The School of Engineering and Computing (SEC) has a policy that all students will provide their personal laptop computer. This computer must be able to install and run software used during the four-year SEC curriculum.
Windows 11 is required and is needed for engineering software. Microsoft® Windows 11 Home (64 bit) is recommended. The majority of engineering software used in engineering courses is Microsoft Windows-based and may not run on the Mac operating system. We do not recommend a Mac computer for engineering usage.
The students in the CS programs may use either a Mac or a PC laptop.
CPU: faster Intel Core i7 (64-bit) or AMD Ryzen 7
RAM (memory): 16GB minimum, preferably 32GB for SolidWorks
Storage: SSD 512GB or 1TB.
The Intel Core i9 or AMD Ryzen 9 series are high-performance processors that may be helpful to run SolidWorks but are not mandatory. Faster is generally better. A better graphics card such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, Nvidia Quadro RTX, NVIDIA RTX A1000 GPU (4GB VRAM), or an AMD Radeon Pro, will have an advantage in 3D CAD.
Apple has two laptop lines: the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro. The MacBook Air comes in 13″ and 15″ models, and the MacBook Pro is available in 14″, and 16″. The M2 MacBook Air should be sufficient for Computer Science student needs. However, Apple released a more powerful M3-powered version in 2024 that costs a small amount more than the M2.
You may want to consider upgrading a MacBook Air to include 16 GB of unified memory. Alternatively, consider obtaining a MacBook Pro with the M3 Pro chip, which offers 18 GB of unified memory and better performance than a model with the non-Pro chip.
Wireless capability, Bluetooth, HDMI port, USB ports, Audio jack, External hard drive (1TB+ for back-up purposes).
Microsoft Office 365 will be provided free to all students.
The School of Engineering and Computing will provide certain software for student use during the appropriate course. These may include Matlab, SolidWorks, and Multisim, as well as Software Development Environments. In certain courses, an instructor may require you to purchase a particular software or license key for their course as required course materials (like your textbooks).
The University supports and provides some discount options to students for HP or Dell and Mac laptops. See www.fairfield.edu/buyacomputer for more information. The School of Engineering and Computing does not require a specific brand, but reliability and ease of service are things you should consider before purchasing. Whether you purchase a PC or a Mac, you should also consider an accidental protection plan to cover the 4 years at Fairfield.
Examples of typical PC laptop computers that will run CPU and memory-intensive software (such as SolidWorks) are the following:
Note that computer manufacturers regularly change model names, numbers and specifications. The University does not endorse any of these vendors or their computers other than to provide option examples to our students.
If students need support, they should contact the ITS Help Desk in the Library or at (203) 254-4069 for assistance.
