School of Design (SOD) – Graphic Design
2024 Freshman Equipment Guide
Welcome to Graphic Design at RIT!
Although our labs are fully equipped with high-end Apple and PC computers, a personal computer (Mac or PC with appropriate software) will allow you to complete much of the necessary course work at home. There are numerous labs with extended hours for computer use with all the appropriate software. But we know, based on questions for students and their families, that many choose to make a purchase so students have more mobility to work in their rooms, the library, lounges, cafes, and other spaces. If you are looking to make a purchase, the following will give you an idea about the most appropriate hardware, based on processors, memory and other needs.
Please refer the campus resources in your welcome letter for the Digital Den at Barnes & Noble @ RIT (educational discounts), and our contact information. We are happy to help as needed!
LAPTOPS
Currently the MacBook Pro available through Apple is the high-end laptop computer. This is the most powerful laptop at this time. It has high processing power which will be helpful as a student progresses through the program. There is an education discount for students.
Some things that might help when considering which version is best:
- The laptops with the most GHzs are going to run the fastest. These numbers have stayed around the same amount over the years so if your student is certain that they are going to be a Graphic Design major going with the most powerful model will be beneficial.
- Storage is always great too but it is REALLY important that your student has 3 places they are saving their work to: the laptop, an external hard drive (not a thumb drive) and a “cloud system”. This guarantees that if anything goes wrong with their laptop their work is saved. We discuss this with them in their classes.
- The Thunderbolt ports are the new USB’s. They are now USB-C and this just allows your student to plug into more things. (ie: have a scanner, printer and monitor plugged in at once.) You can also buy adapters if you need more ports.
- A Desktop is also an option and I have listed 2 below. The downside is they can’t “travel” around with them.
OPTION ONE: 16” MacBook Pro M1 Pro (2 versions)
1. 16” Macbook Pro M1 Pro 1TB – $2,859.00 (estimate)
- Apple M1 Pro with 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
- 16-inch Liquid Retina XDR display
- 32GB unified memory
- 1 TB SSD storage1
- 140 W USB-C Power Adapter
- 3 Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot
- Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
2. 16” Macbook Pro M1 Pro 512GB – $2,299.00 (estimate)
- Apple M1 Pro with 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
- 16-inch Liquid Retina XDR display
- 16GB unified memory
- 512GB SSD storage1
- 140 W USB-C Power Adapter
- 3 Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot
- Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
OPTION TWO: 14” Macbook Pro (3 versions)
The down-side of a 14” screen is the size. BUT it is still the same powerful machine as the 16” in a smaller form factor. Many students and designers will also have a large monitor at home that they can use and hook up their laptop to. This helps to see things larger and they can be purchased separately.
1. 14” Macbook Pro 1TB – $2,659.00 (estimate)
- Apple M1 Pro with 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU
- 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display
- 32GB unified memory
- 1TB SSD storage1
- 96 W USB-C Power Adapter
- 3 Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot
- Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
2. 14” Macbook Pro 512GB – $1,849.00 (estimate)
- Apple M1 Pro with 8-core CPU, 14-core GPU
- 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display
- 16GB unified memory
- 512GB SSD storage1
- 96 W USB-C Power Adapter
- 3 Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot
- Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
3. 13” Macbook Air 512GB – $1,579.00 (estimate)
- Apple M2 chip with 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
- 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display with True Tone
- 16GB unified memory
- 512GB SSD storage1
- 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter
- 2 Thunderbolt / USB 4 Ports
- Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
OPTION THREE: DESKTOPS
(We have listed 2 versions below, but there are other versions you can check www.apple.com for those).
The Mac Studio is a great machine and you can get the same power (or more) with a desktop than you can with a laptop. The Mac Studio will require an external display, keyboard, and mouse to be purchased as well.
1. Mac Studio 1TB – $1,979.00 (Estimated)
- Apple M1 Max with 10-core CPU, 24-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
- 32GB unified memory
- 1TB SSD storage1
- 4 Thunderbolt 4 ports, 2 USB-A ports, one HDMI port, 1 10GB Ethernet port, 1 3.5mm headphone jack
- Font Ports: 2 USC-C ports, one SDXC card slot
2. 24-inch iMac B – $1,779.00 (Estimated)
- Apple M1 chip with 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine
- 24” Retina 4.5K Display
- 16GB unified memory
- 512GB SSD storage
- Gigabit Ethernet
- 2 Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports
- 2 USB-3 ports
- Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
SUGGESTED, NOT REQUIRED:
- An inexpensive 27-inch or larger second monitor can increase productivity as most work is better viewed and easier to work on by using a large screen.
- An inexpensive printer to check files
Adobe Creative Suite: Creative Cloud for students
We are happy to say that beginning with Fall Semester 2024, RIT will be an Adobe Creative Campus and CAD students will have access to the full Adobe Creative Cloud for academic use. Details for access will be provided upon your arrival to RIT.
General Supplies
The following supplies are needed for many classes:
- A portable external hard drive (USB-C connection) and at least two “thumb” drives (Flash media drives)
- Notebooks and 3-ring binders for notes and materials.
Please Note: In addition to these supplies, there will be additional books and supplies required each semester by individual instructors for specific classes.
These additional costs may add up to $300.00 or more per semester.