Recommended Hardware for Students

Connection purchasing site

Recommended peripherals for students

Please note that stock is low on some items. We recommend that you order what you need as soon as possible to ensure delivery prior to the start of the semester. Prices listed were accurate as of 8/3/20. 

Headsets with Microphone

We recommend that all students use a noise cancelling headset that connects via USB jack, ideally a foldable, over the ear (circumaural) model with a retractable boom mic.

1. Arctis Pro – $180. Supports both USB and 4TRS 3.5mm jack connections.
2. SteelSeries Arctis 5 – $100. Supports both USB and 3.5mm jack connections.
3. Razer Kraken X USB – $60
4. Mpow 3.5mm/USB Headsets – $38. Supports both USB and 3.5mm. Retractable boom.
5. Logitech H340 – $30.  Not over ear. Not recommended for Game students.
6. MPOW USB Headset – $33. Not over ear. Not recommended for Game students.

External Storage Devices

IT Solid State Drives

1. Samsung T7 Replacement for Samsung T5 – $170. (Recommended option)
2. SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable USB 3.1 Type-C SDSSDE60-1T00-G25 – $168
3. Crucial 1TB X8 Portable SSD – Up to 1050 MB/s – USB 3.2 – USB-C, USB-A – CT1000X8SSD9 – $165

External Microphones

USB Stand Mic

1. USB Microphone,Fifine Metal Condenser Recording Microphone – $46
2. Fifine Gooseneck – $35
3. Blue Yeti – $195 – $220

Gaming Controller (for students in The Game Studio)

1. Students in The Game Studio are required to obtain a game controller, preferably an on-brand Sony PlayStation 4 DualShock4 or Microsoft XBOX ONE controller connected directly to your computer with a micro-USB cable. Off-brand controllers may not work. Some wireless to USB adapters may work, but these are less assured. PS4 DualShock4 controllers have rechargeable batteries built-in and thus may represent a better value than other options.
   1. XBOX ONE controllers feature native driver support for Windows
   2. PS4 DS4 controllers on Windows will require Xinput driver support through DS4Win: http://ds4windows.com/
2. Only macOS, Windows, and GNU/Linux have known good game controller device driver support.

Drawing Tablets

1. HUION Inspiroy H1161 Graphics Drawing Tablet – $93
2. HUION Kamvas Pro 13 – $289
3. Wacom Intuos tablets – $80

Webcams

WARNING: Vendors are finding lots of grey-market fraud to meet overwhelming demand. Reports are coming in of antique webcam chip hardware repackaged into new-stock cases. Buy only from reputable sellers.

1. ClearOne UNITE 20 1080p HD Wide-Angle Webcam – $130
2. Logitech C920 webcam – $133 (good support for all operating systems).

USB mouse and keyboard

1. MK120 Logitech keyboard and mouse kit, Wired – $15