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 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 2023/Winter 2024 Specifications (may vary based on availability):
- P14s Gen4:21HF001RUS EDGE 14" Mobile Workstation - WUXGA - 1920 x 1200 Touch Screen - Intel Core i7 13th Gen i7-1360P Dodeca-core (12 Core) - 32 GB Total RAM - 32 GB On-board Memory - 1 TB SSD - Villi Black - Intel Chip - Windows 11 Pro - NVIDIA RTX A500 - In-plane Switching (IPS) Technology - English Keyboard - Front Camera/Webcam - IEEE 802.11ax Wireless LAN Standard - 3 Years Lenovo Premier Support (Onsite NBD) + 3 Years Lenovo Sealed Battery Add On
- Option two: 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 three: 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 2024/Winter 2025 specifications: 13-inch MacBook Air M3 chip with 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU, 16GB, 512GB SSD - Space Gray with 35watt chargers, AppleCare+
- Option four: 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 five: Research "Loaner" PC
We have now standardized to providing laptops for graduate students, but we may have some older desktop machines. Currently, these are a small form-factor Intel NUC:
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
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.