Sunday Software's Hardware Recommendations

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Hardware Recommendations & Suggested Minimums
for computers in Christian education
(Last Updated November 2009)

Hardware can be a blessing or a curse. Poor hardware can be the greatest source of headaches and wasted effort in your lab. And you can have too much or too little. Read this webpage, then if you're setting up a lab for the first time, read my book. I'm now in my 17th year of teaching with software in Christian education. Learn from my and other people's experiences, mistakes and successes.

Avoid making costly and frustrating mistakes. I'm ready to help you consider your options, and give you an expert opinion about your hardware, software and lessons. My email address is neil@sundaysoftware.com and my name is Neil MacQueen. You are not "bugging me" when you ask for help. This is my ministry.

Neil MacQueen
Sunday Software Inc.
1-800-678-1948
neil@sundaysoftware.com See if I'm Live Online Now to chat

Recommendations about Older Computers

Recommendations about New Computers

We prefer XP and Windows Vista is a reasonable second choice. Most of our software will run fine on Vista, but in several cases you need to "tweak" Vista in order to get a good program to run. Some our of software will not run in Vista. See our Vista Compatibility List.

Our Latest Suggested Minimum
for those getting started with USED computers...

As of October 2009 we are recommending you seriously consider getting started with nothing less than this:

Windows XP (and updated with the latest service pack)
1.6 ghz processor or higher.
1 mb Ram or more.
DVD-capable CD Rom drive.
Minimum 32 megabytes of VideoRAM, "3-D accelerated graphics" videocard/chip.**
Internet access**

This level of "used" machine which will allow you to run everything currently on the market, and likely to come out within the next three years in Christian software. A lot of businesses and church members have these types of machines available for donation. Just make sure they don't come with problems.

Something slightly LESS powerful than the above specs will be able to run many good titles from the past few years, but won't get you too far into the future. Forewarning: Older computers that get donated to churches often need a thorough technical cleaning and some hardware updates.

Used Computers to be wary of: No-name brands, Emachines, Compaq, and Dell's Optiplex line. They tend to come with substandard parts and problems. The Optiplex line of office computers from Dell seem to be particularly problematic. If you get them, expect to at least upgrade them with new videocards.

**Internet Access: today's operating systems need to be able to update themselves. If you're starting with used XP computers, you'll want to go to Microsoft's website and download the latest updates. Your lab doesn't need dedicated or constant internet access. You just need to be able to get your computers updated every so often, and especially at the outset.

**If you get used computers that are more than 4 years old, you should expect that they will need additional RAM memory and perhaps a new inexpensive but capable videocard.

Advice on Buying New Computers

November 2009...
If I was buying a NEW computer today for my Sunday School....

I would look for a good XP installed computer. They still sell them. Vista is ok too. We do not have any data on Windows 7 yet.

What computer specs? I tell folks to buy the computer "one level above the basic budget machine they are offering." In other words, do not buy the cheapest thing they got.

When buying new, it's a very good idea to get as much RAM as you can afford. Also, select the upgraded videocard if offered. (I recommend Nvidia and ATI brand videochips. They are the best).

Pretty much ANY "near" lower-end desktop or laptop you can buy these days is going to be PLENTY powerful enough for your Sunday School to run all our software for many years to come. You are not multi-tasking or guiding the space shuttle.

Stick with a good name brand. In my personal opinion, Acer, Gateway, Dell, Sony are making good computers. I would not buy a Compaq, or emachine.

Windows XP is still a good choice. Windows Vista is good too. Don't believe the naysayers who bash every new Microsoft release. For your purposes at church, XP or Vista is just fine. However, SOME of our software won't run in Vista. So if you have old software from us that you still want to use, check our Vista compatibility notes FIRST.

Do not consider Macs for Christian education use. Way too many good titles won't run on them.

