Laptop advice Civil Engineering & Geosciences

For students participating in degree programmes at the Faculty of CEG it is very helpful to use a laptop during lectures etc. We feel that for students in the first year of the BSc it is even a must. It also enables you to work regardless of computer room opening times or the availability of a computer during peak periods (e.g. exam periods or report deadlines).

The Faculty has an excellent wireless network and a large number of laptop workspaces with power supply. The fixed network offers fast and easy internet access. Very convenient if you're handling large files. Just plug in your network cable, register for first-time use and you're ready to go.All central ICT facilities (mail, file, print) are accessible from student laptops. In addition, a wide range of (Windows) educational software is available for student laptops.

Which laptop?

TU Delft has a laptopproject. The laptop project offers a choice of three models. The low-end model is NOT suitable for the graphics software required for a programme in CEG. The high-end models meet all the requirements of the CEG software. Participation in the laptop project is not compulsory but does offer considerable advantages:

  •  It is a powerful computer with good screen quality.
  •  The price is good
  •  3 year warranty. On campus repair and battery and possibility to get a swap laptop while your laptop is in repair.

If you want to bring your own laptop to your CEG-study, make sure:

  • Suitable for Windows 10 (64-bits)
  • A multi-core (quad-core) processor
  • A discrete (dedicated) video card
  • At least 16 GB of RAM (32 GB recommended)
  • At least 512 GB of storage (1TB SSD recommended)
  • At least 15” full HD screen

 * 3D packages have different requirements regarding video cards. It is a good idea to find out from the various software developers what the requirements are. Tip: Google ‘system requirements’ and name of software.

Apple laptops are less suitable, because most software used in CEG only works on Windows. However some of the software (or an alternative package) is also available for a Mac.

Apple

For your studies you mainly use Windows software that is often not available in an Apple Mac (OS) version. A Mac is therefore less suitable for your studies. On a Mac with an Intel processor (the i7 processor) you still use this Windows software via a detour. Follow the Bootcamp manual from Apple for this. You do need a Windows 10 installation file and serial number (available from Surfspot) and a lot of free disk space.

Apple now also offers Macs with an Apple M1 processor. This processor is not compatible with the Intel processors, which means that no Intel version of Windows 10 can be installed on it and therefore these Macs are less / not suitable for your studies.

Software

The required software can be downloaded by all students from the software portal. Click here for more information. 

The student is responsible for installing the software he or she needs. If the student is unable to do this, SID-Studoc students are available to help install the software and offer assistance in its use.

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