Vectorworks 2012 System Requirements
The following are real-world system recommendations for running Vectorworks 2012. In some demanding cases, we would suggest a more capable machine than is described by these recommendations. Likewise, there are some less demanding situations where Vectorworks will perform well on older hardware. The Vectorworks user experience is always improved by faster processors and additional RAM.
Note: When considering RAM requirements, remember that all modern operating systems run slower when memory is tight and that it is a common requirement for users to want to have four or more programs open at once. RAM is cheap, so make sure you have plenty.
Macintosh
| Operating System: |
|
|---|---|
| Other Software: | QuickTime |
| Processor: | Intel Core 2GHz or better |
| Other Hardware: | DVD-ROM drive (dual layer) |
| Screen Resolution: | 1280 x 800 or larger |
| Display color depth: | 15 bit or higher |
| Graphics Card: | A separate graphics card is required with a minimum of 512 MB VRAM (preferred is 1 GB VRAM). See below for more info. |
Windows
| Operating System: |
|
|---|---|
| Other Software: | 2012: QuickTime 7.6 to 7.6.9 (higher versions not recommended) |
| Processor: | Pentium 2GHz or better. Intel Core 2 Duo or better preferred |
| Other Hardware: | DVD-ROM drive (dual layer) |
| Screen Resolution: | 1280 x 800 or larger |
| Display color depth: | 15 bit or higher |
| Graphics Card: | A separate graphics card is required with a minimum of 512 MB VRAM (preferred is 1 GB VRAM). See below for more info. |
RAM and Drive Space requirements
| Vectorworks: (all modules) |
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|---|---|
| Vectorworks & Renderworks: (all modules) |
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Vectorworks OS Compatibility list
Macintosh
| 2012 SP0 | 2011* SP4 | 2010* SP4 | 2009* SP5 | 2008 SP3 | 12.5.3 | 11.5.1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.7.1* | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| 10.6.8 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| 10.5.8 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| 10.4.11 | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 10.3.9 | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
* Some problems for 2011, 2010 and 2009 on Mac OS 10.7. Click here for more info.
Windows
| 2012 SP0 | 2011 SP4 | 2010 SP4 | 2009 SP5 | 2008 SP3 | 12.5.3 | 11.5.1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7/32 SP1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| 7/64 SP1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Vista 32 SP2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Vista 64 SP2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| XP 32 SP3 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | XP 64 SP3 | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| 2000 | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Windows 7 support
Vectorworks 2012, 2011 and 2010 have been tested with Windows 7 and it should install and run just fine at launch. However we strongly recommend that users update their video drivers when they make the switch.
Vectorworks 2009 SP4 has been tested with Windows 7 and no stability issues have been found. However we strongly recommend that users update their video drivers when they make the switch.
Older versions of Vectorworks have not been extensively tested on Windows 7. If you do attempt to run an older version of Vectorworks on Windows 7, there is a chance you will encounter installation and/or stability issues for which there is no resolution.
Additional details
Strict minimums
The absolute software version requirements in order for Vectorworks to launch are often but not always more relaxed than these recommendations. Vectorworks 2012 requires the following as an absolute minimum:
Windows
- Windows XP or Vista or later
- QuickTime 7.2
- All attached video monitors set to 15 bits per pixel or higher
Macintosh
- Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later
- QuickTime 7.6.0
- All attached video monitors set to 15 bits per pixel or higher
Vectorworks does not currently have strict runtime checks of other aspects of the machine configuration such as the processor architecture.
Remote and Virtual Machines
We do not consider remote login environments such as Remote Desktop, Terminal Services and VNC or virtual machine environments such as Parallels and VMware to be appropriate for regular work, so Vectorworks performance in these situations is not of primary concern to us. They may be appropriate for administrative testing or utility purposes, and Vectorworks is fully functional in these environments. You should not expect high performance - especially with interactive screen feedback.
We do support Vectorworks running under Bootcamp on Intel Macs. As long as you have appropriate and current drivers for the hardware on your machine, you can expect fast and reliable Vectorworks behavior.
Maintenance Releases
Unless there is a known problem with a maintenance release of the operating system, we recommend the latest maintenance release at the time we ship a new release of Vectorworks as a minimum because that is what we test with. If you have problems with an earlier maintenance release, we will often ask you to update as an initial troubleshooting step.
On Windows, we recommend against updating QuickTime primarily because most Windows users are not aware that Vectorworks depends on QuickTime and can possibly change behavior when QuickTime is updated. We have never had problems, however, which were traced back to bugs in newer releases of QuickTime, so updating QuickTime on Windows is not a risky choice.
64 Bit Windows
While Vectorworks is fully supported in both 32 bit and 64 bit Windows environments, we generally recommend using a 64 bit Windows operating system for Vectorworks 2012.
While Renderworks is fully supported in both 32 bit and 64 bit Windows environments, we strongly recommend using a 64 bit Windows operating system for Renderworks 2012, as it will take full use of 64 bit addressing.
With those recommendations having been made, we have noticed that drivers for 64 bit Windows can be somewhat more problematic than those for the more mainstream 32 bit versions of Windows. Should you choose to run 64 bit Windows you should make sure that you carefully choose your hardware and driver versions to avoid problems.
