{"id":7510,"date":"2020-05-11T15:43:35","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T19:43:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/?page_id=7510"},"modified":"2026-06-23T14:25:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T18:25:02","slug":"laptop-specs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/scs-laptop-requirement\/laptop-specs\/","title":{"rendered":"Laptop Specifications"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-5xl  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n            <div class=\"cu-textmedia flex flex-col lg:flex-row mx-auto gap-6 md:gap-10 my-6 md:my-12 first:mt-0 max-w-5xl\">\n        <div class=\"justify-start cu-textmedia-content cu-prose-first-last\" style=\"flex: 0 0 100%;\">\n            <header class=\"font-light prose-xl cu-pageheader md:prose-2xl cu-component-updated cu-prose-first-last\">\n                                    <h1 class=\"cu-prose-first-last font-semibold !mt-2 mb-4 md:mb-6 relative after:absolute after:h-px after:bottom-0 after:bg-cu-red after:left-px text-3xl md:text-4xl lg:text-5xl lg:leading-[3.5rem] pb-5 after:w-10 text-cu-black-700 not-prose\">\n                        Laptop Specifications\n                    <\/h1>\n                \n                                \n                            <\/header>\n\n                    <\/div>\n\n            <\/div>\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The School of Computer Science laptop hardware requirements are as follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"summary-requirements\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary Requirements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">PC or MAC laptops with the following minimum specifications:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>CPU: AMD Ryzen line or Apple M-chip or Intel i5\/i7\/i9\/Xeon<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>8 GB or more of RAM<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>256 GB or larger hard drive (SSD or NVMe drive recommended)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>wireless networking (WiFi)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>camera, mic, and audio<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>current Windows, MacOS or Linux operating system<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"not-prose cu-quote cu-component-spacing\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em class=\"myprefix-text-italic\">Computers such as Netbooks, Chromebooks, Smartphones or atom processors&nbsp;are not suitable&nbsp;for the Computer Science program<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 id=\"detailed-recommendations\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Detailed Recommendations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The detailed laptop hardware specifications are as follows. This will be particularly useful for anyone looking to purchase a new laptop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-5xl  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n        \n    \n    <dl class=\"cu-description cu-component-updated\">\n        \n    <div class=\"grid pt-4 pb-3 border-b accordion border-cu-black-100 md:pt-6 md:pb-5 first:border-t\">\n        <dt class=\"font-semibold not-prose\">\n            <button class=\"flex items-center justify-between w-full text-left accordion__button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-operating-system\">\n                <span class=\"flex-1 ml-auto text-left break-words whitespace-normal cu-icon\">\n                    Operating System\n                <\/span>\n                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" stroke=\"currentColor\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-slot=\"icon\" class=\"w-5 h-5 ml-auto transition-transform rotate-0 accordion__icon text-cu-black-500\">\n                    <path stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" d=\"M8.25 4.5l7.5 7.5-7.5 7.5\"><\/path>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/dt>\n        <dd class=\"p-0 mt-0 cu-prose cu-prose-first-last accordion__content md:p-0 md:mt-0\" hidden=\"\" id=\"accordion-operating-system\">\n            \n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The School of Computer Science does not require you to have a specific operating system on your laptop. You have a choice of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Linux,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>MAC OS,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and Microsoft Windows<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">as the native operating system on your laptop. You are required to run a current version of the O\/S, keep it patched, up to date and virus free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the details on laptop operating systems refer to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/scs-laptop-requirement\/laptop-operating-system\/\">Laptop Operating Systems<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n        <\/dd>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <div class=\"grid pt-4 pb-3 border-b accordion border-cu-black-100 md:pt-6 md:pb-5 first:border-t\">\n        <dt class=\"font-semibold not-prose\">\n            <button class=\"flex items-center justify-between w-full text-left accordion__button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-cpu\">\n                <span class=\"flex-1 ml-auto text-left break-words whitespace-normal cu-icon\">\n                    CPU\n                <\/span>\n                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" stroke=\"currentColor\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-slot=\"icon\" class=\"w-5 h-5 ml-auto transition-transform rotate-0 accordion__icon text-cu-black-500\">\n                    <path stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" d=\"M8.25 4.5l7.5 7.5-7.5 7.5\"><\/path>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/dt>\n        <dd class=\"p-0 mt-0 cu-prose cu-prose-first-last accordion__content md:p-0 md:mt-0\" hidden=\"\" id=\"accordion-cpu\">\n            \n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Intel i5\/i7\/i9\/Xeon or AMD Ryzen or M-chip Mac CPUs are ideal for Computer Science laptops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are other CPUs that can be used for the laptop. The defining criteria is that the CPU supports virtualization:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>AMD (AMD-V) processors such as the Ryzen line (x86)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Apple M-chip (ARM)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Intel (VT-x) processors such as: i5, i7, i9 or Xeon (x86)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Netbooks, Chromebooks, Smartphones or atom processors do not support virtualization and therefore do not qualify under these requirements.