{"id":319,"date":"2024-05-20T12:09:06","date_gmt":"2024-05-20T12:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/operations\/?p=319"},"modified":"2024-05-24T16:13:18","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T16:13:18","slug":"older-computer-recommendations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/operations\/319\/older-computer-recommendations\/","title":{"rendered":"Older Computer Recommendations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

NOTE: All students should have a full computer, at least an older computer, available for coursework at the beginning of their first year. Using a phone only will not work for courses<\/span>.<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

ALL departments require students to have a computer with minimum specifications. Computers that do not meet minimum specifications may prevent students from completing course assignments. <\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Please read this page AND the general information<\/a> before spending money on computer hardware and software.<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

EACH DEPARTMENT HAS DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This chart provides minimum recommendations for students bringing older computers to campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please read the College\u2019s Student Computing Requirements General Information<\/a> page for general information before spending money on computer hardware or software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on your needs, you should expect an older computer to be useful for no more than a year. If you plan to bring an older computer to campus, it should meet, or preferably, exceed these minimum recommendations. Contact your department office for specific hardware and software requirements for coursework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Components<\/strong><\/td>Windows Desktop or Laptop<\/strong><\/td>Macintosh Desktop or Laptop<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
CPU (Processor) or Model<\/strong><\/td>Minimum: Any model using Intel Core i5 or later processors<\/td>Minimum: Any Intel processor iMac, Mac Mini, Mac Pro or MacBook Pro<\/td><\/tr>
System RAM<\/strong><\/td>8 GB minimum, more preferred<\/td>Same as PC<\/td><\/tr>
Hard Drive (Storage)<\/strong><\/td>512 GB SSD minimum, more preferred (multiple drives are fine)<\/td>Same as PC<\/td><\/tr>
Monitor\/Display<\/strong><\/td>14\u2033 or larger (second external monitor optional)<\/td>Same as PC<\/td><\/tr>
Graphics Processor Unit (GPU) <\/strong>Should have a discrete GPU.<\/em><\/td>2 GB VRAM or more<\/td>Same as PC<\/td><\/tr>
Operating System<\/strong><\/td>Windows 10 or later.<\/td>Mac OS 12.0 (Monterey) or later<\/td><\/tr>
Audio<\/strong><\/td>Standard on most PCs<\/td>Standard on most computers<\/td><\/tr>
Network Adapters<\/strong><\/td>Wi-Fi card or adapter<\/td>Same as PC<\/td><\/tr>
Backup<\/strong><\/td>External Drive \u2013\u00a0Windows Backup<\/a>\u00a0(external drive needs to be at least twice the computer\u2019s storage capacity)
Cloud Backup Services \u2013\u00a0Google One<\/a>\u00a0(Only Non-NCSU Google Accounts),\u00a0iCloud<\/a>, or another\u00a0backup service<\/a><\/td>		External Drive \u2013\u00a0Time Machine<\/a>\u00a0(external drive needs to be at least twice the computer\u2019s storage capacity)
Cloud Backup Services \u2013\u00a0Google One<\/a>\u00a0(Only Non-NCSU Google Accounts),\u00a0iCloud<\/a>, or another\u00a0backup service<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Warranty Service<\/strong><\/td>Minimum 3-year onsite parts and labor (OK if warranty has expired)<\/td>Same as PC<\/td><\/tr>
Software<\/strong>
Be sure to check for educational discounts through the College of Design or\u00a0Wolfpack Outfitters<\/a>.

Many Autodesk products are available free through\u00a0Autodesk\u2019s Education Community<\/a>.

Additional software may be required for certain courses.\u00a0Additional software may be required for certain courses.<\/td>		\u2022\u00a0Microsoft Office 365<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(free to NCSU students)

\u2022\u00a0Adobe Creative Cloud<\/a><\/strong><\/td>		Same as PC<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Questions? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The College’s Information Technology staff will be glad to go over purchase choices or answer any related questions. You can send an email to design_help@ncsu.edu<\/a> or use t<\/a>his form to contact the College Information Technology staff<\/a> with specific information about your problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NOTE: All students should have a full computer, at least an older computer, available for coursework at the beginning of their first year. Using a phone only will not work…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":391,"featured_media":328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"displayCategoryID\":11,\"showAuthor\":false,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"showReadingTime\":false,\"subtitle\":\"ALL departments require students to have a computer with minimum specifications. Computers that do not meet minimum specifications may prevent students from completing course assignments.\"}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[10,14],"displayCategory":{"term_id":11,"name":"Computer Requirements","slug":"computer-requirements","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":11,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":9,"filter":"raw"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/operations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/operations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/operations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/operations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/391"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/operations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/operations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19789,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/operations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions\/19789"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/operations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/operations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/operations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/operations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}