Hardware Guidelines for Computing at MIT
Minimum and Recommended Hardware Configurations
The information 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 June 2009
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Minimum Configurations
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Recommended Configurations
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These configurations are for assessing a currently owned machine. Plan to replace it in one to two years. PC Laptop: Intel Core Duo, or later PC Desktop: Intel Core Duo or later Macintosh Laptop: Intel Core Duo or later Macintosh Desktop: Intel Core Duo or later |
These configurations are for purchasing a machine. Plan to replace it in approximately four years. PC Laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo PC Desktop: Intel Core 2 Duo Macintosh Laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo Macintosh Desktop: Intel Core 2 Duo |
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Recommended Operating Systems
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Footnotes *Please be aware that 32-bit operating systems will only be able to use 3 GB of the available RAM. A 64-bit operating system version will be needed if you would like to be able to us the entire 4 GB of RAM. At this time, MIT does not support 64-bit versions of Windows XP or Vista. **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 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. If you intend to run processor and resource intensive applications such as engineering software or virtualization software you will want to comply with the recommended, not minimal hardware standards. |
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IS&T Service Desk
Monday-Friday
Telephone/Online: 8am - 6pm
Walk-In (N42) 9:15am - 5pm
Web: IS&T Service Desk
Email: computing-help@mit.edu
Phone: 617.253.1101
