BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE
Paul Smith’s College requires all incoming students to bring a mobile computing device that meets the minimum specifications described on the Information Technology website.
When purchasing a computer, you will be faced with an overwhelming number of choices and features. Below are minimum specifications for computers based on major. No matter which computer you bring to school, it should be newer than 3 years old and we strongly recommend purchasing a warranty which includes accidental damage.
Students that need financial assistance to cover the cost of their laptop should contact the Office of Financial Aid.
Wireless network card
Operating systems Windows 10 or newer
Please note: Apple laptops connect to the PSC Network, but are not supported. Not all software required by your coureses will be compatible with Apple products.
Minimum Specification for Students in:
Ecological Restoration, Environmental Science, Forestry, Fisheries/Wildlife Sciences, Biology, Natural Resources and Conservation Management and Sustainability majors.
Must be a laptop or similar (not a tablet) and newer than 3 years old. System requirements are determined by ESRI Software functional requirements.
CPU: 2.2GHZ minimum; Hyper-threading (HHT) or Multi-core recommended
Processor: Intel I3 or equivalent processor; Intel i5 or i7 or equivalent strongly recommended.
Connectivity: USB 2.0 or greater connection
Memory: 8GB minimum, 16GB Recommended
Display: 24-bit color, 1024×768 resolution or higher recommended.
Disk Space: 250GB minimum
Graphics: Video/graphics adapter: 256 MB RAM minimum, 1 GB RAM recommended; NVIDIA, ATI, and Intel chipsets supported; accelerated graphics card driver: Shader Model 4.0 minimum. Be sure to use the latest available driver.
Networking: Wireless network card required
Accidental Warranty strongly recommended.
Minimum General Specifications:
Required for all other majors
Must be a laptop or similar (not a tablet) and newer than 3 years old.
Processor: Intel I5 processor or higher capable of running Microsoft windows 10 or higher
Memory: 8GB RAM
Connectivity: USB 2.0 or greater connection
Audio: microphone and audio out (headphone or speaker)
Screen: 14 Inch Display
Disk Space: 250GB Hard Drive
Networking: Wireless network card required
Input Device: Keyboard and touchpad or mouse
Accidental Warranty strongly recommended.
Computers vary in quality and power and change models from year to year – higher quality models are typically more expensive than lower quality models but for most majors, a budget friendly computer that runs Windows 10 will be sufficient for your studies at PSC. Dell Inspiron and Lenovo Thinkpad/Ideapads/Yogas are popular models but be sure that it runs Windows 10 (no Chromebooks).
CONTACTS FOR ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
The IT Department provides very limited assistance for personal devices. We will work with students, faculty and staff to get their devices connected to our network but we do not provide direct hardware and software support. We recommend getting warranty and support services directly from the manufacturer of the device. Incoming students are required to bring a laptop device that meets the minimum specifications (listed above) and several local and remote support options are listed below.
Online Support:
- Apple- https://getsupport.apple.com/
- Dell- http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04
- Lenovo- http://support.lenovo.com/