We are now strongly suggesting the labs have some sort of internet connectivity to keep their operating systems and hardware up-to-date. New computers and systems are built to be updated. Read our book for details about how to do this without necessarily having dedicated/open internet access in your church lab. At this time we are not recommending use of the internet as a learning resource for most children and youth Christian education classes.

Flat Panel or CRT ? (the old big box monitors)
Either or, with a slight preference for the older CRT monitors. Why? Desk space is rarely an issue in a dedicated computer lab. And flat panel monitors don't look as good when viewed from the side as CRTs. And you'll have multiple users per monitor. 19" CRT and 17" flatpanels are the way to go.

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About other operating systems...

OS X: Unfortunately, many programs made to run on OS 8 or 9 cannot be run in OS X, unless you switch to "classic mode."

And many good Mac-made programs will not run in the newer OS 4 and 5.

If you have a newer Intel based Mac machine, there is no Classic Mode and it can't run some good software that was designed for the pre-Macintel era. These issues and given that too many good titles are Windows only make it extremely hard to recommend Mac computers for Christian education use. Blame whoever, the reality is the same.

Windows 95: No way.

Windows 98/Me: Don't do it. Even though 98/Me WILL RUN about 40% of the available Christian software, the odds are that the HARDWARE upon which Win98/Me is installed -at this date in time- is weak or may have problems, and that Win98 itself might be wacked, un-updated, or difficult to work with.

Windows 2000: NO. We strongly recommend NOT using W2000, and definitely not NT. Too many good titles won't run on W2. We do not offer tech support to Windows 2000.

Windows XP runs everything in our catalog.

Windows Vista (32 bit not 64)
~ A good choice with caveats. Read our full report on Windows Vista and our software. You WILL have to make some tweaks to Vista in order to run some of our titles. If you don't have good technical help, stick with XP.

Windows 7 ~ We expect few problems as Windows 7 is being touted as backwards compatible for more software.

We will test all our software on Windows 7 by the end of January 2010. We are waiting for the first bevy of compatibility tweaks and updates to be released.

Answers to Other Frequently Asked Questions

Need more help? Read the book, Teaching with Computers in Christian Education

How Many Computer do you Need?

The # of Computers you put in your "lab" will dramatically impact your software budget, the ability of the teachers to sit with kids AT the computers, and the amount of SOUND cacophony you have to deal with in the lab. Beware of over-sizing your lab with too many computers. Even if you have a lot of money and a big room and lots of kids, I strongly caution churches against creating computer labs which are beyond their long-term capacity to resource and manage. Read my book for more set up details.

How Many of Each CD will you Need?

In most cases, you must buy one copy of a program for each computer you want to run it on. Only some CDs come with "site licenses" which allow you to put them on many computer. Most Christian programs must be purchased in quantity. It is illegal to copy a CD from one computer to another without a site license. It is illegal to "network" a CD to various stations. In general, you will need one CD of a program per computer you want it to run on. There are only a few exceptions. If someone suggests that you illegally use software so you can teach the Bible, set them straight. Article: Site Licensing & Software Quantity Issues

How Many Students Per Computer?

In most cases you will be putting 2 or 3 students in front of each computer.

Apple/Mac for Sunday School software ~ Not Recommended: We STRONGLY recommend Windows based PCs. Why? because there are quite a few excellent programs which only run in Window. And in addition, newer Macs with Intel chips no longer have "Classic Mode" to run some of the older Mac capable software available. The issue is not hardware superiority. For the rather narrow use of CE software in a church/volunteer environment, software AVAILABILITY and hardware costs are the superior issues.

Only a few newer Christian education programs can run on OS X 10.4 or higher with an Intel chip. Blame Apple for their lack of backwards compatibility to software made for their systems.

What about Linux? ~ Not Recommended

Not recommended. Too many tweaks would be required by a Linux specialist for the average church to put up with the hassle. Not going to argue with our Linux friends. Just the way it is.

How soon will my equipment become out of date?

