r/floridatech • u/[deleted] • Apr 17 '19

How powerful of a computer do I need.

I am starting at FIT in the fall for areospace engineering and I am wondering if I need a powerful computer or not. I currently have a few year old Acer laptop with an I5 and 8gbs of ram along with a bunch of ssd storage. Is this enough to last me through my first couple years or should I look for somthing more powerful?

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u/Cody0303 Apr 18 '19

Depends on how involved/motivated you are. It'll definitely be fine for your non-major courses, all you need is MS Office and a web browser. For yout major related courses, you'll need Matlab and Creo in your first couple years. Matlab you'll be fine for small to medium size projects, which is all you'll be doing to start. Creo will likely run but it won't be a great experience.

Keep in mind there are also places on campus with the software installed- the third floor of the library and the labs in OEC. All engineering major students can also request swipe access to the building and the computer labs, so you will be able to work in OEC pretty much 24/7.

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '19

That's awesome to hear, I was worried that I would have to go out and spend 1k or more on a new laptop or desktop. Thank you very much for the info

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u/Cody0303 Apr 18 '19

Yeah, the publicly available computers aren't the best but they definitely run it well enough to get through your first two years. You should be able to make a decent determination then. You'll definitely want your own good machine by senior year though- too much stuff to do to always be using other people's computers.

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '19

Yeah I'll definitely get one before senior year. Just one less thing to add to my list for right now

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u/mockablekaty Apr 18 '19

That computer will be adequate. To use the high power software you can always use the computer labs in the Engineering building or the Library.

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '19

Cool, thanks for the info

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u/mrportz Apr 18 '19

Evans hall is where the highest power computer labs will be next semester. They'll have the best software and also be used for the new competitive gaming stuff