Recommended PC Laptop Hardware

Body

Northwestern Information Technology (IT) establishes minimum hardware guidelines to assist in purchasing a computer for use at Northwestern. Check with your individual school for additional requirements.

 

Laptop — Minimum

*NOTE* In order to comply with Northwestern IT's encryption policy, please turn on TPM (Trusted Platform Module) upon set up of your computer. This module allows the computer to be encrypted with Bitlocker, which is Northwestern IT's encryption solution.

Expect to use the computer for basic productivity, running multiple applications such as e-mail, web browsing, word processing, music and video players, and photo organization.

Category Description
Processor Intel® Core™ i5 Processor
Memory 8GB
Storage 256GB Solid state disk (SSD)
Optical drive Optional
Network Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11a/b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
Graphics Integrated graphics
Ports USB 3.0, HDMI, Additional adapters as needed
Battery 4-cell Li-ion battery
Operating system Windows 10 or 11 64-bit Professional
Warranty 3-4 year onsite next business day

 

Laptop — Power User

In addition to the tasks above, expect to resource intensive programs for audio/video editing, graphic design, running multiple operating systems, storing large multimedia files and playing games. Some examples of applications that perform better with a power user configuration include MATLAB, AutoCAD, and Adobe Creative Cloud.

Category Description
Processor Intel® Core™ i7 Processor
Memory 16GB
Storage 512GB Solid state disk (SSD)
Optical drive Optional
Network Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11a/b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
Graphics 2GB or Higher Dedicated Video Card
Ports USB 3.0, HDMI, Additional adapters as needed
Battery 6-cell Li-ion battery
Operating system 3-4 year onsite next business day
Warranty 3-4 year onsite next business day

 

Details

Details

Article ID: 2036
Created
Thu 12/1/22 11:21 AM
Modified
Tue 12/13/22 12:02 PM