College Of Engineering
Who Is Required To Have A Laptop?
Every incoming freshman to the William States Lee College of Engineering is required to have their own personal laptop computer.
Transfer students are expected to have a personal laptop.
By having a laptop, you will be able to remotely access Mosaic Anywhere from where ever there is Internet access and be able to complete your school work. The PCS office recommends certain system specifications that achieve a separate performance level above other laptops to meet the needs of your major.
Picking A System
In the College of Engineering at UNC Charlotte we have Mosaic labs that should cover most of your computing needs. Mosaic Computing Support offers 24/7 labs across campus that contain all the software you might need during your studies. While this is useful, it is not always convenient. This is why all College of Engineering students are required to purchase a laptop for convenient access to programs and access to Mosaic Anywhere. Having a laptop allows you to access engineering software at your convenience without having to rely solely on Mosaic.
Recommended specs include an i7 processor (or AMD equivalent), 16 GB of RAM, at least a 512 GB solid state drive (SSD), and potentially a dedicated graphics card. In the typical first year in engineering at UNC Charlotte you will mostly work with Microsoft Office and as your curicculum progresses more software will be implimented. A 2 GB dedicated graphics card will help your computer power through CAD work, which is common in civil and mechanical engineering. Common software used in the electrical curriculum include Matlab and Pspice, which do not require as much performance as AutoCAD or Solidworks. When purchasing a laptop it is important to remember that it should be meant to last the amount of time you are in school. Opting for a higher performing machine helps keep it relevant for longer.
Engineering Recommended Laptop Specifications | |
Processor | Intel i7 Processor (or AMD equivalent) |
Performance Memory (RAM) | 16 GB |
Physical Storage Capacity (Hard Drive) | 512 SSD |
Dedicated Graphics Memory | 2 GB |
Warranty Period | 4 year accidental protection |
Dell 15" G5 Gaming
15.6-inch FHD (1920x1080) IPS 300-nits |
9th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-9750H (6 Cores, 12MB Cache, up to 4.5GHz) |
16GB DDR4 2666MHz |
1TB 5400rpm SATA + 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive |
Still image: 0.92 megapixel (HD) Video: 1280x720 (HD) at 30 fps |
Win 10 Home (64 bit) |
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX™ 2060 with 6GB GDDR6 |
Intel 9560 802.11ac Dual Band 2.4 & 5GHz 2x2 |
Bluetooth 5.0 |
Backlit with Blue Print |
Dell XPS 15
15.6” 4K Ultra HD Infinity Edge Touch Display (3840x2160)
2.2GHz Intel 6-Core i7 8750H (Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz)
16GB 2666Mhz DDR4 Memory
512GB PCIe Solid State Drive
4GB NVIDIA GeForce 1050Ti
6-Cell 97 WHr Battery
Windows 10 Pro
3-Year Accidental Damage Warranty Included