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College of Engineering

Virginia Tech College of Engineering / Admissions / Computer Requirement

Past Computer Requirements

All Engineering Students are expected to have the requirements below. If you purchase a replacement computer, you are still required to have a tablet pc meeting or exceeding the requirements for your class.

Hardware: A tablet meeting the minimum specifications below or a combination of devices meeting this requirement
Warranty: 3 Year onsite with accidental damage coverage (recommend 4 years). This is an expensive, but necessary requirement
Software: University Undergraduate Bundle and Engineering Software Bundles
Backup: Any backup solution acceptable. Unlimited space is provided for all students at VT on Google Drive

Entry Class Summer 2016/Fall 2016/Spring 2017

Platform	Tablet PC Convertible
Operating System	Windows 10, 64-bit version
Processor	6th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 (i5-6300u or faster)
Memory(RAM)	16 GB
Hard Drive	256 GB or larger; solid state drive (SSD)
Active Stylus	Integrated Active Digital Stylus (Wacom or N-trig)
Wireless	802.11ac dual band

Entry Class Summer 2015/Fall 2015/Spring 2016

Platform	Tablet PC Convertible
OS	Windows 8.1 Professional - 64-bit version
PC Processor	5th Gen Intel Core i5 (i5-5300u or faster)
Memory (RAM)	8 GB
Hard Disk Drive	256 GB SSD
Input Device	Integrated Active Digital Pen (Wacom or N-trig)
Wireless	802.11 ac dual band
NIC/Ethernet Card	10/100/1000 Base-T NIC (external adapter acceptable)

Entry Class Summer 2013/Fall 2013/Spring 2014

Platform	Tablet PC Convertible
OS	Windows 7 or 8 Professional - 64-bit version
PC Processor	3rd Gen Intel Core i5 3210M
Memory (RAM)	8 GB
Hard Disk Drive	250 GB; 7200 RPM spindle speed, SSD or HSSD
Input Device	Integrated Wacom, N-trig, S-pen or other active digital stylus
Wireless	802.11 a/g/n dual band
NIC/Ethernet Card	10/100/1000 Ethernet Card
Warranty	3 Year onsite with accidental damage coverage (recommend 4 years)

Entry Class Summer 2012/Fall 2012/Spring 2013

Platform	Tablet PC Convertible
OS	Windows 7 Professional - 64-bit version
PC Processor	2nd Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 (2.4 Ghz or better)
Memory (RAM)	4 GB or more (one dimm recommended)
Hard Disk Drive	320 GB or larger ; 7200 RPM spindle speed or better
CD/DVD drive	DVD+-R dual layer DVD (External drive acceptable)
Input/Output Ports	Minimum 1 3.0 USB recommended
Input Device	Integrated Wacom, N-trig, or S-pen
Wireless	802.11 a/g/n
NIC/Ethernet Card	10/100/1000 Ethernet Card
Printer	Any Windows compatible inkjet or laser printer
Warranty	3 Year onsite with accidental damage coverage (recommend 4 years)
External Backup Drive	USB external hard drive of 1 TB or more

Entry Class Summer 2011/Fall 2011/Spring 2012

Platform	Tablet PC Convertible
OS	Windows 7 Professional - 64-bit version
PC Processor	2nd Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 (2.4 Ghz or better)
Memory (RAM)	4 GB
Hard Disk Drive	320 GB or larger ; 7200 RPM spindle speed or better
CD/DVD drive	DVD+-R dual layer DVD (External drive acceptable)
Input/Output Ports	USB 2.0
Wireless	802.11 a/g/n
NIC/Ethernet Card	10/100/1000 Ethernet Card
Printer	Any Windows compatible inkjet or laser printer
Warranty	3 Year onsite with accidental damage coverage (recommend 4 years)
External Backup Drive	USB external hard drive of 1 TB or more

Entry Class Summer 2010/Fall 2010/Spring 2011

Platform	Tablet PC Convertible
OS	Windows 7 Professional - 64-bit version
PC Processor	Intel Core i5 or i7 (2.4 Ghz or better)
Memory (RAM)	4 GB
Hard Disk Drive	320 GB or larger ; 7200 RPM spindle speed or better
CD/DVD drive	DVD+-R dual layer DVD (External drive acceptable)
Input/Output Ports	USB 2.0
Wireless	802.11 a/g/n
NIC/Ethernet Card	10/100/1000 Ethernet Card
Printer	Any Windows compatible inkjet or laser printer
Warranty	3 Year onsite with accidental damage coverage (recommend 4 years)
External Backup Drive	USB external hard drive of 500GB or more

Entry Class Summer 2009/Fall 2009/Spring 2010

Platform	Tablet PC Convertible
OS	Windows Vista Business Edition or newer
PC Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo (dual core processor) 2.2 Ghz or higher
Memory (RAM)	2 GB
Hard Disk Drive	120 GB or larger ; 5400 RPM spindle speed or better
CD/DVD drive	DVD+-R dual layer DVD (External drive acceptable)
Input/Output Ports	USB 2.0
Wireless	802.11 a/g/n
NIC/Ethernet Card	10/100/1000 Ethernet Card
Printer	Any Windows compatible inkjet or laser printer
Warranty	3 Year onsite with accidental damage coverage (recommend 4 years)
External Backup Drive	USB external hard drive of 500GB or more

