ITS Computer Recommendations
The following recommendations will meet the needs of the general UH staff and students for email, web browsing, word processing, spreadsheet and other office productivity software. The systems listed are ITS minimum level recommendations. ITS recommends purchasing the systems listed below or systems that exceed these specifications.
UH students should consult with their respective college/school/department for specialized hardware/software requirements for their field of study, that are not covered under these general recommendations.
PC Desktop:
Current Generation Intel Core Ultra 5 / Current Generation AMD Ryzen 5 (or better)
16GB RAM minimum; 32GB recommended for those running memory intensive applications
512GB Solid State Drive (recommended)*
Wired Gigabit Ethernet
Wi-Fi 4/5 (802.11n/ac) or higher (optional for desktop, except if desktop will be located where wired connection is unavailable or suboptimal)
Webcam with microphone
Backup device - External hard drive and/or USB Flash Drive
Windows 11 Pro
3-year On-site Warranty
PC Laptop:
Current Generation Intel Core Ultra 5 / Current Generation AMD Ryzen 5 (or better)
16GB RAM minimum; 32GB recommended for those running memory intensive applications
512GB Solid State Drive (recommended)*
Wi-Fi 4/5 (802.11n/ac) or higher built-in
Webcam with microphone
Backup device - External hard drive and/or USB Flash Drive
Windows 11 Pro
3-year On-site Warranty (recommended adding complete hardware coverage to protect from accidental damage)
Most laptops no longer come with an internal optical disc drive. If one is needed, purchase an external USB DVD+/-RW drive.
* If additional storage is needed and read/write speeds are not a concern, storage can be expanded via additional internal drives (solid state or mechanical) or by external drives. If additional storage is needed and read/write speeds are important, consider upgrading to a larger primary SSD.
Macintosh Desktop:
Current Generation Apple M chip with 10+ core CPU/GPU
16GB RAM minimum; 32GB recommended for those running memory intensive applications
512GB Solid State Drive recommended
Wired Gigabit Ethernet
Wi-Fi 4/5 (802.11n/ac) or higher (optional for desktop, except if desktop will be located where wired connection is unavailable or suboptimal)
Webcam with microphone
Backup device - External hard drive and/or USB Flash Drive
Applecare (3 year warranty)
Macintosh Laptop:
(if used as a primary computer)
Current Generation Apple M chip with 10+ core CPU/GPU
16GB RAM minimum; 32GB recommended for those running memory intensive applications
512GB Solid State Drive recommended
10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Connection *
Webcam with microphone
Wireless 802.11ax built-in
Backup device - External hard drive and/or USB Flash Drive
Applecare (3 year warranty)
* MacBook/Air/Pro requires purchase of a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to ethernet adapter.
Printing:
UH administrative systems no longer require special printer requirements, e.g. postscript. Documents can be printed to any locally attached printer.
For printers being used by a single individual, a printer with a USB connection should suffice.
For printers being shared amongst a number of staff, a network-capable printer with wired Ethernet connectivity should be considered. Wireless printing via the UHM WiFi is not supported or recommended. When setting up the network-capable printer, follow the recommendations for securing network printers and multi-function devices listed in https://www.hawaii.edu/askus/1357.
Purchasing:
PC's can be purchased through the UH Dell Store or the UH Bookstore and Mac's can be purchased through the UH Bookstore. HP Printers are available locally. If you need help deciding on a system, please contact computer.recommendations@hawaii.edu .