Introduction

You will use your PC in all courses, so it is crucial that your PC fulfill many of these requirements/recommendations. We use the PC for Exercises, Simulations, Lab Work, Project Work, Digital Exams, etc. It is you that is responsible to make sure your computer works properly!

Please don't buy a PC with configuration less than i5 CPU, 8GB RAM and 256GB SDD. Minimum screen size should be 13".

PC

All students need their own PC. The PC will be used in all courses at the university.

Many computer stores (online or physical stores) advertise with "cheap" (<8K NOK) computers when schools start, but these computers normally have only 128GB SSD disks (or an old type of harddrive), 4GB RAM, i3 CPU (or an old version of i5/i7). Make sure not to buy these computers! For many computers these things cannot be upgraded later.

Remember a typical PC should last 5 years, so if it's good enough today it may not be good enough for tomorrow.

This is the recommended Technical Specifications for your own PC within Bachelor and Master Engineering education:

Operating System: Windows 10 (Pro) 64bit. Some the software needed at the university only exists for Windows (Examples: Visual Studio, LabVIEW, SQL Server, ERwin, Visio, Project, OPC Software). Good alternatives for Linux or Mac OS may exists, but then you need to figure out things by yourself.

Processor (CPU): Intel Core i5/i7 or similar.

Storage: 256 GB SSD but 512GB or 1024GB recommended. You need to install lots of software, so a 128GB disk is not enough!.

Memory: 8 GB RAM or more. 16GB RAM recommended.

Wi-Fi: 802.11ac or newer

Battery and Power: 7+ hours recommended (should last an entire school day without charging)

Screen Size: 13.3" or higher with screen resolution 1920×1080 (minimum)

Ports: 2-4 USB ports, HDMI or Mini DisplayPort, VGA or HDMI/DisplayPort Adapter, Ethernet connection (RJ45) or adapter

External Mouse. If you want help from supervisors, etc. during lab and exercises, you need to have an external mouse!

Built-in (or external) Web Camera (for Teams/Zoom)

Headphones with microphone (for Teams/Zoom)

Note! You can find cheap PCs (<8K NOK) with the requirements specified above, but it is recommended that you put some extra money into your computer. A computer of high quality will last longer and you will have less trouble with it. Afterall, you will use it 24/7 and it should last 3-5 years.

A Mac computer with similar specifications may be used, but Windows then needs to be installed using the BootCamp feature in OS X (or virtualization software like VMware Fusion or Parallels Desktop - but these cost money). Note that the newest Mac computers dont have an Intel CPU anmore.

Note! You will use your PC in all courses, so it is crucial that your PC fulfill these requirements/recommendations. We use the PC for Exercises, Simulations, Lab Work, Project Work, Digital Exams, etc. It is you that is responsible to make sure your computer works properly!

Software

As a student you will get the software (including Office 365 with MS Word, Excel, etc.) you need from the university or we will use free software available on Internet.

Most of the Software below can be used on multiple platforms (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux).

Some critical software needed at the university only exists for Windows. Examples: Visual Studio, LabVIEW, SQL Server, ERwin, Visio, Project, OPC Software). Good alternatives for Linux or Mac OS may exists, but then you need to figure out things by yourself.

Note! "Visual Studio for Mac" has been released, but only a subset of funcrionality for the Windows version exist.

Microsoft office

These Software packages are used all courses (these software are safe to install today):

Office 365 Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, Skype for Business

Outlook is a Mail and Calendar application
OneNote is an application for taking notes (also available for Mobile devices such as Android, iPad, iPhone)
Skype for Business is a Video Conferencing and Instant Messaging platform used by the university. See also Quick Start Guides about Skype for Business.

Note! Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, Skype for Business are also available for Mobile devices such as Android, iOS (iPad/iPhone)

The following software are typically used in Projects:

Microsoft Project Professional (Project Management and Planning) Windows only!- Available from Microsoft Imagine

Microsoft Visio Professional (Technical Drawings) Windows only! - Available from Microsoft Imagine

Programming and Simulation Tools

These Software packages are used in many courses. You will get information from the teacher in the different courses what kind of software you will need. You dont need to install these software packages before you get closer information from the different teacher in the different courses you take. The software you need also depeneds on the programme you take (Bachelor, Master, ...).

Visual Studio

Visual Studio and the C# Programming language (Windows only! Mac: Visual Studio for Mac/Linux: Visual Studio Code). Available from Microsoft Imagine. The Enterprise Edition (unlike the Professional edition) contains additional features like UML modelling, etc.

LabVIEW

LabVIEW
Since the university has an Academic Site License (ASL+), the students can freely install LabVIEW on their personal computers. You get the License Key from your teacher in the course you are using LabVIEW.

The following Add-Ons (Toolkits) are also recommended (Download from link above):

DAQmx driver (latest version) (Windows only!). This driver is needed in order to communicate with NI hardware modules (such as USB-6008)
LabVIEW Control Design and Simulablation Module
LabVIEW MathScript RT Module
+++ Many other LabVIEW Modules and Toolkits may also be used in different Projects

MATLAB

MATLAB
Since the university has a Total Academic Headcount (TAH) License, the students can freely install MATLAB on their personal computers. You get the Activation Key from your teacher in the course you are using MATLAB.

Other Software

These Software packages are used occasionally. You will get information from the teacher in the different courses what kind of software you will need. You dont need to install these software packages before you get closer information from the different teacher in the different courses you take. The software you need also depeneds on the programme you take (Bachelor, Master, ...).

Arduino This is used to program Arduino Hardware that is used in some courses and projects (both Bachelor and Master).

VMware Workstation Player (Virtualization Software). You can use it for free for non-commercial applications. Windows only! For Mac OS X you can use VMware Fusion (€65) or Parallels Desktop. VMware Workstation Player (formerly known as VMware Player) is a desktop virtualization application that is available for free for personal use. How does Virtualization Software work? It installs like a standard desktop application. Once installed, you can install new operating systems and run them as virtual machines in a separate window.

SQL Server (Windows only!)

ERwin CA ERwin Data Modeler Community Edition (Database Design and Modelling) Windows only!)

OPC software, such as Matrikon OPC Simulation Server, OPC DataHub. Used in Industrial it courses in Bachelor/Master and different Projects. Windows only!

Measurement Studio (Visual Studio Add-on). Included with NI Academic Site lisence. This software makes many of the features in LabVIEW available in Visual Studio and C#.