Computer System Requirements
PC Minimum1
- Windows 10 / 11 64-bit
- 8 GB of RAM
- Video Card2
- 2 GB of RAM
- DirectX 123
- 5 GB of available hard disk space
- Internet access4
Mac Minimum1
- Catalina / Big Sur / Monterey
- 8 GB of RAM
- Video Card2
- 2 GB of RAM
- Metal GPUFamily: Apple 7 (M1) or macOS 2 (Intel)
- 5 GB of available hard disk space
- Internet access4
PC and Mac Recommended System Requirements5
- 32 GB of RAM
- 512 GB SSD
-
PC
-
Desktops:
- Intel i9 / AMD Ryzen 5000
- 8 GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 / AMD Radeon RX 6800
-
Laptops:
- Minimum 15" screen
- Intel i7
- 8 GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 / AMD Radeon RX 6800M
-
Desktops:
-
Mac
-
Desktops:
- Mac Pro
-
Laptops:
- MacBook Pro 16"
- Intel i9
- 8 GB video memory
-
Desktops:
Tips for Buying a New Computer
If you are thinking about purchasing a new computer to run Chief Architect, read our ChiefBlog article to learn more about computer specifications.
Differences between PC and Mac versions of Chief Architect
| PC | Mac | |
|---|---|---|
Walkthrough Export Formats |
.AVI / .MP4 / .WMV | .MOV / .MP4 / .M4V |
.WMF / .EMF Support |
Yes | No |
Gamepads |
Yes | No |
Virtual Reality |
Yes | No |
Ray Trace Rendering |
CPU & GPU Real‑Time Ray Trace5 | CPU Ray Trace |
1 Windows computers with ARM processors are not supported. It is recommended that laptops have a minimum 15" screen.
2 Supported video cards include (1) dedicated video cards such as NVIDIA GeForce RTX (2) Intel integrated graphics 9th Generation "Skylake" or newer.
3 DirectX 12 requires Shader Model 6.0 or newer. Learn how to identify the shader model of your graphics card.
4 Internet access required for installation, license authentication, deactivation and video & library catalog access. Internet access for license authentication is required once every 14 days.
5 GPU real time ray tracing requires a Windows 10 computer with an NVIDIA RTX or an AMD Radeon RX 6000 series graphics card, see the Recommended System Requirements. The Mac version supports CPU ray tracing.