Be sure to review the minimum and recommended requirements below so that the laptop you choose is the right one for your schoolwork.

Purchasing Options

Both Apple and Windows laptops can be purchased from the WashU Campus Store’s e-commerce site, which can ship your order.

Learn how to place an order

Read about payment options

WashU requires that you purchase a three-year warranty with your laptop. Learn More.

School-Specific Notes

Students should have their laptop with them when they arrive for the fall semester. If you own a laptop that was purchased in the last two years, it should be sufficient for your time at the Brown School. If your system is older than two years old, we strongly suggest you purchase a new system.

The Brown School has a separate web page listing computer requirements that goes into more detail than this site. Click the button below to view.

Note on Apple Silicon: The Brown school does not support Apple Silicon as Windows virtualization is not available on Apple’s newest silicon process at this time.

Windows

Brown School requirements are the same as University Requirements.

FeatureUniversity Minimum RequirementsRecommended
CPUIntel +i5 or better/ AMD equivalent>2.2 Ghz i5
RAM8 GB minimum>8 GB
Graphicsn/an/a
OSWindows 10 or 11Windows 11
Hard Drive256 GB SSD256 GB or larger SSD
Displayn/an/a
ConnectivityWirelessn/a
PortsWebcam+micDedicated external headset and mic
Warranty3 yearsn/a
NotesBrown School requirements are the same as University Requirements.

Mac

Some course software may not be compatible with macOS, so you may need to purchase a Windows license and virtualization software as well.

FeatureUniversity Minimum RequirementsRecommended
CPUIntel +i5 or Apple Silicon Intel i5 or better
RAM8 GB minimum>8 GB
Graphicsn/an/a
OSCurrently supported macOS versionMost recent mac OS version
Hard Drive256 GB SSD>256 GB SSD
Displayn/an/a
ConnectivityWirelessn/a
OtherWebcam+micDedicated external headset and mic
Warranty3 yearsn/a
NotesStudents need to check their school-specific IT page to see if there are any program-specific limitations on Apple Silicon.Note on Apple Silicon: The Brown school does not support Apple Silicon as Windows virtualization is not available on Apple’s newest Silicon process at this time.