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 in the Knowledge Base article at aub.ie/computerrecs.
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 Core Ultra 5 processor or AMD Ryzen 5
- 16 GB RAM
- 256 GB solid state hard drive
- Bluetooth, wireless 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
- 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 Core Ultra 5 or 7 processor, or AMD Ryzen 5 PRO
- 32 GB RAM
- 512 GB Solid State hard drive
- Bluetooth, Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n/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 Core Ultra 7 or 9 processor, or AMD Ryzen 5 or 7 PRO
- 64 GB RAM
- 512 GB or 1 TB Solid State hard drive
- Bluetooth, wireless 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
- 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-inch MacBook Air with M5 chip
- 10-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
- 16GB unified memory
- 512GB SSD storage
- 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max
- U.S. English Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
- Two Thunderbolt 4 ports, MagSafe 3 port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, WiFi 7, Bluetooth 6
- Support for up to two external displays
Mainstream Model - 14-inch MacBook Pro:
- 14-inch MacBook Pro in Space Black with M5 chip
- 10-Core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
- 24GB unified memory
- 1TB SSD Storage
- Standard display
- 70W USB-C Power Adapter
- U.S. English Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
- Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, MagSafe 3 port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, HDMI port, SDXC card slot
- Support for up to two external displays
High Performance Model - 16-inch MacBook Pro:
- 16-inch MacBook Pro in Space Black with M5 Max chip
- 8-Core CPU, 40-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
- 48GB unified memory
- 2TB SSD Storage
- Standard display
- 140W USB-C Power Adapter
- U.S. English Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
- Three Thunderbolt 5 ports, MagSafe 3 port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, HDMI port, SDXC card slot
- Support for up to four external displays