School of Visual Arts Computer Recommendations
The School of Visual Arts is recommending that students purchase one of the computers and the software packages that are listed below. Currently there is a recommended purchase, not a required purchase.
You may purchase your unit from Penn State's Computer Store, Penn State's Apple Custom Store, or from the store of your choice. However, wherever you make your computer purchase, The School of Visual Arts recommends that your unit adhere to the following specifications.
If you wish to purchase your laptop from the Computer Store's stock, we have made it easy and put everything together for you.
Note: Students considering New Media and/or IDS majors working with high end graphics and film and video applications are strongly encouraged to choose either a Mac Pro or a MacBook Pro.
View systems that meet the requirements
Recommended Configuration
15" MacBook Pro
- 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
- 256 MB of VRAM (discreet)
- 320 GB hard drive
- 8x double-layer SuperDrive
- 4 GB of RAM
Minimum Configuration
15" MacBook Pro
- 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
- 256 MB of VRAM
- 250 GB hard drive
- 8x double-layer SuperDrive
- 4 GB of RAM
Extended Configuration
15" or 17" MacBook Pro
- 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
- 512 MB of VRAM (discreet)
- 500 GB hard drive
- 8x double-layer SuperDrive
- 4 GB of RAM
Desktop Configuration
Mac Pro
- Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors
- 3 GB of RAM
- 640 GB hard drive
- 18x double-layer SuperDrive
- NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB of RAM
Software
The School of Visual Arts recommends that you purchase the following software packages from the Computer Store in order to get the Student Licensed price. Click on the part number to purchase the software.
It is highly recommended that you purchase Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium. However, you may choose another CS4 package, be sure that the package you choose includes Photoshop.
- Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Standard or Premium
- Office Mac 2008
