Computer System Requirements

PC Minimum 1

  • Windows 10 / 11 64-bit
  • 16 GB of RAM
  • Video card 2
    • 4 GB of RAM
    • DirectX 12 3
  • 5 GB of available hard disk space
  • Internet access 4

Mac Minimum

  • Sonoma / Sequoia / Tahoe
  • 16 GB of RAM
  • Apple M1 or newer (Intel Macs are not supported)
  • 5 GB of available hard disk space
  • Internet access 4
  • Supported Mac Models

Locating Your Computer's Specifications

System Requirements for Prior Versions of Chief Architect

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 6
 
 Yes No
DLSS Real-Time Denoising 5
 
 Yes No
  • 1 Windows computers with ARM processors are not supported (e.g. Snapdragon processors).
  • 2 Supported video cards include: (1) dedicated video cards such as NVIDIA GeForce and AMD Radeon (2) Intel integrated graphics on 11th generation or newer Intel processors. The "Physically Based" and "Clay" rendering techniques require a ray-tracing-compatible video card, such as one from the NVIDIA GeForce RTX or AMD Radeon RX series 5. See the system recommendations and read our ChiefBlog article about computer specifications.
  • 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 DLSS Real-Time Denoising requires an NVIDIA ray-tracing-compatible graphics card.
  • 6 Virtual reality requires a computer that meets the system requirements of both Chief Architect and the VR headset manufacturer. Learn more.

Known Incompatibilities