General Recommendations
- Windows-based (Windows 10 or 11)
- Latest gen (or within the last 3 generations) Intel i5 CPU or better, or the AMD equivalent
- 16+ GB of RAM
- 500+ GB of storage (HDD or SSD)
- Use KSU Hub to download things like Office 365
Tips: Apple/iOS/Linux machines can also be used, however you may encounter difficulties regarding software and on-campus tech support. You may need to find non-Windows software that has equivalent capabilities for some of your major classes, or use a VM (aka virtual machine) from CCSE Labs.
The demands on your computer will likely increase as you progress through your degree program. So, if you are able to afford a higher-powered computer at the start, you will likely save money in the long run.
| Major | Specific Recommendations |
| Computer Science |
- Windows OS (10 or 11)
- i7 or i9 Intel CPU (or AMD equivalent)
- 32+ GB of RAM
- 1+ TB of storage
If you are particularly interested in doing research or high powered computing, you may want to look into a good GPU and as much RAM as you can get.
If you like to play video games as a hobby, you may also want to get a computer with a discrete graphics card/GPU (one that doesn't say "integrated graphics") to be able to play newer games and/or have better graphics.
|
| Software Engineering |
- Windows OS (10 or 11)
- i5 or i7 Intel CPU (or AMD equivalent)
- 16+ GB of Ram
- 1+ TB of storage
If you are particularly interested in doing research or high powered computing, you may want to get an i7 Intel CPU, a good GPU and as much RAM as you can get.
If you like to play video games as a hobby, you may also want to get a computer with a discrete graphics card/GPU (one that doesn't say "integrated graphics") to be able to play newer games and/or have better graphics.
|
| Computer Game Design & Development |
Rendering 3D games or animations tends to eat up a lot of processing power as well as storage.
- Windows 10 64-bit or newer
- i7 or i9 Intel CPU (or AMD Ryzen equivalent), 2.5 GHz or faster
- Dedicated graphics card/GPU that is compatible with DirectX 11 or 12
- 32+ GB of RAM
- 1+ TB of storage (newer-gen PCIe SSD hard drives recommended but more expensive)
- Good heat control (your CPU, GPU and storage are going to heat up when playing or developing games, which will cause your computer components to degrade)
- Make sure you have non-integrated graphics memory (if you have a dedicated GPU, this isn't really an issue)
|
| Information Technology |
- i5+ Intel CPU (or AMD equivalent)
- 32+ GB of RAM
- 500+ GB of storage
If you have hobbies that involve graphics (such as art or gaming), you may want to get a computer that has a non-integrated graphics memory or has a discrete graphics card/GPU, and more storage (1+ TB will likely keep you until you graduate, but external hard drives are also an option)
|
| Data Science & Analytics |
- Larger screen size or capability to support multiple screens helps when working with a lot of information
- i7 Intel or AMD Ryzen 7 CPU
- 16+ GB of RAM or capability to expand
- 1+ TB of storage (more is better)
- A GPU like NVIDIA GeForce can be very helpful with data visualization and processing
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