We recommend that new students come to the University of Miami with either an Apple or Windows laptop. There are many factors that will determine which laptop is best for you, such as specific requirements of your major, whether you will be working with large media files, and your preferences for a larger screen or keyboard.
For a typical University of Miami student, we recommend the following minimum configuration:
- Operating System: MacOS or Windows with the latest updates and patches
- Processor: Intel i3, i5, or i7 processor or equivalent
- Memory: 8 GB or more
- Hard Disk Storage: 500 GB or more
- Display: 13-inch or larger
- Additional Hardware: None
- Additional Software: Microsoft Office and anti-virus protection, both available to students for free through the University of Miami Software site: http://miami.edu/software
Student in a computationally-intensive program may need a more advanced configuration, such as the following:
- Operating System: MacOS or Windows with the latest updates and patches
- Processor: Intel i7 processor or equivalent
- Memory: 16 GB or more
- Hard Disk Storage: 1000 GB (1TB) or more
- Display: 15-inch (1920x1080 resolution) or larger
- Additional Hardware: External mouse
- Additional Software: Microsoft Office and anti-virus protection, both available to students for free through the University of Miami Software site: http://miami.edu/software
Students who need help with installing software, configuring their Internet connection, or connecting to the University of Miami’s printing system can get free assistance from the Student Technology Help Desk: http://sthd.it.miami.edu
