Computer System Requirements

PC Minimum

Mac Minimum

1 Supported Video Cards include 1) Dedicated Video Card such as NVIDIA / AMD or 2) Intel Integrated Graphics 4th Generation or newer.

How can I tell which video card I have?

2 Internet access required for installation, license authentication, deactivation and video & library catalog access. Internet access for license authentication is required once every 14 days.

How can I tell if I have a 64-bit Operating System?

PC and Mac Recommended

  • 16 GB of memory
  • 50 GB of available hard disk space
  • 4 GB or 8 GB gaming video card

Differences between PC and Mac versions of Chief Architect

PC Mac
Walkthrough Export Formats
 
 .AVI .MOV / .MP4 / .M4V
Hardware Lock Security Option
 
 Yes No
.WMF / .EMF Support
 
 Yes No

Tips for Buying a New Computer

If you are thinking about purchasing a new computer to run Chief Architect, here are some things to keep in mind while shopping around:

Most rendering is performed by the video card.

A video card with more than 2 GB of dedicated onboard memory can improve your 3D rendering and response times.

Ray Traces and some Artistic Rendering Techniques (Watercolor, Painting) are performed by your system CPU, not your video card. The number of processor cores available is the most important factor in improving the speed of ray tracing and artistic rendering. Memory and CPU speed are also factors that can contribute to improved performance. A multi-core system, such as a system that uses a quad-core i7 processor, would be a good choice.

Multiple and/or larger displays can improve productivity.

Chief Architect's tabbed window interface allows you to take full advantage of multiple monitors to expand your workspace and increase productivity. When adding monitors, make sure that your graphics card supports multiple monitors.

For more information on hardware, you can access benchmark sites like Video Card Benchmarks. There are also frequent discussions of hardware on ChiefTalk that can be helpful.