It is highly recommended that all freshmen engineering students starting fall 2017 purchase laptop computers. 

Laptop Computer Requirements for Summer/Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 Entering Engineering Students

 

Good Engineering Laptop:

Overview

• This laptop will meet the minimum requirements
• However this laptop will be outdated quickly and may only be good for 1-2 years.
• Products like AutoCAD and Matlab will load and run but will take more time to complete their operations.

Specifications

• Processor – 6^th/7^th Generation 
• Operating System – Windows 7/10 64 bit
• Memory – 8 GB
• Hard Drive – 500 GB SATA (80 MB/s read and write speeds)
• Video Card – Upgraded Video with 1-2 GB video memory
• Display – 15” Standard Definition with 1920x1080 resolution
• Warranty – 1 or more years, 7+ days turn around

 

Better Engineering Laptop:

Overview

• This laptop will meet the minimum requirements
• This laptop will likely be outdated and may only be good for 2-3 years.
• Products like AutoCAD and Matlab will load and will run normally.

Specifications

• Processor – 7^th/8^th Generation
• Operating System – Windows 7/10 64 bit
• Memory – 16 GB
• Hard Drive – 256 GB Solid State (350-400 MB/s read and write speeds)
• Video Card – 4 GB video memory
• Display – 15” Standard Definition/High Definition with 1920x1080 resolution
• Warranty – 1 or more years, 7+ days turn around

 

Best Engineering Laptop:

Overview

• This laptop will exceed the minimum requirements but will not be "top of the line"
• This laptop will likely be outdated after 3-4 years but will continue to function very well into years 4 and 5.
• Products like AutoCAD and Matlab will load quickly and process data quickly

Specifications

• Processor – 8^th/9^th Generation
• Operating System – Windows 7/10 64 bit
• Memory – 32 GB
• Hard Drive – 1 TB  Solid State (350-400 MB/s read and write speeds)
• Video Card – 4 GB video memory
• Display – 15” or 17” High Definition with 1920x1080 resolution or Ultra High Definition with 3840x2160 resolution
• Warranty – 1 or more years, 7+ days turn around