QCC does not require students to own a laptop or desktop computer, however most students find that it is much easier to have one. The following list is our recommended minimum configurations. If you are planning on purchasing a computer, consider taking this list with you. Certain programs have special requirements -they are listed separately. If you are in a healthcare program, please review the notation at the bottom indicated by an asterisk (*).
Computer Recommendations
Students enrolled in healthcare programs should also have a tablet type display and a stylus. Anti-virus Software is required. Some suggested free PC & Mac anti-virus solutions: Avast, AVG, Sophos. For additional guidelines and information, visit the CISA.gov website
We are pleased to offer basic technical support for your personal devices through our BlackBelt support services, available 24x7. They can be reached by calling 508.854.4427 and follow the prompts. We recommend that at the time of purchase you understand your warranties and how you can receive technical assistance.
| QCC Minimum and Recommended Specs | ||
| Minimum | Recommended | |
| Operating System We do not recommend Chromebooks as they do not support some required components | Windows 10 Pro/Education, 64‐bit, Mac OSX 10.9 or higher | Windows 11, Mac OSX 10.9 or higher |
| CPU | Quad‐core Atom, Dual‐core Celeron, AMD 11 GHz E‐300, Intel i3 or higher | Intel i5 or AMD Dual‐core or higher |
| RAM | 8 GB RAM | 8 GB RAM |
| Hard Drive | 128 GB eMMC or more | 500 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive or 128 GB SSD (256 GB SSD highly recommended) or greater |
| Graphics (GPU) | Integrated Graphics | Integrated Graphics |
| CD/DVD Drive | Not Required | Not Required |
| Interface | 1 USB 3.0 | 3 USB (at least 1 USB 3.0) |
| Network | Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2 | Wireless (802.11g/n or 802.11ac) |
| Browsers | Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge | Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge |
| Audio & Webcam | Speaker & Microphone (embedded or external), Camera or webcam | Speaker & Microphone (embedded or external), Camera or webcam |
| Additional Software: Office 365 Education is available to students for free through QCC | Office 365 | Office 365, Office 2019, Acrobat Reader, CLion, MINGW, VirtualBox |
| All computers that connect to the QCC Wireless network must have up‐to‐date antivirus protection. We also recommend a product such as Lojack for PCs. | ||
| Operating System We do not recommend Chromebooks as they do not support some required components | Windows 10 Pro/Education/Enterprise |
| CPU | Intel i7 Quad‐core or AMD Quad‐core or higher |
| RAM | 16 GB RAM |
| Hard Drive | 500 GB SSD or 1TB SSD Drive recommended |
| Graphics (GPU) | Minimum VRAM 4 GB |
| CD/DVD Drive | Not required, but useful |
| Interface | 3 USB (at least 1 USB 3.0) |
| Network | Wireless (802.11g/n or 802.11ac), Wired LAN |
| Browsers | Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge |
| Audio & Webcam | Speaker & Microphone (embedded or external), Camera or webcam |
| Additional Software: Office 365 Education is available to students for free through QCC | Office 365, Office 2019, OpenOffice, Acrobat Reader, CLion, MINGW, VirtualBox |
| All computers that connect to the QCC Wireless network must have up-to-date antivirus protection. We also recommend a product such as Lojack for PCs. |
| Operating System We do not recommend Chromebooks as they do not support some required components | Windows 10 or 11 Pro or Education |
| CPU | Intel i7 12-gen or i9 12-gen recommended or AMD Quad‐core or higher, 3.0 GHz minimum speed |
| RAM | 32 GB RAM minimum. If class requires creation of multiple virtual machines (such as CSC241), 64 GB RAM is recommended |
| Hard Drive | 500 GB SSD or 1 TB SSD Drive recommended with 1TB additional storage (HDD or SSD) |
| Graphics (GPU) | Minimum VRAM 4 GB minimum, 6 GB recommended |
| CD/DVD Drive | Not required, but useful |
| Interface | 3 USB (at least 1 USB 3.0 & 1 USB-C) |
| Network | Wireless (802.11g/n/ac minimum, ax recommended), Wired LAN recommended |
| Browsers | Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge |
| Audio & Webcam | Speaker & Microphone (embedded or external), Camera or webcam |