Entry Class Summer 2008/Fall 2008/Spring 2009

Platform	Tablet PC Convertible
OS	Windows XP Tablet Edition 2005 or newer
PC Processor speed	Core 2 Duo (dual core processor) 2.2 GHz or higher
Memory (RAM)	2 GB (minimum)
Hard Disk Drive	120 GB or larger ; 5400 RPM spindle speed or better
Video RAM	128 MB
CD/DVD drive	DVD+-R writeable DVD
Input/Output Ports	USB 2.0
Wireless	802.11 a/g
NIC/Ethernet Card	10/100/1000 Ethernet Card
Printer	Any Windows compatible inkjet or laser printer
Warranty	3 Year onsite with accident coverage (recommend 4 years)
External Backup Drive	USB external hard drive of 160GB or more

Entry Class Summer 2007/Fall 2007/Spring 2008

Platform	Tablet PC Convertible
OS	Windows XP Pro Tablet Edition w/ SP2 or newer
PC Processor speed	Intel Core 2 Duo (dual core processor) 1.8 GHz or higher
Memory (RAM)	2 GB (1 dimm recommended to allow for easy upgrade.)
Hard Disk Drive	100 GB or larger ; 5400 RPM spindle speed or better
Video RAM	128 MB
CD/DVD drive	DVD+-R writeable DVD (External drive acceptable)
Input/Output Ports	USB 2.0
Wireless	802.11 a/g
NIC/Ethernet Card	10/100/1000 Ethernet Card
Printer	Any Windows compatible inkjet or laser printer
Warranty	3 Year onsite with accidental damage coverage (recommend 4 years)
External Backup Drive	USB external hard drive of 160GB or more; one touch/push-button backup capability

Entry Class Summer 2006/Fall 2006/Spring 2007

Platform	Tablet PC Convertible
OS	Windows XP Pro Tablet Edition w/ SP2
PC Processor speed	Pentium M single core 2 GHz or higher or Pentium Duo dual core 1.83 GHz or higher
Memory (RAM)	1 GB
Hard Disk Drive	80 GB
Video RAM	64 Discrete memory or 128 MB shared
CD/DVD drive	DVD/CD-RW
Input/Output Ports	USB 2.0
Wireless	802.11 b/g
NIC/Ethernet Card	10/100/1000 Ethernet Card
Modem	56k internal
Warranty	3 Year onsite with accidental damage coverage (recommend 4 years)

Entry Class Summer 2004/Fall 2004/Spring 2005

Platform	Notebook
OS	Windows XP Professional
PC Processor speed	Intel Pentium-M (or equivalent processor) with a clock frequency of 1.60GHz or higher (Pentium 4 M should be 2.8 GHz or higher)
Memory (RAM)	1 GB
Hard Disk Drive	40 GB
Video RAM	32 MB or greater
CD/DVD drive	DVD/CD-RW
Input/Output Ports	USB 2.0
Network Card	10/100 Ethernet Card and 802.11b Wireless
Modem	56k internal that uses v. 90 standard. Winmodems not acceptable.
Warranty	STRONGLY Recommend 3 Year

Entry Class Summer 2003/Fall 2003/Spring 2004

Platform	Notebook
OS	Windows XP Professional
PC Processor speed	Intel Pentium 4M or Pentium-M (or equivalent processor) with a clock frequency of 1.40GHz or higher
Memory (RAM)	512 MB on Single DIMM
Hard Disk Drive	40 GB
Video RAM	16 MB or greater
CD/DVD drive	DVD+R or DVD-R or DVD/CD-RW
Input/Output Ports	USB, Serial and Parallel
Network Card	10/100 Ethernet Card and 802.11b Wireless
Modem	56k that uses v. 90 standard. Winmodems not acceptable.
Warranty	Recommend 3 Year

Entry Class Summer 2002/Fall 2002/Spring 2003

Platform	Laptop
OS	Windows 2000 Professional
PC Processor speed	Intel PIII 1.0 GHz
Memory (RAM)	256 MB on Single DIMM
Hard Disk Drive	20 GB
Video RAM	16 MB or greater
CD/DVD drive	DVD//CDR-W
Input/Output Ports	USB, Serial and Parallel
Network Card	10/100 Ethernet Card, 802.11b Wireless recommended
Modem	56k modem is recommended for students living off campus
Warranty	Recommend 3 Year

Entry Class Summer 2000/Fall 2000/Spring 2001

Platform
OS	Windows 98, 2nd Edition
PC Processor speed	533 MHz Pentium III
Memory (RAM)	128 MB
Hard Disk Drive	12 GB
Video RAM	4 MB or greater
CD Drive	40x
Sound Card	Soundblaster Compatible