Quick start technology guide
Hardware
Take advantage of all the resources SCAD has to offer by following our recommended hardware specifications.
Disk space
500GB (SSD HD recommended)
250GB (minimum)
Connection and communication
Broadband/Wi-Fi
Webcam/microphone (recommended)
RAM
32GB or higher (recommended)
16GB (minimum)
Recommended
OS features |
Mac |
PC |
|---|---|---|
| OS | macOS Sonoma 14 or higher | Windows 11 |
| RAM | Apple Silicon 16GB unified memory included | 32GB |
| Processor | Apple Silicon M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra or newer | Intel® 11th Gen or newer CPU with Quick Sync — or AMD Ryzen™ 3000 Series / Thread Ripper 3000 series or newer CPU |
| GPU | Apple Silicon 16GB unified memory included | 8GB or more GPU memory for 4K and higher |
Minimum
OS features |
Mac |
PC |
|---|---|---|
| OS | macOS Sonoma 14 or higher | Windows 11 |
| RAM | 8GB | 16GB |
| Processor | Apple Silicon M1 or newer | Intel® 8th Gen or newer CPU — or AMD Ryzen™ 1000 Series or newer CPU |
| GPU | Apple silicon GPU |
Windows with NVIDIA GPU: GPU must be of the Maxwell generation or newer and have at least 4GB of VRAM Windows with Intel or AMD GPU: Discrete GPU with at least 4GB VRAM and support for OpenCL |
Chromebooks are not supported for SCAD Application Suites.
Need assistance?
The SCAD Technology Support Center is the first-level response team for all tech-related requests. Technical analysts answer questions, respond to emails and accept walk-in requests for technical assistance. In addition to providing assistance when technical issues arise, the Technology Support Center provides proactive solutions such as how-to videos, a robust FAQ and SCAD technology news updates.
912.525.4567 | techsupport@scad.edu