Recommended Kit List
New students to UAL Creative Computing Institute often ask us what equipment we recommend before you start with us:
1. Your own computer
Owning your own computer is not a requirement of any of our courses because we operate laptop lockers at all our teaching locations that can be used anywhere on that site, and desktop PCs in open access and technical areas.
That being said, it is more advantageous to have your own computer as it gives you flexibility about when and where you can study as all our courses are .
If accessing your own laptop is financially difficult for you, you may be able to access limited funding through the hardship fund which kicks off after the start of each year.
If you are specifically looking at a Windows or Linux computer you may get better value from purchasing a desktop computer for home use, then taking advantage of the large number of PCs and MacBook Pro laptops that are available on campus during and between classes.
UAL Diploma in Apple Development
Students studying on UAL Diploma in Apple Development you should choose a Mac as the Apple software development tools only work on macOS.
BSc Creative Computing
In year 2 of this course the unit "Coding Four: Collaborative App Development Studio" has previously focused on macOS development which due to the tools Apple provides is only possibel on macOS.
There are modifications planned from 2023/24 academic year which will broaded the remit of app development.
Recommended specs
This information was updated Summer 2023 for the 2023-24 academic year.
Mac
If you are you are looking to purchase a new Mac we recommend the MacBook Pro 14" with M2, however if you need to save a bit of money the MacBook Air 14" with M2 is similar.
The main difference being it has no cooling fans which means as it gets hotter the computer will slow down to avoid overheating, which on longer workloads can be an issue.
At the time of writing, Apple is still selling the previous MacBook Air and Pro 13" with the M1 chip which is also a good option.
Memory: Make sure you buy a computer with at least 16GB RAM.
MacBook Pro 13" with M2
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | 10 core | 12 core | 12 core |
| Graphics | 16 core | 19 core | 19 core |
| Neural | 16 core | 16 core | 16 core |
| Memory | 16GB | 16GB | 16GB |
| Storage | 512GB | 512GB | 1TB |
| Price with discount | £1,989 | £2,299 | £2,479 |
MacBook Air 13" with M2
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | 8 core | 8 core |
| Graphics | 8 core | 10 core |
| Neural | 16 core | 16 core |
| Memory | 16GB | 16GB |
| Storage | 256GB | 512GB |
| Price with discount | £1,329 | £1,629 |
We also recommend purchasing AppleCare+ or a similar warranty and insurance scheme for repairs.
| AppleCare+ 3 years | MacBook Air 13" with M1 | MacBook Pro 13" with M1 |
|---|---|---|
| Price with discount | £175 | £183 |
Around August/September each year Apple will run the Apple Back to School deal which in addition to the discounted prices above will include some kind of free giveaway, this has been gift cards or AirPods in the past.
PC Laptop
Generally we're pretty big fans of Dell (XPS, G Gaming, or Alienware) and Razer brand computers, however there is a large market and you should pick whats best for you, the following specs give you an idea of what to look for...
Check for USB-C charging and display connection as plug in stations at CCI all use this.
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel i5 10th, 11th or 12th generation processor | Intel i7 12th or 13th generation processor |
| Graphics | See info below! | Any NVIDIA RTX 3xxx series GPU |
| Memory | 16GB | 32GB |
| Storage | 512GB | 1TB or better |
| Display | 13" 1080p | 27" 1440p (QHD) or 2160p (4K) |
Minimum graphics
The minimum graphics required will depend on the course, if you are studying areas including machine learning, data science or 3D you should try to obtain any NVIDIA RTX 3xxx series GPU or higher.
PC Desktop
At CCI we primarily use Dell computers can't really fault them for their value, reliability and performance, elsewhere in UAL we also use HP.
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel i5 10th, 11th or 12th generation processor | Intel i7 12th or 13th generation processor |
| Graphics | Any NVIDIA RTX 3xxx series GPU | NVIDIA RTX 4xxx series GPU |
| Memory | 16GB | 32GB |
| Storage | 512GB | 1TB or better |
| Display | 24" 1080p (FHD) | 27" 1440p (QHD) or 2160p (4K) |
2. A Reliable Internet Connection
Read more about finding an internet provider.
3. Headphones and a Microphone
Although most computers have a built in set of speakers and microphone using these for video calling can cause issues and we recommend that at very least you use a pair of simple headphones.
Depending on the design of your computer you may find a lot of noise can be heard on the video call when typing on the keyboard (particularly Apple products). For this reason ideally you would have a microphone built into your headphones as it dramatically improves the audio quality for the people you are speaking to.
Theres no need to spend a lot of money, you might want to get a headset which you can also use to listen to music, however if you are looking for a cheap purpose built headset.
4. Webcam
Most laptops come with a built in webcam, if you don't have a laptop or you don't have a webcam in your laptop we'd recommend one. It's really useful when getting technical support from staff if you are at home.
There are plenty of cheaper options, we have looked at all the options and think the Logitech StreamCam is by far the best quality for money while still being affordable.
5. Software
We don't recommend any specific software be procured before your course as you can access Microsoft Office for free as a UAL student and other software would be course/year dependent and try to avoid commercial options where it makes sense.