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
OwningHaving your own computer is not a requirement of any of our courses because we operate laptop lockers at all our teachingCCI 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 .part of a computing curriculumn so it's our main tool.
IfWe accessinghave youradvice 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.
Ifwhere you arecan specificallyread lookingmore atabout buying a Windows or Linuxnew 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 whichwhich, due to the tools Apple provides is only possibelpossible 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
MacBook Air 13" with M2
We also recommend purchasing AppleCare+ or a similar warranty and insurance scheme for repairs.
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 graphicsThe 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.
2. A Reliable Internet Connection
Read more about finding an internet provider.
3. Webcam, Headphones and a Microphone
AlthoughAll mostour computerscourses have returned to in-person teaching, however generally we find students prefer to attend tutorials with academics and get technical support from technicians online.
For this reason we recommend all students have a builtseperate inheadset setbecause the speaker phone feature picks up a lot of speakersbackground noise from your computer and microphonekeyboard usingwhich can make it hard to hear you.
If you already have some nice headphones for listening to music, many people like AirPods, these will be fine, however you don't need to spend this kind of money, any simple "headphones with microphone" search online will find you headsets for a range of prices, some good brands include: [Logitech](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-Headset-H390-Noise-Cancelling-Black/dp/B000UXZQ42], Sony, EPOS/Sennheiser.
Similarly for video calling canit's causenot issuesonly andnice weto recommend that at very least you usesee a pairface, ofbut simpleto 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 theshow people what you are speakingworking 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, howeverso if you are looking for a cheap purpose built headset.
4. Webcam
Most laptops come with a built in webcam, if you don'haven't have a laptop or you don't havegot a webcam in your laptopcomputer, we'da recommendsimple one.low It'scost webcam would really useful when getting technical support from staff if you are at home.
There are plenty of cheaper options,help, we have looked at all the options and thinklike the Logitech StreamCam isbecause by farit's the best quality for moneythe whileprice, stillbut beingcheaper affordable.generic brand webcams will be fine.
5.4. 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.