Recommended Equipment

Mines students: Please review this page for IT’s recommendation for computer purchases.

Mines employees: Please be aware that IT provides Mines employees with one of our standard Windows or Mac laptops. Review the Standard Computer Request page to see the standard computers and submit a request for one.

Recommended Computer Configurations for Students

The machines below will be sufficiently powerful for general use (email, web browsing, note taking, word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and social media) at Mines. For more resource intensive technical software the school has many well-stocked computer labs available to students, sometimes 24 hours a day. In addition, many academic departments make their own extensive computer labs and lounges available to their students. There are even high-performance-computing (“supercomputer”) resources available to students. It is certainly possible to earn a degree at Mines without purchasing a computer at all.

PC:

14-inch Dell Latitude 5440: i5 Processor, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 1 RJ-45 Ethernet port, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 1 port with PowerShare, 2 Thunderbolt™ 4 ports with DisplayPort Alt Mode/USB Type-C/USB4/Power Delivery, 1 HDMI 2.0 port
1 Universal audio port

This computer can be purchased with our Mines/Dell discount at the link below:
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/laptops/new-14-5440/spd/latitude-14-5440-laptop/s111l5440usvp

Mac:

14-inch MacBook Pro: Apple M2 Pro chip with 10‑core CPU and 16‑core GPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, headphone jack, MagSafe 3 port

Advanced:

If it is preferred to have a laptop that can perform more resource intensive tasks, these machines (or machines with equivalent or better specifications) meet the standards necessary for most software used throughout an undergraduate career.  

PC:

17-inch Dell Precision 5770: Intel i7 Processor, 32GB RAM, NVIDIA® RTX™ A2000 Graphics, 512 GB SSD, 4 Thunderbolt 4 Ports, SD Card Reader, Headphone Jack 

This computer can be purchased with our Mines/Dell discount at the link below: 

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/precision-5770-workstation/spd/precision-17-5770-laptop/s101p5770usvp 

Mac:

NOTE: Most engineering software used at Mines is only available on Windows. If preferred, a Mac may still be used with a virtual machine running Windows.

Purchasing equipment for personal use

Dell offers a discount program for all employees, students, their families and friends. Discount details:

•        Up to 30% off Dell PCs, Electronics and Accessories.

•        Dell Advantage: 3% back + free 2nd business day shipping (Register at Checkout).

•        Monthly exclusive deals.

This program is available at www.Dell.com/dellu/Mines