ECE Computer Requirements for Online Courses

All ECE students will need to have a computer system and Internet connection to take online courses. The department provides the minimum requirements and ideal recommendations below to help you choose the right setup.

Minimum requirements:

  • OS: Windows 10 or MacOS 10.12
  • Processor: Intel 4th Gen i5
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Hard Drive: 100 GB or larger
  • Graphics card: discrete/dedicated (such as NVIDIA or AMD)
  • Communications: 10 Mbps Internet connection
  • Videoconferencing tools: camera, functional microphone, speaker

Ideal recommendations:

  • OS: Windows 10 or MacOS 10.15
  • Processor: Intel 9th Gen i7
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Hard Drive: 250 GB or larger Solid State Drive (SSD)
  • Graphics card: discrete/dedicated (such as NVIDIA or AMD)
  • Communications: 25 Mbps Internet connection
  • Videoconferencing tools: camera and headset with microphone

The “requirements” represent the minimum computing platform needed to take online courses in ECE. The “recommendations” can be mixed and matched to provide an improved computing experience. Systems that do not meet the minimum requirements may be too slow to deliver adequate performance and/or may not run the more advanced software used in some courses.

Don’t have reliable access to a computer or the Internet? Review your options here.