A student majoring in a degree program offered by the Department of Emerging Technology in Business and Design (ETBD) is required to have a laptop computer capable of running the software used in classes. It is a student's responsibility to bring a working laptop to ETBD classes. A broken or malfunctioning laptop is not a valid excuse for late or missing work.

 

Laptops for Games + Simulation majors must boot in Windows 10.  Laptops for other ETBD majors may boot in either Windows or macOS.  Laptops running other operating systems will not meet the academic requirements.

 

The minimum laptop specifications depend on the degree program.

The following laptop models and specifications are recommended for students entering ETBD in 2020.

For the ETBD major

An ETBD major in either the applied or digital concentration may elect to run macOS or Windows. 

 

Recommended models are a 2020 MacBook Pro 16-inch for macOS and a 2020 Dell XPS 15 for Windows.

 

Minimum specifications for a macOS laptop:

• 2.6GHz 6-core Intel Core i7
• AMD Radeon Pro 5300M
• 16GB DDR4 memory
• 512GB SSD
• macOS Catalina

Minimum specifications for a Windows laptop:

• 10th-Generation Intel Core i7-10750
• 16GB DDR4 memory
• 512GB M.2 SSD
• 15.6" FHD display (1920x1200)
• Windows 10 Pro

For the Games + Simulation major

A Games + Simulation major must use a gaming laptop running Windows 10.  Recommended models are an Alienware M2 R15 Gaming Laptop and a Dell G5 Gaming Laptop.

Alienware M2 R15 specifications:

• NVidia GeForce RTX 2080
• 9th-Generation Intel Core i7-9750 with 12MB cache
• 16GB DDR4 memory
• 1TB M.2 SSD
• 15.6" FHD display (1920x1080)
• Windows 10 Pro

Dell G5 specifications:

• NVidia GeForce RTX 2070
• 9th-Generation Intel Core i7-9750 with 12MB cache
• 16GB DDR4 memory
• 1TB M.2 SSD
• 15.6" FHD display (1920x1080)
• Windows 10 Home

Purchasing a laptop

A student may purchase any of these laptop models through the Miami University Campus Store. (Note: the Campus Store is adding the two gaming laptop to its inventory. If you do not see them listed online, check back in a few days.)  There are two important advantages to using the Campus Store.

• Laptops carry three-year warranties, with on-site service in some cases.
• If a computer malfunctions and cannot be repaired promptly, a similar "loaner" computer is provided.

However, a student may purchase any brand or model of laptop from any vendor as long as the laptop meets the specifications shown above.