Vstitcher System Requirements
Mike Fowler
As a college that prepares future creative professionals, Columbia believes it is essential our students be equipped with the technology that meets the standards for their field. With this in mind, the college has obtained licenses for many software programs students can access, free of charge. Further, faculty in each of our disciplines have recommended specific hardware and software for students to purchase independently.
Some students may need to use their financial aid package to purchase their educational technology. To discuss your financial plan, please contact Columbia Central at columbi...@colum.edu or at 312-369-7140.
Lenovo Partner Discount Site Lenovo Partner Discount Site with limited selection, better discount, quick shipping but no customization. These models meet the requirements of some tiers but not all. *NOTE: some off these laptops can also be upgraded after purchase to meet requirements.
Personal computer requirements for Columbia students fall into one of the five tiers described in this section. You can read the specifications for each tier by clicking on its name. You can find the tier recommended for your major by referring to the table in the section below.
In general, when buying a computer, the college recommends that students purchase hardware that supports the latest operating systems and includes as much memory and the fastest processor speed your budget will allow. Also, we recommend purchasing the extended manufacturer warranty to protect your device. If you are looking to purchase a computer for your coursework, please note the recommended laptop specifications and additional technology supplies can be viewed under the Department-specific Requirements section above.
Apple has a trade-in program that allows you to trade in your eligible Apple device for credit toward your next purchase or get an Apple Store Gift Card you can use anytime. If your Apple device is not eligible for credit, they will recycle it for free. Lenovo also has a trade-in program that offers qualifying end-user customers the opportunity to return qualifying devices for trade-in discount after the purchase of a qualifying replacement product.
Columbia College recommends purchasing a laptop before the Fall semester. We also recommend acquiring your software and having it installed a few weeks before you arrive at the college. This will ensure that you are running the latest version of the software and allow time to troubleshoot any issues that arise before the start of classes. There is a detailed Student Software Access list that is offered for academic use on the Student Help & Support page.
We always recommend that you backup your data in more than one location. While you are enrolled as a student at Columbia College you will have storage available for your use with OneDrive. We also recommend that you use an external hard drive to back up your files.
All students are encouraged to own and maintain their own computers & musical equipment. Contact Technical Director Steve Hadley to learn more about on-campus computer labs, tech-related facilities, and music equipment that is available for short-term checkouts.
SketchUp: is a CPU-biased modeling software that uses one single processor core - all computations are done on the CPU...however...SketchUp's internal renderer requires a GPU with hardware acceleration
Revit: Revit only uses CPU...however... if you are working in 3d view or using shade or other graphic options, GPU will be needed to smooth the 3d browsing. system requiremnets : -requirements-for-Autodesk-Revit-products.html
Rhino: Rhino works best with a high-frequency CPU and only requires a few cores - rhino 3D Modelling doesn't use many cores and threads, so choose processor with the fastest clock speed for best results. system requirements -requirements/
Vray: latest versions of software are V-Ray and V-Ray GPU uses both CPU and GPU - 'V-Ray' runs on the CPU only and 'V-Ray GPU' runs on the GPU and/or the CPU. system requirements : -sketchup/installing-vray-sketchup
Enscape: performs its renders using your graphics card (GPU), but the GPU has to have dedicated VRAM, and not shared VRAM as found with Intel Integrated Graphics chips (if your systems CPU and RAM are capable of handling Revit, for instance, and you have a capable GPU, Enscape should work). system requirements : -requirements/
Remote courses combine both asynchronous and synchronous learning for students who wish to engage with their professors and classmates in real time. In addition to self-paced work, you will be asked to log on during specific class times to participate in online discussions, read lectures, complete assignments, and interact with the instructor and other students.
A remote course is a fully digital experience offered through Google Classroom. Remote courses will require you to login in real-time for the lecture and classroom-style learning, and you will have access to additional resources (ie. tutorial videos, handouts etc.) when class time is over. You will be required to log on during specific class times to participate in virtual discussions, read lectures, complete assignments, and interact with the instructor and other students (REMINDER: attendance, participation and project completion are part of the grading process). Please review the required supplies for each course, as some courses will need students to acquire software, equipment or tools for full participation.
Please note, students need to fully participate in the class as they would in-person. This means they keep their camera 'ON', take part in discussions and stay connected for the ENTIRE duration of the class (sessions will not be recorded). If your child needs special accommodations please let us know before the start of the class so that we could communicate this to the instructor.
See system requirements and additional details here: Remote course-synchronous
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