Requirements for Design Softwares
System Requirements for AutoCAD, SOLIDWORKS, SketchUp, Adobe, Affinity
So often when you're looking for a laptop you have to ask yourself whether a particular laptop meets the minimum requirements for the software your going to be using. Sometimes that can be more than one and having to trawl across different sites can be a time consuming exercise - so we've put together the system requirements for a variety of creative softwares (AutoCAD, SOLIDWORKS, SketchUp, Adobe & Affinity - All correct as of November 2020).
AUTODESK (AutoCAD, 3DS MAX, MAYA, REVIT)
-
AutoCAD
-
3DS MAX
-
MAYA
-
REVIT
Below are the system requirements for AutoCAD 2021
| Aspect | Required | Recommended |
|
Operating System |
64-bit Microsoft Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 |
|
|
Processor |
2.5–2.9 GHz processor |
3+ GHz processor |
|
Memory (RAM) |
8 GB |
16 GB |
|
Display Resolution |
Conventional Displays: High Resolution & 4K Displays: |
|
|
DISPLAY CARD |
1 GB GPU with 29 GB/s Bandwidth and DirectX 11 compliant |
4 GB GPU with 106 GB/s Bandwidth and DirectX 11 compliant |
|
DISK SPACE |
7 GB |
|
|
Network |
Deployment via Deployment Wizard. The license server and all workstations that will run applications dependent on network licensing must run TCP/IP protocol. Either Microsoft® or Novell TCP/IP protocol stacks are acceptable. Primary login on workstations may be Netware or Windows. In addition to operating systems supported for the application, the license server will run on Windows® Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, and Windows Server 2019 editions. |
|
|
Pointing Device |
MS-Mouse compliant |
|
|
.NET Framework |
.NET Framework version 4.8 or later |
Below are the system requirements for Autodesk 3DS MAX 2021
| Aspect | Required | Recommended |
|
Operating System |
64-bit Microsoft Windows 10 |
|
|
Browser |
Autodesk recommends the latest version of the following web browsers for access to online supplemental content:
|
3+ GHz processor |
|
Processor |
64-bit Intel or AMD multi-core processor with SSE4.2 instruction set |
16 GB |
|
Graphics Hardware |
For up to date list, please visit AUTODESK's Certified Hardware Page here. At the time of writing (Nov 2020) only AMD's Graphics Card had been certified as compatible. These are listed below: FirePro W5500; FirePro W5700; Radeon Pro WX 9100; Radeon Pro WX 7100; Radeon Pro WX 5100; Radeon Pro WX 4100; Radeon Pro WX 3100; Radeon Pro WX 2100; Radeon Pro SSG; Radeon Pro™ WX 8200; Radeon Pro™ WX 3200. |
|
|
Memory (RAM) |
4GB |
8GB |
|
DISK SPACE |
9 GB |
|
|
Pointing Device |
Three-button mouse |
Below are the system requirements for Autodesk MAYA 2020
| Aspect | Required | Recommended |
|
Operating System |
Microsoft® Windows® 7 (SP1), Windows® 10 Professional, Windows 10® version 1607 or higher operating system |
|
|
Browser |
Autodesk recommends the latest version of the following web browsers for access to online supplemental content:
|
3+ GHz processor |
|
Processor |
64-bit Intel or AMD multi-core processor with SSE4.2 instruction set |
16 GB |
|
Graphics Hardware |
