M.S.ACT Program Laptop Policy
The School of Architecture and Design (SoAD) requires all incoming M.S. students to purchase a personal laptop computer powerful enough to support the demanding video and computational requirements necessary for academic course work, as well as adequate storage to accommodate new and future software releases. It is crucial for SoAD to guarantee that all our students acquire the highest level of expertise and knowledge required to perform competitively in the evolving architecture, design, and technology professions.
SoAD has coordinated with New York Tech’s Information Technology Services (ITS) and Dell to offer a laptop model capable of lasting the duration of the student’s time in the program and can be purchased at an educational discount. This option provides support from ITS and future software updates. Dell has optimized the laptop specifications to run the latest CAD, BIM, graphic design, and 3-D modeling software. SoAD strongly recommends that students consider purchasing one of the specified Dell laptop models, with a discrete graphics card, through the link below. If you do not wish to purchase a Dell, you must have a machine that reflects the minimum specifications listed or above.
We do not recommend students purchase Apple laptops as not all software is offered on the Mac platform. Please see the important note* below for more information.
Recommended Computer and Software
For the M.S.ACT program, you must have the minimum specification outlined below.
Minimum Required Computer Specification
Processor | Intel Core i9-12950HX, 30 MB Cache, 24 Threads, 16 Core, 2.3GHz to 5.0GHz vPro |
Operating System | Windows 11 Pro, English, French, Spanish |
Memory | 32 GB, 1 × 32 GB, DDR5, 4800 MHz, dual-channel |
LCD | 17.0″ FHD+ (1920 × 1200) Infinity Edge Anti-Glare 500-Nit Display |
Hard Drive | 1 TB M.2 2280, Gen 4 PCIe x4 NVMe, Solid State Drive |
Video Card | NVIDIA® RTX A3000 12GB GDDR6 |
*Students will use cloud computing as well
Models Recommended For Architecture Students
Required Software
Students will have access to a computer software image provided by New York Tech for the computer labs. Students are required to purchase licenses and install in their laptops the following software. Be aware that if you plan on purchasing an Apple computer, the software is required to be purchased for Windows. Note that Microsoft OneDrive is available for all New York Tech students as a storage and file backup.
Adobe Software (fee based – PC only)
- Illustrator
- Photoshop
- InDesign
- Acrobat Pro
- Premiere Pro
- After Effects
- Dreamweaver
Autodesk Software
- AutoCAD (free) – Windows only
- Revit Architecture (free) – Windows only
- Fusion 360
- Slicer for Fusion 360
- Maya 2020 (Python)
- Autodesk CFD
Microsoft Software (free; New York Tech login required)
- Word
- PowerPoint
- Excel
3D Modeling Platforms
- MatLAB (free; New York Tech login required)
- Wolfram Alpha (free; New York Tech login required)
- Wolfram Mathematica 12 (free; New York Tech login required)
- Rhinoceros 3D 8 (fee-based, educational pricing)
- Rhinoceros 3d Grasshopper Plug Ins (GHPYTHON, Kangaroo Physics, Karamba, FireFly, Culebra, Volvox, Millipede, Rabbit, SandBoxTopology, tOpos, Cocoon, MinSurf, RemoteSlider, Slikworm, GHPython, kangaroo, Heliotrope, Parakeet, LyreBird, LadyBug, Paneling Tools, SmartForm, Weaverbird, Pufferfish, LunchBox, DoodleBug, Caterpillar, Animation for Grasshopper)
- Rhinoceros 3d Plug Ins (RhinoCAM, RoboDK, Rhino Vault)
- Reality Capture (free, with PPI when exporting)
- Unity 3d (Python)
Rendering Platforms (fee-based)
- VRay Plug-in for Rhino
- Lumion (free)
- Enscape
- D5 Render
- (many additional rendering engines available to experiment with)
CAM Fabrication
- Pepakura
- Kuka PRc (KRL) + Robots in Architecture Membership TBC
- Octopuz (octopuz.com) [TBC]
Programming Languages
- Python
- JavaScript (TBC)
Physical Computation
- Arduino
- Raspberry Pi
- Mach3 CNC (Console Machine Controller Software, Optional CAM design)
GIS
- ArGIS (PRO)
- Google Earth Pro
- Google Earth Engine
Other software, platforms, and/or robotics to be installed depending on instructors. The M.S.ACT program will use mostly Python for scripting.
New York Tech IT Computer Support
Please contact ITS for assistance.
Important Note
Students who wish to purchase a Macbook Pro should be advised of the following issues related to owning and operating a Mac:
- The School of Architecture and Design recommends only the highest end model of a Macbook Pro in order to support adequate 3D modeling and rendering software capabilities for all department academic coursework.
- The New York Tech Dell laptop discounted price and IT support plan will not apply to Mac or other alternative laptop models purchased.
- To purchase an adequate and properly equipped Macbook Pro will require additional initial and maintaining costs including purchase and download of Bootcamp or VM Ware, a copy of Windows 10×64, and increased or upgraded hardware for PC performance equivalency.
- Purchasing a Mac laptop will not permit upgrades to any of the components in the future.
- All required department software should be PC based. Most Mac format software does not allow the same functionality as PC.
- The performance specification for the Mac will require 200% more power than the required PC. The Mac laptop will require a partition to run both Mac and PC. This splits the computers performance in half.
Common Concerns
We understand that the cost of the laptop may seem high when compared to off-the-shelf models, but the specified model is planned to last the duration of the program, and to guarantee the right performance to fulfill the assignments required in courses. The text below will help clarify the reasons to purchase a well-equipped machine from the beginning.
Some laptops do not allow aftermarket upgrades of memory, so it is necessary to purchase a computer which will perform well throughout the program, as software updates require more memory with updates and newer versions. Some laptop manufacturers split storage into a small initial partition, and a larger secondary partition. A laptop must have a 512 GB initial partition (the C: drive on Windows) to meet the computer requirements.
Laptops do not allow the addition of new video hardware. In order to run all of the required 3D modeling software programs, it is important to have a computer that has a video card that meets the minimum specifications.