"The older the sooner." Based on our knowledge of the Christian software industry and the tools used to make multimedia software, you can expect NEW computers purchased today to be more than suitable for four to five years without an upgrade -and longer with a modest upgrade down the road (perhaps more RAM, operating system update, faster videocard). It is important to note: If you build a good library of software that runs on those new computers over that period of time, and those computers are taken care of, and you didn't want to buy any new software after you built your library, you could conceivably run the lab for many more years. However, this technology IS moving forward. The kinds of software that may be out in five years may excite you to replace your equipment.

Do I need Internet Access?

YES...you will most likely NEED it or find "quite handy". Today's operating systems and hardware are built to be updated/fixed via the internet. It will make your techie's life easier and keep your computers in better shape. It can be a permanent connection, or you can occasionally bring it into your computer lab to perform upgrades (using, a long cable, or wireless, or a 3G wireless internet card).

HOWEVER, you do not have to have internet access for teaching lessons, though some churches DO use internet resources during classtime. This is an area where you might say "yes, but not quite yet."

How many computers do I need for my class?

The better question is "how many can you support?" Having 8 computers, one teacher and almost no software budget is ridiculous. But that's occasionally what we hear from churches who have suddenly had old computers or a large check dumped in their lap. In general, we recommend churches have a 2:1 ratio of computers to teachers. Adjust your class size in the lab according to what you can support.

"It's easier to buy one more computer if you discover you need it, than to try and give one back you don't need." --Neilocrates

Do I need a printer?

Yes, many programs have print features. We recommend buying inexpensive inkjet printers. Top notch office quality is unnecessary. We recommend a 2:1 ratio or computers to printers if you'll be networking them. Why? Because kids don't have all day to wait for their color printing projects to print out.

Can I network my computers?

The only reason to network computers is to share printers, conduct operating system maintenance, or share Internet access. Networking computers to share software is illegal if you don't have a network or site license for that software. Read my DETAILED ANSWER TO THE NETWORKING QUESTION

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Can I copy or network software from one computer to others?

Almost all Christian software is licensed to you for use on one computer only. It is VERY illegal to copy programs/CDs.
There are two exceptions... 1) when you are copying only a small file from one program to another computer, such as in the case of making a quiz question set on one and distributing it to other computers where there is a copy of the quiz software. 2) When you are copying for ARCHIVE purposes. You can make a copy of a program for safe storage. You may not use it while the original copy is still in use.

Can I buy site licenses or network copies of this software?

Sunday Software (us) has begun to offer "site licenses" on a limited number of our own programs. Most software however, must be purchased individually for each computer. We strongly recommend you purchase your software based on the average attendance you will experience during the time of year you are using the software (ie, if you have 4 computers but during the summer months will only have 4 kids in the lab, you only need two copies of the program you want to teach with during that time of the year.)

There are different types of "networks." We recommend networking to share printers. The concept of networking stations to a central "server" to run one copy of a program out to several stations is technically expensive, rather non-feasible for most churches, and in most cases it is highly illegal to distribute the software in such a manner. Read my DETAILED ANSWER TO THE LICENSING, NETWORKING QUESTION

Should I use headphones?

Please don't. What's the point of trying to teach a Bible lesson if the kids can't hear the teacher? For more on this, go read "Get Thee Behind Me Headphones."

How BIG should the monitor be?

If you will have two or more students per computer, we strongly recommend 17" monitors, or even 19" if you can afford them.

Do I need a DVD capable CD rom player on my computer?

2 of our programs come on DVD: The ILumina Bible and Kid Pix.

What's the best way to set up my computers in a teaching situation?

Start small, keep your computers separated from each other with plenty of room and sound buffering between them. Make sure there is a spot for the teacher to sit down and go through the software with the kids (and not just watching them). Read my book and articles on the subject.

Where can I find teacher training and lesson planning resources for using Christian software in my church?

Read our book Teaching with Computers in Christian Education

View our Software Recommendations