Student Laptop Requirements - Information Technology Services - Christopher Newport University

Information Technology Services

Student Laptop Requirements

Please review our laptop requirements below for information on computer specifications. If you have questions, please contact IT Services at (757) 594-7079 or helpdesk@cnu.edu

Additionally, consider visiting our vendor partners, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Dell and Apple for pricing options and our recommendations for laptops that will work effectively on the CNU network. As a reminder, you will need to maintain an updated anti-virus solution as well as your operating system.

Laptop recommendations to satisfy the university requirement standards

Major Type Example Estimated cost
All majors in Luter School of Business PC only Dell XPS 13* $2,000
All other majors PC or Apple Dell XPS 13*, MacBook Air (M2) $2,000 - $2,100
  • Fine Arts and Humanities recommends students bring computers capable of running Adobe Creative Cloud apps
  • Some programs used by Physics, Computer Science and Engineering run more smoothly on Windows but can work on macOS
  • For students in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering, Windows is strongly recommended

*Other compatible PC laptops include Lenovo, HP and Microsoft Surface. Chromebooks are not supported.

Configuration

Type Recommended
Processor Intel Core i7 or Apple m2 or AMD equivalent
Memory 16GB or better
Hard drive 500GB SSD or better
Video Dedicated 1GB (or more) or integrated video
Wireless 802.11ac
Warranty Four-year manufacturer warranty all on hardware, including accidental damage
Operating systems Microsoft Windows 10 or newer (not in S-mode)
Apple macOS 11 or newer
Full Linux builds newer than July 2022
Software Microsoft Office 365 is free while enrolled at CNU
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