Personal Computer Purchasing

Processor – dual core 2.4 GHz+ (i5 or i7 series Intel processor or equivalent AMD)

RAM – 16 GB

Hard Drive – 256 GB or larger solid state hard drive

Graphics Card – any with DisplayPort/HDMI or DVI support – desktop only

Wireless (for laptops) – 802.11ac (WPA2 support required)

Monitor – 23″ widescreen LCD with DisplayPort/HDMI or DVI support – desktop only

Operating System – Windows 10 Home or Professional editions, or Apple OS X 10.14

Warranty – 3 year warranty – desktop only

Warranty – 4 year warranty with accidental damage protection – laptop only

Backup Device – External hard drive and/or USB Flash Drive

Processor – dual core @ 2.4 GHz (i5 or i7 Intel processor or equivalent AMD)

RAM – 8 GB

Hard Drive – 320 GB 5400 RPM hard drive

Wireless (for laptops) – 802.11g/n (WPA2 support required)

Operating System – Windows 10 or Apple OS X 10.13

Backup Device – External hard drive and/or USB Flash Drive

Recommended Specifications

• Multicore Intel I9 or similar Ryzen CPU

• 16 to 32 GB of RAM

• An SSD (solid state drive) hard drive of at least 512GB

• A good stand-alone graphics card with on-board memory;

  • an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, or comparable AMD alternative are a good choice

  • the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 card is more capable, but expensive for a novice system.

• A monitor resolution of at least 1080; ideally 1920×1080.

Students tend to purchase HP, Lenovo, Apple, or similar devices.

• Desktop PCs often provide more value than laptops, though will require the purchase of a monitor.

• A good warranty is important for all devices

We do not recommend spending significant amounts of money on a computer. 

• Appropriate computers are available for $1,500-$2,000, though many also have success purchasing official refurbished devices

• Generally, a computer that plays video games well, will be appropriate for making games.