Per policy, ME Information Technology and the ME Finance team are required to approve and/or be made aware of ALL computer-related purchases PRIOR to finalizing your purchase. This includes ALL methods of Procurement (ProCard, UT Market, Amazon Business accounts, Purchase Orders). This ensures all compute devices are Business/Enterprise models, meet university compliance (regardless of Operating System), and is approved for the university networks (wired & wireless).
Computing equipment purchased that does not meet university standards or compliance must go through an exception process with the campus Information Security Office and ME IT. Without approval, these devices may not be placed into production and may need to be returned or will not be placed on the UT network (wired and/or wireless).
For support and security reasons, computers SHOULD NOT be retrieved from surplus to be repurposed for use in the department as a way to reduce the financial burden of procuring supported computers. Peripheral IT equipment (monitors, keyboard, mouse, etc) retrieved from surplus will not be supported if they experience issues and will be treated similar to personal equipment. If there are valid budget constraints for procuring standardized new computers, ME IT can work with you on cheaper alternatives
Please read the Computing Purchasing Policy

Dell Business/Enterprise Models

ME IT will consult with you on specific models depending on budget, any requirements, and specific compute-heavy usage while meeting the minimum hardware, security and support standards. We also strive to standardize wherever we can to reduce IT support overhead and security complexities supporting a wide variety of models.

Laptops are strongly encouraged for individual employees wherever possible.
Purchasing multiple computers for individual usage should not be proliferated if avoidable. For example, “I have a desktop/laptop in my office, a desktop/laptop I use a home, and a laptop I teach/travel with.” This can likely all be condensed to a single laptop with peripheral equipment (monitor(s), keyboard/mouse, dock, etc) setup at any location to have a desktop-like work environment.
- Reduces your computing complexities, file management issues, and security risk exposure.
- Reduces your IT budget and inventory duties.
- Reduces IT support issues and general IT overhead/costs.

General Use Laptops

2-in-1/Tablets

Mobile Workstations

General Use Desktops

Workstations

Servers

Peripherals

Dell Latitude 5000 series and up

For light to moderate office/teaching use as well as non-essential research lab use. Your every-day driver.

Dell Latitude 2-in-1 w/ Active Pen
Dell Latitude Detachable w/ Keyboard and Active Pen
Surface for Business Devices (to meet specific needs that Dell doesn’t have)

For light to moderate office/teaching use where pen functionality is needed.

Dell Precision Mobile

Higher-performance hardware and research needs. Workstation-class hardware including ECC RAM and mobile workstation GPUs.

Dell OptiPlex

For light to moderate office and non-essential research lab use. Your every-day driver when you need more performance or options that a laptop can’t provide.

Dell Precision Towers

Higher-performance hardware and research needs. Workstation-class hardware including Xeon/Threadripper Pro CPUs, ECC RAM and workstation GPUs.

Contact mech-it@austin.utexas.edu for consultation.

Dell P and U-series Monitors w/ USB-C

Dell Docks where applicable

Dell Keyboards and Mice

Dell Webcams

Dell Headsets

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/accessories

Apple macOS

All Apple computing devices such as MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac Pro, and Mac Mini are approved/compliant and support native encryption (FileVault). However, we will recommend specific “Pro” models in most use cases.

Per university policy, engagement with ME IT and the ME Finance Team is still required prior to purchasing.

Custom Vendor-Built Workstations

For meeting specific technical needs that Dell (or other approved OEM) can’t meet.
Computers are commonly bundled with research lab equipment. When possible, we highly recommend declining the vendor’s (likely overpriced, low-end) computer and putting that money towards a better computer processed through ME IT.
Computer must be able to be compliant with university endpoint management requirements.

Custom vendor-built custom workstations are compute devices built and warrantied by a vendor that may not be currently offered by a UT affiliated vendor (Dell, Lenovo, Apple, CDWG, SHI, Campus Computer) on UT Market. If there is a technical requirement for pursuing a vendor-built workstation, please consult with ME IT and your designated Procurement Officer. We will assist with identifying a reputable vendor, identify extended support options (warranty), and ensure the hardware meets compliance regardless of the Operating System requirement. We can also engage with a UT-affiliated vendor if your goal is solely to reduce the price of your purchase (no technical requirement).

Support: If a vendor-built device is under warranty, the ME IT may provide assistance by working with your group to identify any hardware related concerns. ME IT will work with your group and/or designated Procurement Officer for any potential hardware returns.
Warranty: The warranty provided by these vendors may not always provide the quickest turnaround times compared to our typical Dell ProSupport next business day, onsite warranty. It may take a few days or weeks to fully resolve the reported issue and could require shipping the computer back.
TPM: The Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chipset is required. Please ensure the vendor can accommodate the TPM chipset in their custom builds.

Custom Self-Built Workstations

Custom self-built custom workstations/desktops are computers built by purchasing computer components separately, then building the computer yourself. Self-built custom workstations/desktops are highly discouraged, must be approved by ME IT and the department, and should only be reserved to meet a critical technical requirement not possible through an approved OEM computer (Dell). Self-built options are not an avenue to reduce the financial burden of a vendor-specific compute device such as Dell, Lenovo, or Apple. Besides security issues, there are hidden overhead costs to supporting self-built compute devices the user/group will inherit such as support/resolution delays leading to increased computer downtime.

Note: Installing a Windows operating system on a custom self-built system will also require you to purchase at least a Windows Home license. UT's Microsoft agreement does not allow Windows activation on a self-built system without a license purchase.

If a faculty research group opts to pursue a self-built custom device, the hardware components must meet university standards and compliance. The research group will inherit the obligation of building the system correctly before the ME IT begins the installation of the operating system. If ME IT encounters any technical difficulties with the custom-built device, the research group assumes liability and will need to work with the part's manufacturer or vendor(s) the part was purchased from to resolve the issue. This includes any future hardware malfunction. ME IT will only support operating system compliance and supported software.

Note: The Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chipset is required. This must be purchased with any custom self-built compute device, regardless of operating system.

Servers

Servers are either rack-mounted compute devices or systems running server tasks/operating systems. Most servers need to be located in the University Data Center which offers a secure, professional environment with redundant power and cooling systems and high-speed networking for a relatively low cost to ensure optimal performance and availability of critical research data.

When considering the purchase of a server, it is important to consider the follow:

Location of server: Where is the server going to be placed?
Server Size: Is there adequate space to host a server in your designated space?
Power consumption: Is there an adequate power source to run the server? What is the power supply wattage? How many power supplies are within the server?
Cooling: Do you know if the heat the server generates can be sustained in a lab? Elevated temperatures or humidity will decrease performance and reliability.
Server Noise: Will the server impact users in the lab or occupants in nearby rooms?

Virtual Machines

Please contact ME IT for consultation on any virtual machine needs.

UT Virtual Machine Gateway
TACC
AWS, GCP, Azure
Local options with VM clients including Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

Printers

ME provides department printing services for general ME teaching and administrative use. Please see this page for department printing information.
Please contact ME IT for consultation on any additional printing needs such as individual or small group printers. Required ME IT management for networked printers.