Computer Requirements
The School of Architecture requires all students to have a personal laptop. This laptop is required to perform classroom activities based on the courses taken. As of the Fall 2005 semester, all incoming students in the School of Architecture are required to possess a laptop computer.
Personal Laptop Hardware Requirements
The Office of IT maintains a list of recommended hardware specifications for each major in the School of Architecture. We highly recommend purchasing a laptop that meets these specifications.
Overview
Congratulations new Aggies! We’re excited for your new journey ahead of you. To help in your success, the College or Architecture has put together a list of generic requirements for your laptop. Because there are so many models and possible configurations of laptops in the market today, we are only able to make minimum hardware recommendations for your laptop at the moment. As a note, finding these specs in “business” or “workstation” class computers will be easier than in “consumer” level laptops.
Minimum Hardware Requirements for all School of Architecture students:
- Intel i7 processor 9th generation or higher (This is the brain of the computer. The faster the speed, the faster it can process data/projects.)
- 16 – 32 GB of RAM or more (The RAM is the computers “working” memory. RAM allows a computer to work with more information at the same time, which usually has a dramatic effect on total system performance. The more RAM a computer has, the more efficient it will be while running large programs such as AutoCAD for projects.)
- Minimum 512 GB storage (preferred 1 TB) Solid State Drive (SSD) or more (the more storage a computer has, the more projects, documents, etc. you can store. SSD storage will allow a computer to turn on and open projects significantly faster than traditional HDD storage but tends to be more expensive.)
- Graphics Card GTX 1650 or Quadro T1000 equivalent or better.
- Screen Resolution 1920 x 1080 or better (A higher resolution will allow projects to fit on the screen more effectively.)
- Webcams are strongly recommended, per the University BYOD guidelines.
Architecture Majors
In addition to the computer requirements for all School of Architecture students, architecture majors have some additional required specifications for the laptop computer to meet the need of the core courses.
Please study the list as it provides the specifications of computer and software options that would ensure the best value in relation to expected performance, especially for classes starting the sophomore year. Please be aware that no student will be denied admission to Texas A&M University based on an inability to purchase a computer. Financial aid is available to assist students with a computer purchase. Students with need should contact the TAMU Financial Aid Office. Additionally, students can request emergency aid to help purchase the required technology.
Architecture Majors Computer Requirements
Construction Science Majors
In addition to the requirements for all School of Architecture students, construction science majors are also recommended additional requirements of:
- Not a macOS laptop (most of the software used in construction science industry is not compatible with macOS.)
- Discrete graphics (the additional graphics chip provides the processing power required by industry standard software. The more RAM this chip has, the better it’ll be able to handle large, complex models. Nvidia chipset is recommended.)
Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning Majors
In addition to the computer requirements for all School of Architecture students, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning have some additional required specifications for the laptop computer to meet the need of the core courses.
LAUP Majors Computer Requirements
Visualization Majors
In addition to the computer requirements for all School of Architecture students, visualization have some additional required specifications for the laptop computer to meet the need of the core courses.
Visualization Majors Computer Requirements
Vendor Hardware Discounts
Various computer hardware vendors offer academic discounts to students of institutions of higher education:
12th Man Technology
12th Man Technology is the official technology store of Texas A&M University, located conveniently on campus in the MSC. It is Aggie-owned, and a portion of each sale is returned to Texas A&M to be reinvested in student services.
What can you expect when purchasing from 12th Man Technology?
- Exclusive protection plans designed for the college student, including some with theft protection
- Certified technicians for repairs and service
- Students checking in a device for repair that was purchased at 12th Man Technology receive:
- FREE Loaner during repair (terms apply, see associate for details)
- Priority Service
Personal Laptop Support
School of Architecture Office of Information Technology
The Office of IT will provide assistance in connecting to School of Architecture resources, including:
- Network connectivity
- Access to networked file storage
- Printing resources
IT staff and student workers are not responsible for any loss of data or functionality while assisting the students in connecting to university/college resources.
Help Desk Central
The Texas A&M Division of IT Help Desk can provide hardware/software support.