Suggested Computer Requirements
The table below suggests configurations you should be able to find at local retailers or online catalogs. These suggestions are common configurations that will meet a student’s academic needs.
Capital University’s technical support for student computers is limited to network access only. The I.T. department will only assist in obtaining TCP/IP address settings necessary to access the network on functional computers.
If your computer is in need of repairs (whether software or hardware related), you should take the computer to a repair shop or send it back to the manufacturer. All operating systems that are not listed on this sheet will not be supported by I.T. Technical Support for Windows Vista is very limited as the campus has not adopted this platform.
| Minimum | Recommended |
Processor | Intel Pentium IV or AMD Athlon | Pentium IV 3 GB or higher |
Memory | 512 Mb RAM | 2 GB RAM or higher |
Network Connection Card | Integrated NIC. Wireless NICs should support Wireless B and G. | Integrated NIC. Wireless NICs should support Wireless B and G. |
Monitor | 14 Inch Monitor | 15-17 Inch Monitor or larger |
Hard Drive Space Free Space | 40 GB or higher | 60 GB or higher |
Drives | CD/DVD Drive | CDRW/DVD Drive/Burner |
Software | Microsoft Office 2003, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. An antivirus and spyware program (ex: Ad-ware, Spybot, Symantec).* | Microsoft Office 2003, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. An antivirus and spyware program (ex: Ad-ware, Spybot, Symantec).* |
Printer | Inkjet Printer | Inkjet Printer |
USB Drive | 256 MB | 2 GB or higher |
Other | Service Pack 2 | Service Pack 2 |
| Minimum | Recommended |
Processor | Intel Pentium IV or AMD Athlon | Pentium IV, 3 GB or higher |
Memory | 1 GB RAM | 2 GB RAM or higher |
Monitor | 14 Inch Monitor | 15-17 Inch Monitor or larger |
Hard Drive Space Free Space | 50 GB | 60 GB or higher |
Drives | CD/DVD Drive | CDRW/DVD Drive/Burner |
Graphics Card | DirectX 10 capable | DirectX 10 capable GPU with Hardware Pixel Shader v2.0 and WDDM 1.0 driver support |
Network Connection Card | Integrated NIC. Wireless NICs should support Wireless B and G. | Integrated NIC. Wireless NICs should support Wireless B and G. |
Graphics Memory | 128 MB RAM supports up to 2,756,000 total pixels (e.g. 1920 × 1200) | 512 MB+ for greater resolutions such as 2560x1600 |
Software | Microsoft Office 2007 including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. An antivirus and spyware program (ex: Ad-ware, Spybot, Symantec).* | Microsoft Office 2007 including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. An antivirus and spyware program (ex: Ad-ware, Spybot, Symantec).* |
Printer | Inkjet Printer | Inkjet Printer |
USB Drive | 256 MB | 2 GB or higher |
Other | Service Pack 2 | Service Pack 2 |
*I.T. provides free Symantec Antivirus to residential students at the beginning of the semester. Free antivirus is also available on-line such as AVAST and AVG.
Mac OS X
| Minimum | Recommended |
Processor | 1.07 MHz (OS X Panther) | 1.83 MHz or higher (OS X Leopard) |
Memory | 512 MB of RAM | 1 GB of RAM or higher |
Monitor | 12 Inch | 13.3 Inch or larger |
Hard Drive Space Free Space | 60 GB | 80 GB or higher |
Drives | CD Burner, DVD Drive (Combo Drive) | CD/DVD Burner (Super Drive) |
Software | Microsoft Office 2001/2004 including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (or the iWork suite including Pages, Keynote and Numbers) | Microsoft Office 2008 including Word, Excel, PowerPoint (or the iWork Suite including Pages, Keynote and Numbers) |
Printer | Inkjet Printer | Inkjet Printer |
USB Drive | 256 MB | 2 GB or higher |
Below is a short list of local retailers that offer computer technical support. Capital University does not endorse any of these retailers, but has listed this information for your convenience.
Local Computer Support Locations
Best Buy Apple Store
2782 Taylor Road Ext, Reynoldsburg, OH 4070 The Strand E, Columbus, OH
(614) 863-3442 (614) 478-5592
Circuit City The Laptop Guy - Gahanna
4056 Morse Road, Columbus, OH 980A Claycraft Road, Gahanna, OH
(614) 471-7025 1-888-289-9963