Faculty of Computer Science

Laptop Recommendations

Need help?
For technical support, contact cshelp@cs.dal.ca

In most cases, the base specifications will suffice for your time as an undergraduate student. To help you in your decision-making, we've written out our recommendations below.

Apple

  • Processor: Intel or M2
  • Memory: 16GB (Intel) or 8GB unified (M2)
  • Storage: 256GB Solid State
  • Operating System: Latest MacOS

PC

  • Processor: Intel i5 2.5Ghz
  • Memory: 16GB DDR4
  • Storage: 256GB Solid State
  • Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Professional

Note: Students who are taking graphics or computation intensive courses should invest in a laptop with an i7 CPU, dedicated GPU, and 16GB of Memory. For advice on purchases, please reach out to the CS Help Desk.

Academic pricing options

Many companies offer discounts to students when purchasing a laptop. 

Apple

Apple offers academic pricing with proof of student ID ($100 - $150 discount).  There are promotional offers for academic purchases (July – Sept).  Click here for Apple discounted pricing.

Lenovo

Academic pricing is available throughout the year.  You can usually find Promo codes & special back to school pricing (July – Sept) online. Click here for Lenovo discounted pricing.

Dell

Check the Dell site for latest academic pricing.

Other vendors

  • For laptop brands which are non Apple, Lenovo, or Dell, you can check with Staples, BestBuy or NewEgg

There are usually Back to School specials available (July – Sept). Purchases may require student ID.

 

Budget laptops & devices

If you are looking for budget friendly options, Newegg offers refurbished devices which meet the requirements for CS courses. Various options are available for both PC & Apple.

  • PC
  • Apple
laptopspecs