For an up to date list, please visit AutoDesk's website here. At the time of writing, the following Graphics Cards were certified for use with MAYA 2020: NVIDIA (For Windows 7 & 10): Quadro RTX 8000; Quadro RTX 6000; Quadro RTX 5000; Quadro RTX 4000; Quadro GV100; Quadro GP100; Quadro P6000; Quadro P5000; Quadro P4000; Quadro P600; Quadro P400; Quadro P2000; Quadro P1000; Quadro T2000; Quadro T1000; Quadro M6000; Quadro M5000; Quadro M4000; Quadro M2000; Quadro M1200; Quadro M620; Quadro K6000; Quadro K5200; Quadro K5000; Quadro K4200; Quadro K4000; Quadro K2200; Quadro K2000; Quadro K1200. AMD (For Windows 7 & 10): FirePro W5700*; FirePro W5500*; Radeon Pro SSG; Radeon Pro™ WX 8200; Radeon Pro WX 9100; Radeon Pro WX 7100; Radeon Pro WX 5100; Radeon Pro WX 4100; Radeon Pro WX 3100; Radeon Pro WX 2100; FirePro W9100; FirePro W9000; FirePro W8100; FirePro W8000; FirePro W7100; FirePro W5100; FirePro W5000; FirePro W4300; FirePro W 2100; Radeon Pro Duo; Radeon Pro Duo Polaris. |
|
|
Memory (RAM) |
8GB |
16GB |
|
DISK SPACE |
4 GB |
|
|
Pointing Device |
Three-button mouse |
Below are the system requirements for REVIT 2021
| Aspect | Minimum: Entry-Level Configuration | Value: Balanced price and performance | Performance: Large, complex models |
|
Operating System |
64-bit Microsoft Windows 10 |
64-bit Microsoft Windows 10 |
64-bit Microsoft Windows 10 |
|
Processor |
Single- or Multi-Core Intel®, Xeon®, or i-Series processor or AMD® equivalent with SSE2 technology. Highest affordable CPU speed rating recommended. |
Single- or Multi-Core Intel®, Xeon®, or i-Series processor or AMD® equivalent with SSE2 technology. Highest affordable CPU speed rating recommended. |
Single- or Multi-Core Intel®, Xeon®, or i-Series processor or AMD® equivalent with SSE2 technology. Highest affordable CPU speed rating recommended. |
|
Memory (RAM) |
8 GB |
16 GB |
32 GB |
|
Display Resolution |
Minimum: Maximum: |
Minimum: Maximum: |
Minimum: Maximum: |
|
DISPLAY CARD |
Basic Graphics: Advanced Graphics: |
DirectX 11 capable graphics card with Shader Model 5 and a minimum of 4GB of video memory. |
DirectX 11 capable graphics card with Shader Model 5 and a minimum of 4GB of video memory. |
|
DISK SPACE |
30 GB |
30 GB |
30 GB 10,000+ RPM HardDrive (for Point Cloud interactions) or Solid State Drive |
|
Media |
Download or installation from DVD9 or USB key |
Download or installation from DVD9 or USB key |
Download or installation from DVD9 or USB key |
|
Pointing Device |
MS-Mouse or 3Dconnexion® compliant device |
MS-Mouse or 3Dconnexion® compliant device |
MS-Mouse or 3Dconnexion® compliant device |
|
.NET Framework |
.NET Framework version 4.8 or later |
.NET Framework Version 4.8 or later. |
.NET Framework Version 4.8 or later. |
|
Browser |
Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 (or higher) |
Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 (or higher) |
Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 (or higher) |
|
Connectivity |
Internet connection for license registration and prerequisite component download |
Internet connection for license registration and prerequisite component download |
Internet connection for license registration and prerequisite component download |
SOLIDWORKS (2021, 2020, 2019)
-
SOLIDWORKS 2021
-
SOLIDWORKS 2020
-
SOLIDWORKS 2019
Below are the system requirements for SOLIDWORKS 2021
| Aspect | Required |
|
Operating System |
64-bit Microsoft Windows 10 |
|
Processor |
3.3 GHz processor or higher |
|
Memory (RAM) |
16 GB or more PDM Contributor/Viewer or Electrical Schematic: 8 GB or more |
|
MS Office |
Microsoft Excel and Word (2016, 2019) |
|
Graphics CARD |
