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Ridgewater CollegeRidgewater College

Computer Requirements

Students who enroll in the Computer Aided Drafting and Design program are required to purchase a laptop computer with the following specifications.

Windows

Section titled “Windows”
Specification Minimum Recommended
Operating System Windows 10 Windows 11
Processor Intel Core i5 2.4GHz or faster
AMD Ryzen 5 Intel Core i7 3.2GHz or faster
AMD Ryzen 7
RAM (Memory) 16GB 32GB or more
SSD or NVMe 500GB or more 1TB or more
Graphics Card*
Nvidia Quadro, AMD
FirePro, or AMD
Radeon Pro
recommended 4GB Dedicated Video RAM
OpenGL 3.2 or better
OpenCL 1.2 or better
DirectX12 or better
Microsoft Direct3D 10 or better 8GB Dedicated Video RAM or more
OpenGL 3.2 or better
OpenCL 1.2 or better
DirectX12 or better
Microsoft Direct3D 11 or better
Monitor 1920 x 1080 or better with True Color 1920 x 1080 or better with True Color

*On-Board Graphics such as Intel HD Graphics are not suitable to run CADD programs

Please confirm with your PC manufacturer or supplier on whether your individual configuration meets or exceeds these specifications. Ridgewater College will not evaluate or make recommendations on hardware outside of this specification.

Minimum and Recommended Hardware Specifications [PDF]

Required accessories

Section titled “Required accessories”
  • Headset with microphone
  • 6’ Ethernet cable

Additional information

Section titled “Additional information”
  • Computer Aided Drafting and Design software run primarily on Windows. Apple Macintosh computers are not suitable for CADD software.
  • Any existing hardware you own will need to meet the minimum specifications listed above. You may refer to our CADD software vendors for more information on Supported Hardware.
  • Mastercam
  • PTC
  • AUTODESK
  • SolidWorks

Students are free to buy any laptop that meets the above requirements.

Many manufacturers offer discount pricing.