IAM Recommended Computers
Contents
General Software Info
Most of the software that we use in the IAM department is cross platform so it is up to your preference whether to use Mac or PC. There are a few Windows specific software exceptions noted below.
For Windows, Windows 10 64-bt Professional is recommended.
Alternatively, you can use [1] on an Intel Mac to install Windows as a second Operating System, allowing you to pick which OS you want to use when you start your computer. You will need to have a copy of Windows to do this, but you can get a free copy through the Dreamspark Program once you are enrolled in IAM classes. Again, you will need an Intel Mac to do this, G5's or anything older cannot run Bootcamp.
Platform Specific software
Windows
- Visual Studio 2015 (IAM Major/Game Design Major Intro to Programming)
- MS MSQL Managment Studio (IAM Major Data Design)
- AutoDesk 3ds Max 2016
- AutoDesk MotionBuilder 2016
Software
You can see a list of all the software currently installed in the labs on the IAM Computer Labs page.
Students and Faculty get hardware discounts from Apple and Dell.
Students and Faculty also receive discounts on software. Columbia College Discounts
Additional Adobe software is available at discounted rates: JourneyEd
The IAM department is a member of Microsoft's Dreamspark program so students and faculty can get free Microsoft products. See the Dreamspark Page for more details.
IAM Major
Apple Laptop
MacBook Pro 15 inch
- 2.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
- 16GB 1600MHz memory
- 512GB PCIe-based flash storage
- AMD Radeon R9 M370X with 2GB GDDR5 memory
- 15-inch Retina display
PC Laptop
Dell Inspiron 15 inch
- 2nd Generation Intel Core i5-2410M processor 2.30 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz
- 15.6" High Definition (720p) LED
- NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 525M 1GB graphics with Optimus
- 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 Memory
- Up to 750GB SATA hard drive (7200RPM)
Apple Desktop
iMac
- 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
- AMD Radeon R9 M390 with 2GB video memory
- 16GB (two 8GB) memory
- 1TB Flash Storage
- 27-inch with Retina 5k
Mac Pro Quad-Core
- One 3.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5 processor
- 12GB 1866MHz DDR3 ECC memory
- 1TB PCIe-based flash storage
- Dual AMD FirePro D500 with 3GB GDDR5 VRAM each
PC Desktop
Dell Studio XPS 7100 Quad Core
- AMD Phenom™ II X6 1055T processor
- ATI Radeon HD 5670 1GB graphics card
- 6GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM
- 1TB - 7200RPM, SATA hard drive
Game Design Major
The Windows operating system is recomended for general game development. While development for iOS devices (iPhone, iPod, iPad) require OSX software the overwhelming majority of game development occurs on the Windows platform. A dual-booting Mac OSX computer will most likely be sufficient, but there are always unknowns when running Windows software on Apple hardware.
Apple Laptop
MacBook Pro 15 inch
- 2.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
- 16GB 1600MHz memory
- 512GB PCIe-based flash storage
- AMD Radeon R9 M370X with 2GB GDDR5 memory
- 15-inch Retina display
PC Laptop
Dell Studio XPS 17
- 2nd generation Intel Core i7-2630QM processor 2.0 GHz
- 6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 (You need a 64-bit OS to access over 3.5GB of RAM)
- 500GB 7200 RPM SATA hard drive
- NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 550M 1GB graphics with Optimus
Apple Desktop
Mac Pro Quad-Core
- One 3.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5 processor
- 12GB 1866MHz DDR3 ECC memory
- 1TB PCIe-based flash storage
- Dual AMD FirePro D300 with 2GB GDDR5 VRAM each
PC Desktop
Dell Studio XPS 9100 Desktop
- Intel® CoreTM i7 930 (2.8GHz/8MB cache)
- 8GB3 Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz
- 1000GB4 SATA hard drive (7200RPM)
- 1024 (MB) ATI HD6770 Radeon
- Onboard sound is sufficient
- Onboard networking is sufficient
Game Design Major Animation
Game Animation is graphics intensive so it helps to get a computer with powerful graphics card.
We recommend a Desktop with either an ATI FireGL™ or NVidia Quadro video card. These cards are very expensive, but essential to make professional 3D animations. Most 3D animation software is available in both Windows and Apple OSX versions, but we recomend the Windows platform for overall game development compatability.
PC Laptop
ThinkPad W520 Mobile Workstation 15 inch
- Intel Core i7-2620M Processor
- NVIDIA Quadro 1000M Graphics with 2GB DDR3 Memory
- 4 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
- 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
- 15.6" (1366 x 768)
Dell Precision T5500 64bit Dual Processor
- Dual Quad Core Intel Xeon Processors 2.13GHz (64bit)
- 6GB, DDR3 RDIMM Memory
- 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s,7200 RPM Hard Drive
- 2.5GB NVIDIA Quadro 5000
Apple Desktop
Mac Pro Quad-Core
- One 3.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5 processor
- 12GB 1866MHz DDR3 ECC memory
- 1TB PCIe-based flash storage
- Dual AMD FirePro D300 with 2GB GDDR5 VRAM each
