nvidia GPU. Here are the specifications for those machines:
Intel Nuc: Intel Skull Canyon NUC, Intel® Core™ i7-6770HQ processor with Intel® Iris™ Pro graphics (2.6 to 3.5 GHz Turbo, Quad Core, 6 MB Cache, 45W TDP), 16GB DDR4 RAM, Samsung 500GB M.2 SSD
Desktop PC: ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R.20, AMD X8 FX-8370E (95W) 3.3GHz (4.3GHz Turbo) , 16GB RAM, SEAGATE 2TB SSHD, EVGA 750 Ti SUPERCLOCKED 2GB
Our CSCF Infrastructure group maintains details on the above equipment. You can see that on their Recommended Hardware page. Please note that "Current" refers to the latest models that are being ordered, "Minimum" refers to older models that are still available for assignment to students. There is no particular guarantee as to which equipment you may receive.
