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Computing Help Desk

Computer Buying Advice

Hardware Guidelines for Computing at MIT

Minimum and Recommended Hardware Configurations

The table below provides the minimum and recommended hardware configurations for working effectively in the MIT computing environment. Minimum configurations are for currently owned computers; recommended configurations are for purchasing machines. If your current system meets a minimum configuration, you should plan on replacing it in one or two years. We would be glad to answer any questions you have about our guidelines and recommendations. For our contact information, see Computer Buying Advice.

Incoming Students
If you own a computer and plan to bring it with you, compare it to what's listed below to see if it meets, or exceeds, MIT's minimum configuration. A system meeting only the minimum configuration may not fulfill your needs throughout your entire stay at MIT.

Administrative Departments
Generally, MIT administrative departments can expect to replace a laptop computer every three years and a desktop computer every four years. If your department participates in the Admin-IT or desktop renewal program, see the Hardware and Software Standards page for important information.

Recommended Computers
For information about recommended computers from MIT's vendor partners, see Computer Buying Advice.

Hardware Standards as of July 2007

Minimum Configurations

Recommended Configurations

These configurations are for assessing a currently owned machine. Plan to replace it in one to two years.

PC Laptop: 1.2-1.4 GHz Pentium M, or later
1024x768 (XGA) display
1 GB RAM
40 GB hard disk*
CD-RW or DVD/CD-RW combo drive
MIT-supported Ethernet and 802.11b/g wireless adapter**

PC Desktop: 1 GHz Pentium 4 or later
1024x768 (XGA) display
1 GB RAM
40 GB hard disk or larger*
CD-RW or DVD/CD-RW combo drive
MIT-supported Ethernet**

Macintosh Laptop: Power Macintosh G4 or later
1024x768 display
1 GB RAM
40 GB hard disk*
CD-RW or DVD/CD-RW combo drive
MIT-supported Ethernet and 802.11b/g wireless adapter**

Macintosh Desktop: Power Macintosh G5 or later
1024x768 display
1 GB RAM
40 GB hard disk or larger*
CD-RW or DVD/CD-RW combo drive
MIT-supported Ethernet**

These configurations are for purchasing a machine. Plan to replace it in approximately four years.

PC Laptop: Pentium Core 2 Duo
1024x768 (XGA) display or better
80 GB hard disk*
2 GB (or more) RAM
DVD±RW drive
MIT-supported Ethernet and 802.11b/g wireless adapter**

PC Desktop: Pentium Core 2 Duo
1024x768 (XGA) display
2 GB (or more) RAM
250 GB hard disk or larger*
DVD±RW drive
MIT-supported Ethernet**

Macintosh Laptop: Pentium Core 2 Duo
1024x768 display or better
80 GB hard disk*
2 GB (or more) RAM
DVD±RW drive
MIT-supported Ethernet and 802.11b/g wireless adapter**

Macintosh Desktop: Pentium Core 2 Duo
1024x768 (XGA) display
2 GB (or more) RAM
250 GB hard disk or larger*
DVD±RW drive
MIT-supported Ethernet**

Recommended Operating Systems

Windows systems: Windows XP Professional, with SP2 and current updates
Macintosh systems: Mac OS X 10.4
Linux systems: Red Hat Enterprise 4 ***

Footnotes

*Make sure you plan to make regular, full backups of your hard disk, either with MIT's central backup service, TSM, or with writeable, high-capacity removable media.

**If you plan to bring a system to campus that does not have built-in Ethernet, review the recommended Ethernet cards for MIT. These adaptors are fully tested to function well on MITnet. Those not on the recommended list are not guaranteed to work on MITnet.

***If you are planning to install or re-install Linux on your computer, you may want to wait until you arrive on campus as MIT has a volume license for Red Hat Enterprise, including subscriptions to Red Hat's automatic update service. We can also help you with the installation. If you already have a different Linux distribution installed, you will be able to make it work with most central services at MIT. However, MIT recommends and supports the Red Hat Enterprise distribution of Linux.


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