Recommended Technology Specs

Technology Information

Computer Requirement - Mechanical, Electrical, and Civil Engineering

There is no specific type or brand of laptop required for Mechanical, Electrical, or Civil Engineering majors. The Shiley School of Engineering provides all software to students via a Virtual Machine (VMware), therefore only a web browser is required.

Because of their use of CAD software, civil engineering students may consider owning the following peripherals: full-sized keyboard, external mouse, and large external monitor. A web cam will also be useful for participating in remote meetings.

You may consider owning a PC laptop instead of a Mac if you are going to download the software to your personal computer instead of using the VMware. Shop for a laptop that is a reliable mid-to-high tier machine that will last through your college years. Recommended specifications include:

• i5/i7 processors (stronger is better over 4 years)
• 16 GB ram recommended, more is probably better
• 1TB SSD storage
• NVIDIA or AMD discreet Graphics for Mechanical/Civil is good, can also be good for advanced CS things and generally makes the machine faster overall.

Computer Requirement - Computer Science

There is no specific brand or type of laptop required, however the Computer Science major recommends students have the following laptop specifications:

• SSD (recommend 1 TB+)
• Fast CPU (recommend 4-core 3 GHz+ for processor)
• Sufficient RAM to run multiple programs (recommend 16 GB+; 32 GB+ is better)
• Graphics card (recommend NVIDIA GeForce RTX series or AMD Radeon RX line)
• Full-sized keyboard
• External mouse

Either a Mac or a PC is fine. If you select a PC, consider installing Linux as either a primary or secondary (dual boot) OS

Best advice: purchase the best laptop the student can afford to last through the college years

Optional purchases:

• External hard drive (optional for backups)
• Large monitor for second display  (optional if student wants more permanent work station)

If you are unsure of which major you will pursue, try to pick a computer that will work for each of the majors you are interested in. Feel free to contact engineering@up.edu if you have any questions.