Recommendations for buying a new laptop

Please note these are recommendations and should be seen as guidelines only when purchasing a new laptop.

Please note that certain Schools might have specific device requirements for your course.

It is recommended that your laptop should have:

• Processor: Intel Core i-3, i-5, i-7 or i-8 (8th Generation) or AMD 2nd Generation Ryzen Processors , running at 2.0Ghz and above.
  (Intel Atom/Celeron or AMD Athlon/Sempron Processors may cost less, but may not meet your requirements)
• Random Access Memory (RAM): 6 to 8 Gigabytes
• Hard Drive Capacity: 500 Gigabytes to 1 Terabyte
• Supported Operating System
• Wireless Card: 802.11 a/b/g/n compliant with Bluetooth Capability
  (incompatibilities have been noted with the Qualcomm Atheros Wireless Adapters and software device drivers)
• Graphics Card: Intel HD Graphics/AMD Radeon™ Graphics/NVidia Quadro
• Network card: A 10/100/1000 baseT Ethernet Interface 
• USB Ports: between two and four USB Ports, with at least two USB 3.0 Ports.
• Users may need to purchase a 'Type-C to USB Converter' if the laptop has no USB Ports, like some of the newer Macbooks and Windows Laptops.
• USB/Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter (for Apple Macintosh), USB to Ethernet adapters (for Windows) to use the Ethernet Network Connection Ports in UCD.

Laptop Warranty:

All laptops come with a one year manufacturer's warranty.

If available, try to get this upgraded to two years, as most hardware issues occur in the first two years.

Laptop Software:

Microsoft Office 2016 is available free for both Windows and Apple Macintosh OS.

Sophos Anti-virus is available free for both Windows and Apple Macintosh OS from Software downloads in UCD Connect.

We recommend registering your new laptop at the beginning of the year.