Student Laptop Specifications

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

Laptop Computer Requirements for Summer/Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 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  • However this laptop will be outdated quickly and may only be good for 1-2 years.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 – 4th/5th Generation Intel i3/i5
  • 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  • This laptop will likely be outdated and may only be good for 2-3 years.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 – 5th/6th Generation Intel i5/i7
  • Operating System – Windows 7/10 64 bit
  • Memory – 8 GB
  • Hard Drive – 256 GB Solid State (350-400 MB/s read and write speeds)
  • Video Card – 2-4 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  • This laptop will likely be outdated after 3-4 years but will continue to function very well into years 4 and 5.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 – 6th Generation Intel i7/Xeon
  • Operating System – Windows 7/10 64 bit
  • Memory – 16 GB
  • Hard Drive – 256 GB - 512 GB Solid State (350-400 MB/s read and write speeds)
  • Video Card – 2-4 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