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 requred.

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.

Computer Requirement - Computer Science

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

• SSD not HDD
• Good CPU (at least on par with a low-end gaming laptop)
• Enough RAM to comfortably run 2-3 resource intensive programs at once
• Full-sized keyboard
• External mouse
• External hard drive (optional for storage and backups)
• Large monitor in home (optional)
• Viable graphics card (if interested in Game Design, Machine Learning, or Computer Graphics electives)
• 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

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 contacct your Program Counselor with any questions:

Rebecca Neal (neal@up.edu)