More details can be found on the SOLIDSWORK website here. At the time of writing, the following Graphics Cards has been included on SOLIDWORKS' Hardware Certification: Quadro RTX 5000; Quadro RTX 4000; Quadro RTX 3000; Quadro T2000; Quadro T1000; Quadro P620; Quadro P520. |
|
Drives |
SSD drives recommended for optimal performance |
Below are the system requirements for SOLIDWORKS 2020
| Aspect | Required |
|
Operating System |
64-bit Microsoft Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 10 |
|
Processor |
3.3 GHz processor or higher |
|
Memory (RAM) |
16 GB or more PDM Contributor/Viewer or Electrical Schematic: 8 GB or more |
|
MS Office |
Microsoft Excel and Word (2013, 2016, 2019) |
|
Graphics CARD |
More details can be found on the SOLIDSWORK website here. At the time of writing, the following Graphics Cards has been included on SOLIDWORKS' Hardware Certification: Quadro: RTX 6000/8000; RTX 5000; RTX 4000; RTX 3000; T2000; T1000; P620; P6000; P600; P5200; P520; P5000; P500; P4200: P4000; P400; P3200: P3000; P2200; P2000, P1000. Radeon Pro: W5500; W5700; WX2100; WX 3100; WX 3200; WX 4100; WX 4130/4150; WX 4170; WX 5100; WX 7100; WX 7130; WX 8200; WX 9100. |
|
Drives |
SSD drives recommended for optimal performance |
|
Hypervisors (Virtual Environments) |
|
Below are the system requirements for SOLIDWORKS 2019
| Aspect | Required |
|
Operating System |
64-bit Microsoft Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 10 |
|
Processor |
3.3 GHz processor or higher |
|
Memory (RAM) |
16 GB or more PDM Contributor/Viewer or Electrical Schematic: 8 GB or more |
|
MS Office |
Microsoft Excel and Word (2013, 2016, 2019-SW2019 SP2) |
|
Graphics CARD |
More details can be found on the SOLIDSWORK website here. At the time of writing, the following Graphics Cards has been included on SOLIDWORKS' Hardware Certification: Quadro: RTX 6000/8000; RTX 5000; RTX 4000; RTX 3000; T2000; T1000; P620; P6000; P600; P5200; P520; P5000; P500; P4200: P4000; P400; P3200: P3000; P2200; P2000, P1000; M1000M; M1200; M2000; M2200; M4000; M5000; M6000; M600M; M620. Radeon Pro: W5500; W5700; WX2100; WX 3100; WX 3200; WX 4100; WX 4130/4150; WX 4170; WX 5100; WX 7100; WX 7130; WX 8200; WX 9100. |
|
Drives |
SSD drives recommended for optimal performance |
|
Hypervisors (Virtual Environments) |
|
SketchUp
Below are the system requirements for SketchUp 2020
| Aspect | Minimum | Recommended |
|
Operating System |
64-bit Microsoft Windows 10 |
|
|
Processor |
1 GHz processor |
2+ GHz processor |
|
Memory (RAM) |
4 GB |
8 GB |
|
Browser |
Microsoft® Internet Explorer 9.0 or higher. |
|
|
Graphis Card |
3D class video card with 512 MB of memory or higher and support for hardware acceleration. Please ensure that the video card driver supports OpenGL 3.1 or higher and is up to date. |
3D class video card with 1 GB of memory or higher and support for hardware acceleration. Please ensure that the video card driver supports OpenGL 3.1 or higher and is up to date. |
|
DISK SPACE |
500MB |
700MB |
|
Network |
An internet connection is required to install and authorize SketchUp and to use some of the features. |
|
|
Pointing Device |
3-button, scroll-wheel mouse. |
|
|
.NET Framework |
.NET Framework version 4.5.2 |
Adobe (Premiere Pro, Illustrator, InDesign)
-
Adobe Premiere Pro
-
Adobe Illustrator
-
Adobe InDesign
Below are the system requirements for Adobe Premiere Pro (2020). Correct as of November 2020.
