Does the MBA meet the requirements?

[evolute8]

I'm deciding to get a 13" MBA with:

2.0GHz Intel Dual-Core Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
256GB Flash Storage


Minimum specifications for the first and second year undergraduates at DigiPen Institute of Technology:

Processor
Any dual-core or better processor
4 GB of RAM minimum

Video Card
Dedicated video card, not integrated graphics
Support for DirectX 10 and OpenGL 3
Mobility Radeon HD 4000 series or better
NVIDIA GeForce 9000M series or better

Other
Minimum two-year warranty (The longer and more inclusive the warranty the better.)
150 GB hard drive
DVD drive
Minimum wireless: 802.11n, recommend wireless: 802.11n dual-band

 

[hemagoku]

i don't think so, directX is a windows thing.

 

[Macman45]

I'm deciding to get a 13" MBA with:

2.0GHz Intel Dual-Core Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
256GB Flash Storage


Minimum specifications for the first and second year undergraduates at DigiPen Institute of Technology:

Processor
Any dual-core or better processor
4 GB of RAM minimum

Video Card
Dedicated video card, not integrated graphics
Support for DirectX 10 and OpenGL 3
Mobility Radeon HD 4000 series or better
NVIDIA GeForce 9000M series or better

Other
Minimum two-year warranty (The longer and more inclusive the warranty the better.)
150 GB hard drive
DVD drive
Minimum wireless: 802.11n, recommend wireless: 802.11n dual-band

You need a dedicated GPU....I'd look at the MBP range if I were you.

 

[Mito]

I'm deciding to get a 13" MBA with:

2.0GHz Intel Dual-Core Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
256GB Flash Storage


Minimum specifications for the first and second year undergraduates at DigiPen Institute of Technology:

Processor
Any dual-core or better processor
4 GB of RAM minimum

Video Card
Dedicated video card, not integrated graphics
Support for DirectX 10 and OpenGL 3
Mobility Radeon HD 4000 series or better
NVIDIA GeForce 9000M series or better

Other
Minimum two-year warranty (The longer and more inclusive the warranty the better.)
150 GB hard drive
DVD drive
Minimum wireless: 802.11n, recommend wireless: 802.11n dual-band

Well everything should be OK apart Video Card, Intel HD 4000 isn´t dedicated, I´m not sure about DirectX 10 and DVD Drive. Maybe you should check Macbook Pro 15

 

[KPOM]

The MacBook Air has integrated graphics (Intel HD 4000) only. Only the 15" MacBook Pro (either the Retina or non-Retina) has a discrete GPU. However, I believe it is compatible with DirectX 10 when using Windows in Boot Camp. Actually, I believe it is also compatible with DirectX 11.

Probably the best thing to do is to check with the Institute. It's possible their minimum specs need to be updated. For starters, the Intel HD 4000 is as powerful as some discrete GPUs were 2 years ago.

Anyway, Macs have a 1 year warranty. You can extend that to 3 years for $249 for the MacBook Air and $349 for the Pro. You would also need to buy the external Superdrive if they insist that you need a DVD drive.

 

[leman]

Yes it does. Although its not a dedicated GPU, the HD 4000 is better than many of the dedicated budget GPUs. And its clearly better than Nvidia 9000M series... I mean, you can run modern games at high settings on it (here is Skyrim, for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIVvQSqUjxs)

 

[RocketRed]

Well everything should be OK apart Video Card, Intel HD 4000 isn´t dedicated, I´m not sure about DirectX 10 and DVD Drive. Maybe you should check Macbook Pro 15

He could use an external DVD drive...

But I agree with other posters in this thread. You're better off with a Macbook pro.