Laptop Alternatives

Alternatives to the College of Business laptop

Each student is responsible for having a working, approved laptop at all times throughout the semester when enrolled in a COB course. If you choose not to buy the COB laptop, you have two alternatives available:

1. Rent a COB laptop. A limited rental pool is available. The rental program is designed for students who only require the laptop for one or two semesters. Students who rent the COB laptops will have the same on-campus services as students who purchase the laptops.
2. Use a non-COB laptop that is approved as meeting the minimum specifications. Students must have their laptop formally approved for use. To have your laptop approved please bring it to the COB Help Desk located on the third floor of Memorial Library in the ITS area. At this point your laptop will be evaluated for use and approved if it meets or exceeds the minimum specifications below.

PC Laptop Requirements:

64 Bit Machine - Wndows Laptop/Tablet

• Duo Core 2.20 Ghz or i3 350m processor or faster
• 4 GB RAM [2 Dimms]
• 80 GB Conventional Hard Drive or 128 GB Solid State Drive
• MSU compliant Internal Wireless Card
• Intel Integrated Graphics Card

Mac requirements:

• 250 GB Hard drive or 128 GB Solid State Drive
• 4 GB RAM
• 2.26 GHz Core 2 duo or i3 350m processor or higher
• Integrated Graphics Card
• MSU compliant wireless network card
• Snow Leopard (10.6) OS or newer

These minimum standards are necessary to ensure that required programs can operate efficiently, including the use of multiple programs concurrently. Once your laptop has been approved for use at the COB Help Desk the COB licensed software required for the COB program (SPSS and Microsoft Office) will be installed for you. In addition, you will be responsible for maintaining your own laptop and obtaining a substitute laptop, at your cost, if yours is inoperable at any point during the semester. Repair service will be available on campus for some models for a fee, or you can utilize any off-campus service of your choice. It is important for you to understand that you are responsible for having a working laptop for your class work at all times. You will not be excused from an assignment or exam when your laptop is being repaired, so you must make arrangements to have another laptop available to you if those circumstances occur.

Questions about the COB Laptop Program, existing laptops, printers, software, databases, or loaners? Please contact the COB Information Desk at or 507-389-2742).