Required Equipment

For in person learning, most courses are held in computer labs equipped with required equipment for game development. However, there are some courses not held in labs that require students to bring a device that is capable of accessing online learning tools such as Brightspace, our Learning Management System (LMS).

For remote learning, the Game Development program recommends either one of the following two options:

1. Laptop (Minimum specs– gaming laptop)

Operating System
Windows 10 Home Edition

Cpu

Intel CPU:

i7 8750H 6c/12t
i7 9750H 6c/12t
i7 10750H 6c/12t
i7 10875H 8c/16t

Or

AMD CPU:
4600H 6c/12t
4800H 8c/16t
4900H 8c/16t

RAM
*minimum spec: 16GB DDR4 (32GB is the standard)

Harddrive storage (internal)
500GB SSD or 1TB HDD

Video card/GPU (dedicated)
*Note: This is the most important component for video game development.

Gaming laptops use two different chipsets. One is for low power applications (EG: Intel HD chipset) and high power applications, such as gaming (EG: AMD or NVIDIA chipset).

Recommended spec: NVIDIA RTX 2060 (or higher)

The laptop will dynamically switch as needed.

Ensure the laptop has a dedicated video card and is an NVIDIA RTX 2060 or higher.

*Consider purchasing an external computer monitor. Two monitors allow for more screen space to accommodate remote learning and more efficient workflow.

2. PC system

Operating System
Windows 10 Home Edition

Cpu
AMD CPU:
3600(X) 6c/12t
3700X 8c/16t Or Greater

Intel CPU:
i7 8700K 6c/12t Older
i9 9900K 8c/12t
i5 10400(k) 6c/12t
i7 10700(k) 8c/12t
i9 10900(k) 10c/20t

GPU:
RTX 2060 Super
RTX 2070 Super
RTX 2080 Super

Or Upcoming RTX 3000 Series

RAM
*minimum spec: 16GB DDR4 (32GB is the standard)

Harddrive storage (internal)
500GB SSD or 1TB HDD

Video card/GPU (dedicated)
*Note: This is the most important component for video game development.

Recommended spec: NVIDIA RTX 2060 (or higher)

*Although you will automatically require a computer monitor for your PC system, consider purchasing a second external computer monitor. Two monitors allow for more screen space to accommodate remote learning and more efficient workflow.

*TIP: If you have been given a laptop and are unsure of what components are in the device, you can check by running dxdiag.exe.

This small application will tell you everything you need to know about the laptop and is already built into the Operating System. No need to download anything.

Microsoft instructions for dxdiag.exe
Or, just type in Google: “how to run dxdiag windows 10” and you can watch various videos on youtube with instructions.