Exam Computing Recommendations
The College of Veterinary Medicine expects that each student will bring a laptop with them to the DVM program that meets the specifications below. Students will use their laptops to take course exams. You can elect to bring a laptop you already own or one that you have newly purchased. Please note: An iPad, tablet, or Chromebook is not an adequate laptop replacement.
The new 2018 MacBook Pro (released on July 12, 2018 with model number beginning “MR9”) is not compatible with our exam software at this time.
| Item | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Age | Less than two years |
| Operating System | Windows 10 (64-bit) MacOS 10.13 “High Sierra” |
| Processor | Intel i3, i5 or i7 |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Battery Life | 2 hours or longer |
| Wireless | 802.11ac |
| Hard Drive (minimum) | 256 GB |
| Hard Drive (recommended) | 256 GB or larger Solid State Drive (SSD) |
| Touch Screen or Tablet Mode | No* |
| Physical Keyboard | Yes |
| Administrative Rights | Yes |
| Free Storage Space | 100 GB |
| Backup for Files | See Backups |
* The exam software we use does not work on tablets or tablet-mode laptops. While the MS Surface Pro and the Surface Book are exceptions to this rule, these models are not supported by university IT departments.
Recommendations for software
- Adobe Acrobat Reader (free download – uncheck Free McAfee Security Scan)
- Microsoft Office (free versions through OIT)
- Comprehensive endpoint security product such as Symantec or McAfee that will protect against all current malware threats (More information: https://oit.ncsu.edu/it-security/antivirus/)
- Quicktime (free download)
- Flash Plug-In (free download – uncheck Free McAfee Security Scan)
- Silverlight (free download)
- Google Chrome recommended browser (free download)
In addition to the recommended software above, OIT offers software licensed for free use and the NC State Bookstore offers discounted copies of educational software.