Current recommendations from the Office of Information Technology for employees who are shopping for a personal/home computer are listed below.
*Note: This is not for University purchases, but a helpful guide for employees who want to buy a home PC for their own use and need advice.
If you are a student looking for similar information, please see the recommendations provided by your academic college. These recommendations can be found this Knowledge Base Article.
We recommend a 15” laptop if no external monitors are being used and have listed three options based upon budget and desired computing power.
PC Recommendations
Budget Model:
- 15” laptop
- Windows 11 Professional
- Intel 14th Gen Core 5 processor
- 16 GB RAM
- 256 GB solid state hard drive
- Bluetooth, wireless 802.11ac
- TPM chip to support hard drive encryption
- Web cam with built in microphone
- 3 year warranty with accidental damage protection.
Mainstream Model:
- 15” business class laptop (Dell Latitude, Lenovo ThinkPad)
- Windows 11 Professional
- Intel 14th Gen Core Ultra 5 or Core 7 processor
- 16 GB RAM
- 512 GB Solid State hard drive
- Bluetooth, Wireless 802.11 ac
- Back lit keyboard
- TPM chip to support hard drive encryption
- Web cam with built in microphone
- 4 year warranty with accidental damage protection
High Performance Model:
- 15” business class laptop (Dell Latitude, Lenovo ThinkPad)
- Windows 11 Professional
- Intel 14th Gen Core Ultra 7 or Core Ultra 9 processor
- 32 GB RAM
- 512 GB or 1 TB Solid State hard drive
- Bluetooth, wireless 802.11ac
- Add in Graphics card
- Back lit keyboard
- TPM chip to support hard drive encryption
- Web cam with built in microphone
- 4 year warranty with accidental damage protection
Mac Recommendations
Budget Model - 13-inch MacBook Air:
- 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display with True Tone technology
- M3 processor
- 8-core CPU
- 8-core GPU
- 16-core Neural Engine
- 1080p FaceTime HD camera
- MagSafe 3 charging port
- Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports
- Support for up to two external displays (with laptop lid closed)
- Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
- Force Touch trackpad
- 30W USB-C Power Adapter
Mainstream Model - 16-inch MacBook Pro:
- M3 Pro chip
- 12-Core CPU
- 18-Core GPU
- 18GB Unified Memory
- 512GB SSD Storage
- 16-core Neural Engine
- 16-inch Liquid Retina XDR display
- 140W USB-C Power Adapter
- Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, headphone jack, MagSafe 3 port
- Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID - US English
High Performance Model - 16-inch MacBook Pro:
-
- M3 Max chip
- 14-Core CPU
- 30-Core GPU
- 36GB Unified Memory
- 1TB SSD Storage
- 16-core Neural Engine
- 16-inch Liquid Retina XDR display
- Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, headphone jack, MagSafe 3 port
- 140W USB-C Power Adapter
- Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID - US English