A computer with the following basic specs should be sufficient for online distance learning. Your department may have additional requirements, so please check with them also.

• 480GB hard drive or higher (250GB+ SSD primary drive highly recommended)
• 8GB RAM (16GB preferred)
• 2.0 GHz Intel or AMD processor or higher
• Windows 10 (1809) or later/ MacOS 10.13 or later
• Firefox and Chrome Browsers (latest versions)
• Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0 or later
• Anti-virus program (updated regularly, free options)
• Computer microphone and speakers or headphones
• Web Camera
• High-speed internet connection  (15Mbit/s download and 10Mbit/s upload) If several users are using the internet connection at the same time, a faster plan may be needed.
  Cable-based connections tend to be more stable than DSL. Consider smaller providers for added savings.
• Wired ethernet connection from the computer to the router is preferable to WiFi.

For 3D work, a graphics card such as Nvidia 600 series and AMD HD 7000 series or newer

**We would recommend an Apple computer because it can also run Windows if there is some special software you absolutely need. It will also be better supported when you initiate a remote desktop connection to our lab machines since they are mostly Macs.