Pretty much any laptop would be fine. We use intelliJ in our Freshmen year programming classes. It runs perfectly on Windows, Mac, and Linux machines. We make sure that all the software students need to use is available for free on the major platforms. We highly recommend students get a laptop, instead of a desktop. USC has free wifi all over campus, inside and outside buildings. A laptop makes it much easier for a student to get help from a teacher, to work in groups with other students, etc.

The College also has computer recommendations.