Laptop Computer Specifications
For all online students, it is required that you have access to an up-to-date computer system based on when you start in the online program. Because technology changes so quickly, it is important that your system configuration meets the standards for each year you are in the program. A current system will support Windows XP.
| System Item | Minimum Requirements | Recommended |
| Processor | Avoid Celeron and Duron Processors found on lower end machines | Dual Core Intel Xeon 3.0 Ghz Pentium 4 or AMD 64 Turion Mobile 3200 or 3800 Dual core |
| Memory | (1) Gigabyte RAM | (2) Gigabytes RAM |
| Graphics Card | Geforce or Radeon 128 MB AGP or PCI Express | Geforce or Radeon PCI Express 256 MB |
| Optical Drive | DVD/CDRW combo player | DVD Multi-read RW combo drive |
| Hard Drive | 80 Gigabyte IDE Hard Drive ATA 133 or SATA 5400 RPM Drive | 120+ Gigabyte 7200 RPM Serial ATA (SATA II) drive (7200 RPM drives use more battery power than the slower RPM models) |
| USB | (2) USB 2.0 | (2) USB 2.0 |
| IEEE 1394 | Mini 1394 FireWire Port | Mini 1394 FireWire Port |
| Network | 10/100 Ethernet Port | Integrated Gigabit Ethernet and/or IEEE G Wi-Fi Wireless and/or Bluetooth technology |
| Internet Access | 56k V.92 Modem | Integrated Gigabit Ethernet and/or IEEE G Wi-Fi Wireless |
| Audio | 2.1 stereo with in line and microphone inputs, stereo speakers and a microphone | 8 channel audio with SPDIF connector, stereo speakers, and microphone |
Laptops come in a variety of sizes based on the screen size. The standard form most laptops use is 15.4 widescreen, but larger and smaller sizes are still available.
The decision to use peripheral equipment such as printers, thumb drives, and external hard drives is left to the student as a matter of personal choice. As a result, there are no recommendations for these items. However, it is both a necessity and a requirement that you maintain some form of backup for your hard drive and class files. (FTP space, iPods, MP3 players, and 2.0 Flash memory are good choices for backup, file transfer, and file storage).
Additional Information