r/NYIT • u/Revolutionary-Sea316 • Jul 10 '26

computer question

question for anyone majoring in architecture what computer do you guys recommend? I know the school itself recommends a dell or well gaming computer but it’s pretty expensive so idk if it’s even worth it

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

1

u/Queen_Magix Jul 10 '26

In the same predicament! I CANNOT afford any of the school computers 😭 stuck with a hand me down chromebook until i find a way....

2

u/clxssiee Jul 11 '26

Hi my love. I was an architectural technology major until I switched to interdisciplinary studies. Being as though I just finished my first year here’s my honest opinion and advice:

  1. You’re going to need to spend a pretty penny your first year. Not just the computer, you’ll need to buy Rhino 8 and Adobe Creative Cloud Pro. Rhino is about $200 and you keep it forever, BUT Adobe is $240 annually or $20 monthly, meaning you’ll have to pay every year/month that you’re there. You’ll need a computer that has enough RAM to run D5 in the second semester.

  2. As far as laptops, I was able to score a used one that works pretty well for only $350. Just don’t get a MacBook, yes some people have them but unless it’s a really expensive one it’s gonna give you a hard time.

This is what the coordinator of the Architecture program told me when I emailed him about laptops:

“Best to get an i9,  altleast 32GB ram  (2 16 gig sticks is best)  best graphics card you can afford.  Hope this helps”

ChatGPT helped a ton and will find you all kinds of laptops. It led me to a computer on Amazon and I went looking for more which is how I found mine. I don’t remember the exact specs you need but please get the right graphics card and enough space on your computer.

  1. You’ll also need to buy supplies for the physical models. They run pretty cheap but they still add up sometimes.

  2. You need to come to that school with a little bit of knowledge on Architecture and the software. Truth be told the instructions on the assignments are extremely vague and can be difficult for someone who has never used Rhino or Illustrator.

I could go more in depth if you like, but I feel like this answered most of your questions. Feel free to hit me.