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Mac Desktop Recommendations

ECN's User and Desktop Services group is frequently asked to provide specifications and Purdue pricing for new Macintosh desktop computers. These models are designed to provide sufficient performance for most faculty, staff, and graduate staff for at least 4 years.

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Mac interoperability concerns

Incompatibilities and interoperability issues do arise between Macs and PCs. For example, because the Mac edition of Microsoft Outlook is architecturally different from Outlook for Windows and lacks some comparable features, managing shared calendars is problematic. Microsoft PowerPoint has occasional trouble with presentations created in the PC edition (and vice versa). Some software might not be available for Macs. If you and/or your workgroup rely heavily on e-mail-, contacts-, and calendar-sharing features provided in the Office365 environment (as typically accessed using Microsoft Outlook on a PC), please contact ECN to discuss how or whether a new Mac would address these needs.

We are not discouraging people from purchasing Macs, but we don't want them to think a Mac is going to work flawlessly in the Purdue environment. It's easier for faculty, significantly less so for staff with administrative functions.

Macintosh Desktops

Last updated April 5, 2022.  Faculty, staff, and graduate staff placing orders with Purdue funds should contact us for up-to-date pricing and to place all orders. Refurbished Macs cannot be purchased on University funds. An Apple Trade-in program does not currently exist between the University and Apple.

ECN's purchasing philosophy is to attempt to right-size all purchases for both current and long-term needs. Mac's largely no longer are capable of hardware upgrades. The goal of our purchasing is to improve upon the storage and RAM of the previous Mac and to upgrade the RAM specifically as much as possible within budget and storage as much as is expected to not be filled within 3 or 4 years.

ECN usually purchases these Macintosh models:

All-in-one: iMac 27-inch(Intel) models have very limited configurations. iMac 24-inch(M1 Apple Silicon) we do not currently recommend.

High-performance workstation:

Mac Pro(Intel) Mac Pro does not include a keyboard, mouse, or monitor; these are available at additional cost.

Mac Studio(M1 Apple Silicon) Mac Studio does not include a keyboard, mouse, or monitor; these are available at additional cost.
 
Entry-level: Mac mini(Intel and M1 Apple Silicon) Mac Mini does not include a keyboard, mouse, or monitor; these are available at additional cost.
 

To get an estimate of current specs and pricing, visit this page: https://www.apple.com/us_edu_210880/shop Intel Macs are capable of driving two screens, including the iMac models (even if you intend to use only the built-in monitor). M1(Apple Silicon) Macs have varying abilities to drive extra external displays. Monitors and other additional options and accessories are available at additional cost. ECN purchases AppleCare (four-year warranty coverage) with every Mac.

When you're ready to order, please contact us to discuss your specific needs. We'll confirm the order details and ask you to provide the Purdue account number to be charged (working as needed with your business office). ECN will also handle placing the order.

Some additional caveats, in no particular order:

  • Apple store shipment estimates are NOT APPLICABLE to Purdue purchases - Expedited shipping is unavailable.
  • Please do not dial down specs in order to artificially save money - we've come up with minimum specs for good reason
  • We would be happy to consult with you at any time in the purchasing process - the earlier the better. 

 

 

Last Modified: Apr 5, 2022 4:02 pm America/New_York
Created: Apr 2, 2010 12:54 pm GMT-4 by admin
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