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CPU Notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The CPU must be 64-bit<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is no number of core requirement but recommended are 4 or more cores<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is no CPU frequency requirement although 2 GHz or better per core are recommended<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CPUs with hyper-threading support virtualization and are recommended (not a requirement)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>(*) Some Intel i3 processors support virtualization and can be used<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.intel.com\/content\/www\/us\/en\/support\/articles\/000005486\/processors.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Intel CPU: Does my processor support virtualization<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Apple M-chip\u2019s use the ARM architecture and will not run x86 software like Oracle Virtualbox or VMware Fusion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n        <\/dd>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <div class=\"grid pt-4 pb-3 border-b accordion border-cu-black-100 md:pt-6 md:pb-5 first:border-t\">\n        <dt class=\"font-semibold not-prose\">\n            <button class=\"flex items-center justify-between w-full text-left accordion__button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-memory\">\n                <span class=\"flex-1 ml-auto text-left break-words whitespace-normal cu-icon\">\n                    Memory\n                <\/span>\n                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" stroke=\"currentColor\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-slot=\"icon\" class=\"w-5 h-5 ml-auto transition-transform rotate-0 accordion__icon text-cu-black-500\">\n                    <path stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" d=\"M8.25 4.5l7.5 7.5-7.5 7.5\"><\/path>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/dt>\n        <dd class=\"p-0 mt-0 cu-prose cu-prose-first-last accordion__content md:p-0 md:mt-0\" hidden=\"\" id=\"accordion-memory\">\n            \n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Must have&nbsp; 8GB of RAM or more. If you have the budget we recommend 16 GB of RAM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Note: There is no speed requirement for RAM<\/p>\n\n\n        <\/dd>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <div class=\"grid pt-4 pb-3 border-b accordion border-cu-black-100 md:pt-6 md:pb-5 first:border-t\">\n        <dt class=\"font-semibold not-prose\">\n            <button class=\"flex items-center justify-between w-full text-left accordion__button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-disk-space\">\n                <span class=\"flex-1 ml-auto text-left break-words whitespace-normal cu-icon\">\n                    Disk Space\n                <\/span>\n                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" stroke=\"currentColor\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-slot=\"icon\" class=\"w-5 h-5 ml-auto transition-transform rotate-0 accordion__icon text-cu-black-500\">\n                    <path stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" d=\"M8.25 4.5l7.5 7.5-7.5 7.5\"><\/path>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/dt>\n        <dd class=\"p-0 mt-0 cu-prose cu-prose-first-last accordion__content md:p-0 md:mt-0\" hidden=\"\" id=\"accordion-disk-space\">\n            \n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br>Strongly suggest you invest in a Solid State Drive (SSD) hard drive because of the superior performance.<br>Hard drive: 256GB or larger SSD<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br><em>Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or \u201cspinning drives\u201d are better value per GB of disk space but perform slower than SSD drives<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n        <\/dd>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <div class=\"grid pt-4 pb-3 border-b accordion border-cu-black-100 md:pt-6 md:pb-5 first:border-t\">\n        <dt class=\"font-semibold not-prose\">\n            <button class=\"flex items-center justify-between w-full text-left accordion__button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-networking\">\n                <span class=\"flex-1 ml-auto text-left break-words whitespace-normal cu-icon\">\n                    Networking\n                <\/span>\n                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" stroke=\"currentColor\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-slot=\"icon\" class=\"w-5 h-5 ml-auto transition-transform rotate-0 accordion__icon text-cu-black-500\">\n                    <path stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" d=\"M8.25 4.5l7.5 7.5-7.5 7.5\"><\/path>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/dt>\n        <dd class=\"p-0 mt-0 cu-prose cu-prose-first-last accordion__content md:p-0 md:mt-0\" hidden=\"\" id=\"accordion-networking\">\n            \n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>laptop requires WiFi (AC or AX)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>recommend is a 1G or faster ethernet port or adapter<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>There is a USB 3.0 to ethernet adapter that you can purchase so you do not need an ethernet port on your laptop. The big benefit of ethernet is that it is more secure than WiFi, has better latency, throughput and fewer dropped connections.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n        <\/dd>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <div class=\"grid pt-4 pb-3 border-b accordion border-cu-black-100 md:pt-6 md:pb-5 first:border-t\">\n        <dt class=\"font-semibold not-prose\">\n            <button class=\"flex items-center justify-between w-full text-left accordion__button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-videocard-and-display\">\n                <span class=\"flex-1 ml-auto text-left break-words whitespace-normal cu-icon\">\n                    Videocard and Display\n                <\/span>\n                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" stroke=\"currentColor\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-slot=\"icon\" class=\"w-5 h-5 ml-auto transition-transform rotate-0 accordion__icon text-cu-black-500\">\n                    <path stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" d=\"M8.25 4.5l7.5 7.5-7.5 7.5\"><\/path>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/dt>\n        <dd class=\"p-0 mt-0 cu-prose cu-prose-first-last accordion__content md:p-0 md:mt-0\" hidden=\"\" id=\"accordion-videocard-and-display\">\n            \n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br>There are no video requirements (2.):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There is no resolution requirement<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is no screen size requirement<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is no touchscreen requirement<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(2.)