INTERIOR DESIGN PROGRAM LAPTOP REQUIREMENTS

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Updated by May 5, 2020

UNT Interior Design (ID) program laptop policy requires every student coming into the interior

design program after Entry Portfolio Review to own a laptop that meets the specifications listed

below. Depending on the nature of the course, individual faculty may enforce the laptop policy and

require use of laptop in class with necessary software.

The UNT ID Program is proud to make use of the most current technology to better prepare students

for their professional design career. To support competency, we require a laptop computer for every

student coming into our program. The software programs we use demand more computing power,

RAM and graphic capabilities (video cards), because the advanced software that we use changes and

updates quickly and continuously. In this regard, you should get a laptop with higher performance

that can perform efficiently throughout your student life.

ESSENTIAL SOFTWARE FOR ID PROGRAM:

Different courses may require additional software to be announced by instructors

REVIT 2021

Free download available from Autodesk website; Not Revit LT

AutoCAD 2021

Free download available; Not AutoCAD Architecture

SketchUp

Free download available from Google; SketchUp Pro requires a fee

Microsoft Office

including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

Adobe Creative Suite

Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign are useful in design

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:

Among the design software programs recommended by the program, REVIT software demands

higher system requirements. Obtaining a laptop with the system requirements for REVIT is critical to

avoid technical hassles. Below are laptop requirements for UNT Interior Design students based on the

System requirements for REVIT provided by Autodesk

REVIT 2021 - Performance: Large, complex models

Operating System

Microsoft® Windows® 10 64-bit

* Please note that newer versions of the software used in our program

will run only on 64-bit Windows

CPU Type

Multi-Core Intel®, Xeon®, or i-Series processor or AMD® equivalent

with SSE2 technology. Highest affordable CPU speed rating

recommended.

* REVIT software products use multiple cores for many tasks.

Memory

32 GB RAM

Video Display

Minimum: 1920 x 1200 with true color

Maximum: Ultra-High (4k) Definition Monitor

Video Adapter

DirectX® 11 capable graphics card with Shader Model 5 and a minimum

of 4GB of video memory

Hard Drive

• 30 GB free disk space

•

10,000+ RPM HardDrive

(for Point Cloud interactions)

or Solid State Drive

Monitor size

Bigger size monitor is recommended; minimum 14”

Pointing Device

MS-Mouse or 3Dconnexion

compliant device

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PC (WINDOWS OS) OR MAC PC DUAL PLATFORM (MAC OS + WINDOWS OS):

Some of the software used in the UNT Interior Design program is incompatible with the Apple

Macintosh Operating System (Mac OS) and Mac versions of the software are not available.

ADES3620: AutoCAD course uses AutoCAD and REVIT on Windows OS only, NOT on Mac OS. In other

words, your laptop must be capable to operate Windows OS. Since REVIT and AutoCAD has long been

used on Windows OS in the design industry, operating those programs on Windows OS is encouraged

and more beneficial to students. In addition, due to the fact that the interfaces of those programs on

Windows OS and Mac OS are significantly different, learning these programs on Mac OS is fully the

student’s responsibility.

In this regard, we highly recommend a laptop with Windows OS. While we recommend the Windows

platform, students may use a Mac PC dual platform that meets the technical specifications listed

above. Note: We have noticed that Mac PC dual platform (using either Parallels or Bootcamp)

experiences more technical problems and crashes while operating AutoCAD or REVIT. We don’t feel

the dual platform is a good option for our students for two reasons: It seems less efficient, and more

expensive due to the additional demands of disk space and technical support in order to run both

the Mac and Windows Operating Systems.

ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT:

• External Hard Drive/Flash Drive: Students should diligently save their work and keep at least 2

backup files in separate locations. In this regard, an external hard drive, an external

flash drive, or combination of both is recommended to make backup files and

transfer files between computers. You may use a flash drive to turn in assignments

and others for backups. The importance of backups cannot be over-emphasized.

Please note that lost or damaged files of your work are not considered an acceptable

excuse for any missing assignment.

• External Mouse: Operating AutoCAD, Revit, and SketchUP using a touchpad is very cumbersome.

You are recommended to use a mouse for efficiency.

FREE STUDENT COPIES OF AUTOCAD AND REVIT:

The Autodesk website provides free software downloads for students. It includes educational

versions of AutoCAD, REVIT, etc. Please be aware that CVAD labs updates software programs

continuously. Please check the Interior Design Blog (untintdes.blogspot.com/

) occasionally for up-to-

date information. In order to get the free software downloads, go to Autodesk website at

www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/all

The UNT Bookstore may offer software programs to students with a discounted price. Please visit

the bookstore website at https://unt.bncollege.com/shop/unt/home