If you are using University funds to purchase equipment, the Office of Smith IT can help you make your decision and can sometimes even get a better price on an item if we can tack your order onto a bulk purchase, so feel free to contact us for advice.   It is not required that we be involved, but please be aware that our ability to provide support for non-standard systems is limited, so contacting us first may be an important factor in making your decision. 

See http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/smithit/itpolicies.html#buying  for more information about our resources for supporting non-standard computers and peripherals.   

Once you make your selection, the Business Office can order the items you choose and charge your university account directly.  The person in that office who manages your account can help you place the order.  They will track the order and see that the appropriate account is charged.  When your purchase arrives simply email helpme@rhsmith.umd.edu if you want a technician to help you install it.   

You can shop from any vendor you prefer, but here are a couple of commonly used websites that give you UMD pricing:

Dell and Apple computers:

Go to OIT's ACT - Academic Computers for Terps page.  Log in with your University Directory ID (the same login you use for Blackboard, eSmith portal, or timesheets.umd.edu).  The prices for personal use are different than those when using University funds, so if you plan to use a University account make sure you select “institutional purchases” rather than “personal purchases”.

NOTE:  Their offerings may be different than our "standard" computer.  Since support by this office for non-standard computers is different than support for standard systems, please make sure you check with a consultant from our Helpdesk before you purchase your system if you will ever need our help installing or troubleshooting this computer.

HP printers:

UMCP contracted vendor, ISMART, has always had competitive prices for HP printers.  The way to receive their discount on is to decide which printer models you're interested in from some other source first - you can get information about models from HP's website if you don’t know what you want - and then call  ISMART for their UMCP price. 

As always, the Business Office can help you place the order if you're using a UMCP account.  Just take them the part number you want them to order. 

NOTE:  Don’t forget to get a cable to connect the printer to your computer!!  They never ship with a cable and we don’t maintain a stock of them.  ISMART can help with this.