| Aspect | Minimum | Recommended |
|
Operating System |
Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit) version 1803 or later |
Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit) version 1809 or later |
|
Processor |
Intel® 6thGen or newer CPU – or AMD equivalent |
Intel® 7thGen or newer CPU – or AMD equivalent |
|
Memory (RAM) |
8 GB of RAM |
16 GB of RAM for HD media |
|
Monitor Resolution |
1280 x 800 |
1920 x 1080 or greater |
|
Graphics Card |
2 GB of GPU VRAM. Recommended Cards (correct, Nov 2020 - visit here for updated list): NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 AMD Radeon Pro W5500 |
4 GB of GPU VRAM |
|
DISK SPACE |
8 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (will not install on removable flash storage) |
Fast internal SSD for app installation and cache |
|
Network |
1 Gigabit Ethernet (HD only) |
10 Gigabit ethernet for 4K shared network workflow |
|
Internet |
Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services. |
|
|
Sound card |
ASIO compatible or Microsoft Windows Driver Model |
Below are the system requirements for Adobe Illustrator (October 2020 release, correct as of Nov 2020)
| Aspect | Minimum | Recommend |
|
Operating System |
Windows 10 (64-bit) versions V1809, V1903, V1909, and V2004. Windows Server versions V1607 (2017) and V1809 (2019). Note: Not supported on Windows 10 versions 1507, 1511, 1607, 1703, 1709 and 1803. |
|
|
Processor |
Multicore Intel processor (with 64-bit support) or AMD Athlon 64 processor |
|
|
Memory (RAM) |
8 GB of RAM |
16 GB |
|
Monitor Resolution |
1024 x 768 display To use Touch workspace in Illustrator, you must have a touch-screen-enabled tablet/monitor running Windows 10 |
1920 x 1080 display For touch, Microsoft Surface Pro 3 recommended |
|
Graphics CARD |
OpenGL 4.x Supported Video Adapters Listed Below NVIDIA Quadro K Series Intel HD Graphics 4600 Series AMD Radeon R9 Series Graphics |
Optional: To use GPU Performance: Your Windows should have a minimum of 1 GB of VRAM (4 GB recommended), and your computer must support OpenGL version 4.0 or greater. |
|
Hard Disk |
2 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation |
SSD recommended |
|
Internet |
Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services. |
Below are the system requirements for Adobe InDesign (October 2020 release, correct as of Nov 2020)
| Aspect | Minimum | Recommend |
|
Operating System |
Windows 10 (64-bit) Supported on Windows 10 versions 1607, 1809, 1903, 1909, 2004.
|
|
|
Processor |
Intel® Pentium® 5 or AMD Athlon® 64 processor |
|
|
Memory (RAM) |
4 GB |
16 GB |
|
Monitor Resolution |
1024 x 768 display, HiDPI display support To use the new InDesign Touch workspace, you must have a touch screen enabled tablet/monitor running Windows 10 or above (such as Microsoft Surface Pro 3) with the screen resolution set to 2160 x 1440 or more |
1920 x 1080 display |
|
Graphics CARD |
Video card - 32-bit video card |
Optional: To use GPU Performance: Your Windows should have a minimum of 1 GB of VRAM (4 GB recommended), and your computer must support OpenGL version 4.0 or greater. |
|
Hard Disk |
3.6 GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation |
SSD recommended |
|
Internet |
Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services. |
AFFINITY (DESIGNER & PUBLISHER)
-
AFFINITY DESIGNER
-
AFFINITY PUBLISHER
Below are the system requirements for Affinity Designer (Correct as of Nov 2020)
| Aspect | Minimum | Recommend |
|
Operating System |
Windows (64 bit) 10 (1607 Anniversary update or higher) |
|
|
Memory (RAM) |
2 GB |
4 GB |
|
Monitor Resolution |
1280x768 display size or better |
|
|
Graphics CARD |
DirectX 10-compatible Graphics Cards and above |
|
|
Hard Disk |
934MB of available hard drive space; more during installation |
|
|
Pointing Device |
Mouse or equivalent input device |
Below are the system requirements for Affinity Publisher (Correct as of Nov 2020)
| Aspect | Minimum |
|
Operating System |
Windows (64 bit) 10 (1607 Anniversary update or higher) |
|
Memory (RAM) |
4 GB |
|
Monitor Resolution |
1280x768 display size or better |
|
Graphics CARD |
DirectX 10-compatible Graphics Cards and above |
|
Hard Disk |
938MB of available hard drive space; more during installation |
|
Pointing Device |
Mouse or equivalent input device |
