University Computer Specifications

We think you'll be happiest adhering to the New Computer standards (highlighted), but any computer that meets or exceeds the specifications listed below should be sufficient.

All Illinois State students are expected to own a computer that meets the University's minimum hardware and software standards, which are updated annually and published here. Read the Policy on Student Computer Ownership

Software Requirements: Microsoft Office is the standard productivity suite for campus. As a benefit of campus-wide Microsoft licensing, a subscription to Microsoft Office 365 is available to all students at no extra charge. Also licensed for all students is Adobe Creative Cloud which includes Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Premier Rush, XD and 40 other desktop and mobile applications.

Only University-approved anti-virus software should be installed on computers. More information will be provided once you arrive on campus. 

TechZone does not recommend primary computing devices with the Android, Chrome OS, iOS, Windows RT, or Windows 10 S operating systems.

Some majors have additional technology requirements. Lucky for you, we made a list.

Check your major

Standards for Laptops

View side-by-side* →

Already Owned

CPU	Intel Celeron Intel Pentium Intel Core AMD Athlon AMD Phenom AMD Sempron AMD Turion
RAM	4 GB
Hard Drive	80 GB HDD
Wireless Card	802.11g
Operating System	Windows 8.1 Windows 10 OS X 10.11 El Capitan macOS 10.12 Sierra macOS 10.13 High Sierra macOS 10.14 Mojave macOS 10.15 Catalina
Video Card	Integrated

New Computer

CPU	Intel Core m3 Intel Core m5 Intel Core m7 Intel Core i3 Intel Core i5 AMD A6 AMD A8 AMD A9 AMD A10 AMD Ryzen 3 AMD Ryzen 5
RAM	4 GB
Hard Drive	128 GB SSD / eMMC 500 GB HDD
Wireless Card	802.11 g/n*/ac *Dual-band wireless cards (those that support 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless) are recommended. Students in the Residence Halls should also consider an Ethernet adapter.
Operating System	Windows 10 macOS 10.15 Catalina
Video Card	Integrated

New Advanced

CPU	Intel Core i5 Intel Core i7 Intel Core i9 AMD A12 AMD FX AMD Ryzen 7
RAM	8+ GB
Hard Drive	256+ GB SSD 1+ TB 7200 RPM HDD
Wireless Card	802.11 g/n*/ac/ax(Wi-Fi 6) *Dual-band wireless cards (those that support 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless) are recommended. Students in the Residence Halls should also consider an Ethernet adapter.
Operating System	Windows 10 macOS 10.15 Catalina
Video Card	AMD (Dedicated or discrete) nVidia (Dedicated or discrete)

*Side-by-side comparison is not optimized for mobile browsers

Standards for Desktops

View side-by-side* →

Already Owned

CPU	Intel Celeron Intel Pentium Intel Core AMD Athlon AMD Phenom AMD Sempron
RAM	4 GB
Hard Drive	80 GB HDD
Display Size	19"
Operating System	Windows 8.1 Windows 10 OS X 10.11 El Capitan macOS 10.12 Sierra macOS 10.13 High Sierra macOS 10.14 Mojave macOS 10.15 Catalina
Video Card	Integrated

New Computer

CPU	Intel Core i3 Intel Core i5 AMD A6 AMD A8 AMD A10 AMD Ryzen 3 AMD Ryzen 5
RAM	4 GB
Hard Drive	128 GB SSD 500 GB HDD
Display Size	20"
Operating System	Windows 10 macOS 10.15 Catalina
Video Card	Integrated

New Advanced

CPU	Intel Core i5 Intel Core i7 Intel Core i9 AMD A12 AMD FX AMD Ryzen 7
RAM	8+ GB
Hard Drive	256+ GB SSD 1+ TB 7200 RPM HDD
Display Size	24"+
Operating System	Windows 10 macOS 10.15 Catalina
Video Card	AMD (Dedicated or discrete) nVidia (Dedicated or discrete)

*Side-by-side comparison is not optimized for mobile browsers