Updated 4/20/2026

School of Architecture Requirements

Processor    
Intel Core Ultra 7 or Ultra 9 (Series 2), AMD Ryzen AI 7 or 9, or equivalent Cores: 16 cores preferred Note: Intel Core i7/i9 (13th gen or newer) and AMD Ryzen 7/9 7000-series or newer also acceptable

Memory     
Capacity: Minimum of 32 GB, 64 GB preferred Type: DDR5 or LPDDR5x preferred
 

Graphic card    
Type: Dedicated GPU (NVIDIA RTX 5060, 5070, or higher; or RTX PRO 2000/4000 Blackwell or higher; previous-gen RTX 4060/4070 or RTX A2000/A3000 also acceptable) Memory: At least 8 GB of VRAM, 12 GB or more preferred Support: CUDA cores (for NVIDIA) or equivalent for GPU-accelerated rendering and on-device AI

Primary Storage 
Primary Drive: NVMe SSD with at least 1 TB, preferably 2 TB Secondary Storage: Optional additional SSD or external drive for extra storage capacity

Display
Size: 16-inch or larger, ideally 17-inch Resolution: Full HD+ (1920×1200) minimum, QHD+ or OLED preferred Refresh Rate: 120 Hz preferred

Backup     
External Hard Drive or cloud service

Operating System
OS: Windows 11 Pro

Recovery option    
Highly recommended  

I/O devices Physical     
keyboard and mouse (trackpad not sufficient)

Extended Warranty     
Highly recommended

Recommended    
Kensington laptop lock

See also SCO.gatech.edu

We don’t recommend Apple laptops. 

SOFTWARE below is required to be installed on student laptops

Operating System    
Windows 11

AutoCAD
Purpose: 2D and 3D drafting and design.
Link: www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/autocad
Educational Pricing: Free for students and educators.
Autodesk Learning Hub: www.autodesk.com/learning

Revit
Purpose: Building Information Modeling (BIM) software.
Link: www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/revit
Educational Pricing: Free for students and educators.
Autodesk Learning Hub: www.autodesk.com/learning

Rhino (Rhinoceros)
Purpose: 3D modeling and computer-aided design (CAD) software.
Link: www.rhino3d.com/education/
Educational Pricing: Educational licenses available at a discounted rate.
Rhino 3D Tutorial for Beginners: www.rhino3d.com/learn/

Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc.)
Purpose: Graphic design, photo editing, and presentation.
Link: www.adobe.com/creativecloud/buy/students.html
Educational Pricing: Discounted subscription plans for students.
Adobe Creative Cloud Tutorials: www.adobe.com/creativecloud/tutorials.html

V-Ray
Purpose: Rendering software.
Link: www.chaosgroup.com/education/student
Educational Pricing: Discounts available for students.
V-Ray Tutorials for Revit, Rhino, 3ds Max, and Maya: www.chaosgroup.com/vray/tutorials

Microsoft Office 365
Purpose: Office suite for creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
Link: www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/products/office
Educational Pricing: Free for students with a valid school email address.
Microsoft Office 365 Training Center: support.office.com/en-us/learning

Grasshopper (for Rhino)
Purpose: Algorithmic design and parametric modeling.
Educational Pricing: Included with Rhino educational license.
Grasshopper Tutorials: www.rhino3d.com/learn/

OPTIONAL SOFTWARE 
__________________________________________

Lumion
Purpose: 3D rendering software for architects.
Link: www.lumion.com/edu-licenses.html
Educational Pricing: Free and discounted licenses available for students.
Lumion Video Tutorials: www.lumion.com/tutorials.html

Enscape
Purpose: Real-time rendering and virtual reality.
Link: www.enscape3d.com/education/
Educational Pricing: Free educational licenses for students.
Enscape Video Tutorials: www.enscape3d.com/learn/enscape-tutorials/

ArcGIS
Purpose: Geographic Information System (GIS) for spatial analysis and mapping.
Link: https://urbanfootprint.com/
Educational Pricing: Discounted student licenses available.
Tutorials: ArcGIS Tutorials: www.esri.com/en-us/training/catalog/search/

Twinmotion
Purpose: Real-time 3D architectural visualization.
Link: www.unrealengine.com/en-US/twinmotion
Educational Pricing: Free for students.
Twinmotion Learning Resources: www.twinmotion.com/en-US/learn

Maya
Purpose: 3D modeling, animation, and rendering.
Link: www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/maya
Educational Pricing: Free for students and educators.
Tutorials: Maya Learning Hub: knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/learn-explore

3ds Max
Purpose: 3D modeling, animation, and rendering.
Link: www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/3ds-max
Educational Pricing: Free for students and educators.
3ds Max Learning Hub: knowledge.autodesk.com/support/3ds-max/learn-explore

Blender
Purpose: 3D modeling, animation, and rendering.
Link: www.blender.org/download/
Educational Pricing: Free and open-source.
Blender Documentation and Tutorials: www.blender.org/support/tutorials/

Cinema 4D
Purpose: 3D modeling, animation, and rendering.
Link: www.maxon.net/en/learn/education
Educational Pricing: Discounts available for students.
Cinema 4D Training: www.maxon.net/en/learn/training

AI Tools

Autodesk Forma
Purpose: AI-powered software for urban design and architecture.
Link: https://www.autodesk.com/products/forma
Educational Pricing: Contact for educational pricing.

AI Image Generation Software

MidJourney
Purpose: AI tool for generating architectural concept images.
Link: www.midjourney.com
MidJourney Documentation: www.midjourney.gitbook.io/docs/

DALL-E
Purpose: AI image generator for architectural visualization.
Link: www.openai.com/dall-e-2
DALL-E Documentation: www.openai.com/dall-e-2

Stable Diffusion
Purpose: AI image generator for architectural visualization.
Link: www.stable-diffusion-art.com/install-windows/#Step_1_Install_python
Pricing: Free.

LeonardoAI
Purpose: AI image generator for architectural visualization. 
Link: https://app.leonardo.ai/

PromeAI
Purpose: AI tool for generating architectural concept images.
Link: www.promeai.pro/