&nbsp;<em>The video gaming stream requires you to have a video card that can run current games<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>External video ports are useful for group projects and presentations. When purchasing a laptop look for HDMI, display port or VGA ports.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For students in the Gaming development stream we recommend:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A laptop with at least HD resolution (1,366 x 768) or better<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gaming students may prefer full HD (1,920 x 1,080) or better display resolutions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A GPU with CUDA (NVIDIA) cores and high compute capability<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>RTX (Ray Tracing) GPU\u2019s are recommended since they have dedicated CUDA, Tensor and Ray-Tracing (RT) cores. This will give you the option of using the GPU for not only gaming but also for AI programming.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gaming students tend to prefer larger sized screens 17\u2033 (matter of preference)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n        <\/dd>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <div class=\"grid pt-4 pb-3 border-b accordion border-cu-black-100 md:pt-6 md:pb-5 first:border-t\">\n        <dt class=\"font-semibold not-prose\">\n            <button class=\"flex items-center justify-between w-full text-left accordion__button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-audio-video\">\n                <span class=\"flex-1 ml-auto text-left break-words whitespace-normal cu-icon\">\n                    Audio &amp; Video\n                <\/span>\n                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" stroke=\"currentColor\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-slot=\"icon\" class=\"w-5 h-5 ml-auto transition-transform rotate-0 accordion__icon text-cu-black-500\">\n                    <path stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" d=\"M8.25 4.5l7.5 7.5-7.5 7.5\"><\/path>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/dt>\n        <dd class=\"p-0 mt-0 cu-prose cu-prose-first-last accordion__content md:p-0 md:mt-0\" hidden=\"\" id=\"accordion-audio-video\">\n            \n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your laptop must be able to run video conferencing software like Big Blue Button and Microsoft Teams with sound and video. Your laptop must have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>camera<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>microphone<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>speaker<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An audio jack is useful so you can connect wired headphones.<\/p>\n\n\n        <\/dd>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <div class=\"grid pt-4 pb-3 border-b accordion border-cu-black-100 md:pt-6 md:pb-5 first:border-t\">\n        <dt class=\"font-semibold not-prose\">\n            <button class=\"flex items-center justify-between w-full text-left accordion__button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-tips-add-ons\">\n                <span class=\"flex-1 ml-auto text-left break-words whitespace-normal cu-icon\">\n                    Tips &amp; Add-ons\n                <\/span>\n                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" stroke=\"currentColor\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-slot=\"icon\" class=\"w-5 h-5 ml-auto transition-transform rotate-0 accordion__icon text-cu-black-500\">\n                    <path stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" d=\"M8.25 4.5l7.5 7.5-7.5 7.5\"><\/path>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/dt>\n        <dd class=\"p-0 mt-0 cu-prose cu-prose-first-last accordion__content md:p-0 md:mt-0\" hidden=\"\" id=\"accordion-tips-add-ons\">\n            \n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are additional laptop features that you can look for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>your laptop should have USB 3 ports (USB C ports are useful as well)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>you may prefer thin light laptops so it is easy to carry with you<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>recommended is a laptop with long battery life<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>recommended is that you invest in a padded carry case<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>built-in SD card readers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>face recognition and\/or fingerprint sensors for quick secure logins<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n        <\/dd>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <\/dl>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The School of Computer Science laptop hardware requirements are as follows. Summary Requirements PC or MAC laptops with the following minimum specifications: Computers such as Netbooks, Chromebooks, Smartphones or atom processors&nbsp;are not suitable&nbsp;for the Computer Science program Detailed Recommendations The detailed laptop hardware specifications are as follows. This will be particularly useful for anyone looking [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":7671,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cu_dining_location_slug":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_page_type":[],"class_list":["post-7510","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7510"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25229,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7510\/revisions\/25229"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_page_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_page_type?post=7510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}