Recommended Computer Specifications & OIT Supported Software

 

Faculty and staff: Visit the Duke Technology Center website to learn about the Duke Computer Program standards offering standardized computer models at educational pricing with extended warranties through our preferred vendors; Microsoft, Dell, Lenovo, and Apple.  Please work with your local IT support to propose and submit your departmental order via Buy@Duke.

Students: Duke's partnership with Microsoft, Apple, Dell, and Lenovo have enabled us to offer and recommend some of the best computers available at educational pricing. These computers come with 4 years of manufacturer's warranty including accidental damage coverage.  Students have access to convenient professional service and support at the Link and access to loaner computers if repairs are needed.  Visit the Duke Technology Center website to find out more and place your order.  If you decide to bring a computer to Duke instead of purchasing through the Duke Technology Center, we strongly recommend that your system meet the following minimum specifications.

 

Feature

Minimum Recommended

Preferred (if applicable)

Rationale for Recommendation

Processor

i5 (Windows/Mac)

i7 (Windows/Mac)

For technical programs, also consider computer requirements for your program.

Memory

8 GB

16 GB

Memory demands for currently supported operating systems will require at least 2 gigabytes (GB) of memory.

Hard disk

256 GB

512 GB

An increasing number of cloud storage offerings and the prevalence of solid-state drives allow for lesser local storage.

Networking

Built-in LAN 10/100 (Ethernet) for all systems; wireless for laptops (Windows: 802.11b/g/n; Mac: Airport Extreme)

Built-in LAN Gigabit (Ethernet) for all systems; wireless for laptops (Windows: 802.11n; Mac: Airport Extreme)

Wireless (802.11 AC) is available in all residence halls.  Please do not bring any personal routers to campus as this will interfere with available wireless. The majority of laptops come standard with this capability.

Operating system

 

Windows 11 and Windows 10

(available for students on the software site), macOS Monterey

 

Windows 11 

(available for students on the software site), macOS Ventura

 

Support & protection

Extended warranty plan, including accidental damage coverage, for expected life of machine and a laptop bag to protect your computer.

Extended warranty plan, including accidental damage coverage, for expected life of machine and a laptop bag to protect your computer.

 

Software

Microsoft Office

(available for students on the software site)

Microsoft Office 

(available for students on the software site)

 


Repair Costs of a Laptop Over Time

The Duke Technology Center's mission is to provide students, faculty, staff, and departments with efficient service for the warranty repairs and accidental damage claims of their Microsoft, Apple, Dell, and Lenovo laptops. Worried about the wait? Loaner laptops are provided to students who purchased from the DTC while on campus.  Students can access this service via the OIT Service Desk at The Link located in the Perkins Library.

OIT Supported Software

OIT supports varied software for PC, Macintosh, and Linux. OIT aims to revise this list just prior to each fall semester but will update products as necessary. OIT reserves the right to decrease support for products when vendors decrease their support for those products.

Please see the OIT Software Licensing page to download free software or purchase discounted software. Additional volume-priced software is available for purchase from the Duke Technology Center.

If you do not see the software you are looking for on this page, you can check the Software Catalog section of the OIT website for vendor & web-support information for site-licensed products.

 Support Software Symbols Key

 

 F

 Full Support

  • Every effort made to resolve technical issues swiftly
  • In-depth functional knowledge of software

 L

 Limited Support

  • Reasonable effort made to resolve issues swiftly
  • General functional knowledge of software

 R

 Recommend for  Students

  • Software recommended for student use
  • Departmental users should consult their local support
    for software recommendations

 

 

Operating Systems

 

 R

 Windows 11

 F

 

 Windows 10 (Vendor supported releases)

 F

R

 Mac OS 13 (Ventura)

 F

 

 Mac OS 12 (Monterey)

 F
 

Mac OS 11 (Big Sur)

 L
 

 Latest CentOS 

 L
 

 Latest Ubuntu

 L

 

 

Web Browsers

*Please refer to application browser requirements

 

 R

 Chrome (latest version)

 F

 R

 Firefox (latest version)

 F

 R

 Microsoft Edge

 F

 R

 Safari (Mac) with supported Operating Systems

 F

 

 

Messaging and Calendaring

 

 R

 Outlook Web App

 F

 R

 Microsoft Outlook 2019

 F

 R

 Microsoft Outlook 365

 F

 R

 Outlook for Mobile

 F

 

 Mail for macOS on supported OS

 L

 

 Jabber

 F

 

 

File Storage and Printing

 

 

 

AntiVirus and other Security Software

 

 R

 Windows Defender (Windows 10/11)

 L

 R

 Sophos Home

 L

 R

 Duke Unlock

 F

 R

 1Password

 L

 R

 Duo Multi Factor Authentication

 F

 

 Malwarebytes (personal machines only)

 L

 


 

Productivity Suite 

 

 

 

SSH and Secure FTP clients 

 

 R

 Putty

 F

 R

 Terminal for Mac OS X

 F

 

 Windows 10 Open SSH Client

 L

 

 WinSCP

 L

 

 MobiXterm 

 L 

 

 Cyberduck

 L

 

 

Remote Connectivity

 

 R

 Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client

 F

 R

 Open Connect VPN Client (Linux)

 L

 R

 X-Win32

 L

 R

 Apple XQuartz

 L

 R

 Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Client

 F

 

 Apple Remote Desktop (ARD)

 L

 

 

Miscellaneous Desktop Software 

 

 R

  Adobe Acrobat Reader DC 

 L

 

 Adobe Creative Cloud

 L

 

  7zip

 L

 

 

Miscellaneous Duke Applications

 

 R

 Sakai

 F

 R

 SISS (Peoplesoft Client / DukeHub)

 F

 R

Zoom

 F

 

 Support@Duke

 F

 

 Perceptive Content

 F

 

 SAP

 F

 

Article number: KB0025071

Valid to: May 13, 2025