| Additional Software: Office 365 Education is available to students for free through QCC | Office 365 or Office 2021 |
| All computers that connect to the QCC Wireless network must have up‐to‐date antivirus protection. We also recommend a product such as Lojack for PCs. |
| Operating System We do not recommend Chromebooks as they do not support some required components | Windows 10 Pro/Edu, 64 bit |
| CPU | Quad‐core Intel or AMD processor with 64‐bit Support, 3.0 GHz minimum speed |
| RAM | 16 GB RAM or higher |
| Hard Drive | 500 GB 7200 RPM or 256 GB SSD or greater |
| Graphics (GPU) | Integrated Graphics |
| CD/DVD Drive | Not required, but useful |
| Interface | 3 USB (at least 1 USB 3.0) |
| Network | Wireless (802.11g/n or 802.11ac) |
| Browsers | Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge |
| Audio & Webcam | Speaker & Microphone (embedded or external), Camera or webcam |
| Additional Software: Office 365 Education is available to students for free through QCC | Office 365 or Office 2019 |
| All computers that connect to the QCC Wireless network must have up‐to‐date antivirus protection. We also recommend a product such as Lojack for PCs. |
| Operating System We do not recommend Chromebooks as they do not support some required components | Windows 11 or Mac OSX |
| CPU | Windows: Intel Core i5 (12th gen or higher), AMD Ryzen 5 (5th gen or higher), QUALCOMM Snapdragon Elite. Mac: M2 chip or higher (M3 Recommended) |
| RAM | Windows: Minimum 16 GB (32 GB recommended) Mac: Minimum 8 GB (16 GB highly recommended) |
| Hard Drive | SATA SSD 500 GB (1tb NVME SSD recommended) NO HDDs (anything with RPM: ex. 5400rpm HDD) |
| Graphics (GPU) | Nvidia GPU (GTX 2050 or higher) AMD GPU (Radeon RX 6550M or higher) |
| CD/DVD Drive | N/A |
| Interface | USB 3.1/3.2 (USB 4 recommended) |
| Network | WiFi 6 (WiFi 6E recommended) |
| Browsers | Any |
| Audio & Webcam | N/A |
| Additional Software: Office 365 Education is available to students for free through QCC | N/A |
| All computers that connect to the QCC Wireless network must have up‐to‐date antivirus protection. We also recommend a product such as Lojack for PCs. |
| Operating System We do not recommend Chromebooks as they do not support some required components | Windows 10 Pro/Edu, 64 bit |
| CPU | Quad‐core Intel or AMD processor with 64‐bit Support, 3.0 GHz minimum speed |
| RAM | 32 GB RAM or higher |
| Hard Drive | 500 GB 7200 RPM or 256 GB SSD or greater |
| Graphics (GPU) | Integrated Graphics unreliable, Solidworks certified graphics card preferred (http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/ videocardtesting.html) |
| CD/DVD Drive | Not required, but useful |
| Interface | 3 USB (at least 1 USB 3.0) |
| Network | Wireless (802.11g/n or 802.11ac) |
| Browsers | Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge |
| Audio & Webcam | Speaker & Microphone (embedded or external), Camera or webcam |
| Additional Software: Office 365 Education is available to students for free through QCC | Office 365 or Office 2019 |
| All computers that connect to the QCC Wireless network must have up‐to‐date antivirus protection. We also recommend a product such as Lojack for PCs. |
Internet Browsers
Services from Quinsigamond Community College can be accessed through the internet from on or off campus. You will be able to use a computer at a public library to access (login) to these services and sites. Some web sites or services perform better with different web browsers.
Recommended Internet Browser - The Q and Blackboard Learn support the four primary internet browsers.
- Chrome from Google(QCC Recommended) is working better with Blackboard and The Q.
- Firefox from Mozilla (QCC Recommended)
- Edge from Microsoft (Because of Security concerns, we cannot recommend Internet Explorer at this time)
- Safari from Apple (Exception: Safari 5 for Windows)
You can find more information on supported browsers and plugins related to Blackboard Learn based on the October 2014 Bb Learn release.
Clearing your Internet Browser Cache and other support information
It is recommended that you clear your internet browser's cache if you experience problems with access or displays. You can search for support in your browser.