We offer a wide range of services for students, faculty and staff, including recommendations for computer purchases, support for enterprise applications or assisting with desktops, laptops, printers, mobile devices or other related technologies.
Feel free to contact our Customer Service Desk at (757) 594-7079, stop by the 24 / 7 room in the Trible Library, visit us in Ratcliffe Hall or email us at helpdesk@cnu.edu.
For ITS related How To articles and information, please visit our Campus Knowledge Base at the link below.
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 |