Optimizing Performance
Faster or slower processor clock speeds have a predictable impact on Vectorworks performance. We choose our recommendation based on our perception of mainstream needs and the current available hardware.
RAM requirements are usually driven by performance considerations. Large files and especially complex rendering modes consume large amounts of memory. When RAM runs out, Vectorworks usually continues to function, but is slowed significantly by the need to access the hard drive to provide virtual memory. Extreme lack of RAM may cause operations to generate errors in cases where given sufficient RAM they would otherwise succeed. Faster hard drives can have an unexpectedly large impact on system performance especially when virtual memory is actively being used.
Hard drive size requirements are driven by the total size of Designer with Renderworks including all content files. You can easily reduce this size by opting to not install some Vectorworks content files.
Graphics Cards
Vectorworks 2010, 2011 and 2012
Vectorworks 2009 started using a completely new document interaction interface that depends on a high bandwidth interface between the CPU and the screen. This new interface has the potential to provide a very fast and fluid experience if used on capable hardware, or a noticeably slower experience if used on older or incompatible hardware.
Large displays with high resolutions now require more VRAM and video bandwidth than was demanded by previous versions of Vectorworks. Users with displays 30” and larger may experience unsatisfactory results when using old or underpowered graphics hardware.
In summary: from Vectorworks 2009 onward, the more powerful your graphics card is, the better your Vectorworks experience will be.
General Guidelines
VRAM
The amount of Video RAM required to drive Vectorworks adequately depends largely on the size of the display being used and the complexity of the Vectorworks document. Medium sized displays with a native resolution of 1600x1200 or less should be driven by a graphics card with at least 512MB of VRAM. Larger display should use a graphics card with at least 512MB of VRAM, with 1GB recommended.
Drivers
Drivers should be kept relatively up-to-date to get the maximum performance out of the graphics hardware and provide the best Vectorworks experience. If the video card you are using fits the recommendations listed in this document but Vectorworks seems slow and sluggish, updating your video cards drivers may correct the issue. On Windows, we recommend acquiring the latest drivers directly from the manufacturer's website:
NVIDIA Drivers
ATI Drivers
On the Macintosh, you cannot update the video driver directly because these are integrated into operating system updates. If your operating system is up to date then you drivers will be as well.
Extended Functionality
The Vectorworks OpenGL rendering mode utilizes several rendering techniques that require hardware specific functionality. To determine if your hardware supports the rendering effects, go to the OpenGL Rendering Options Dialog and verify that the following checkboxes are not grayed out: “Use Anti-Aliasing”, “Draw Edges”, and “Use Shadows”.
Integrated Graphics Accelerators
Integrated Graphics Accelerators (on-board graphics) are available on some laptop and motherboard combinations. These types of media accelerators should be avoided as they are acceptable for basic window drawing but often provide poor results when used with a graphics intensive applications like Vectorworks.
Desktop and Workstation Video Cards
Most video card manufacturers provide one line of video cards for desktop computers and another for higher-end workstation computers. In general, desktop cards are geared towards providing good results for low vertex count models and are often acceptable for gaming applications where speed is required over detail. Workstation video cards on the other hand are generally designed to provide high quality and speed with detailed graphical models and are usually the best option when used with applications like Vectorworks.
Note: Some workstation and desktop video cards have power requirements that exceed the power available from certain desktop computers. You should check with your computer's manufacturer for compatibility issues before purchasing a new video card.
General Recommendations
Windows
The Windows operating system has a large selection of video card manufacturers, models, and driver versions. We recommend using a video card with a chipset manufactured by either NVIDIA or ATI as these two companies are the predominant players in the video card industry and as such are the suppliers of most of the cards that we test. See the Specific Recommendations section below for more detail on recommended cards for Windows machines.
Macintosh - Mac Pro
With Mac Pros we also recommend using a video card with a chipset manufactured by either NVIDIA or ATI. See the Specific Recommendations section below for more detail on recommended cards for the Mac Pro.
Macintosh - MacBook, Mac Mini, and iMac
On older MacBooks, Mac Minis and iMacs, the video card was usually integrated with the CPU and not a user replaceable component. On these machines, these video cards were an Intel integrated graphics accelerator and were generally not up to the task of handling some of the more advanced features of Vectorworks.They are therefore not recommended.
From early 2009, most MacBooks, Mac Minis, and iMacs started shipping with a much more capable NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphic accelerator. This card provides generally adequate speed and reliability when running Vectorworks.
Specific Recommendations
NVIDIA's Quadro FX Series (Workstation)
The Quadro FX workstation series of video cards will provide plenty of speed and quality when used with high vertex count complex models as they are targeted at CAD and other visualization applications. We've found excellent performance and feature support with Quadro FX cards when used with Vectorworks.
Note: The other members of the Quadro family, namely the NVS series, are more geared towards driving multiple displays and less suited for complex 3D modeling. We recommend that you avoid these cards.
NVIDIA's GeForce series (Desktop)
The GeForce series cards will provide good results when used with Vectorworks and are usually of less cost than the higher end Quadro cards. The majority of the cards that we use and test in-house are in the GeForce families and with this extensive amount of testing we are usually able to find, diagnose, and fix issues related to these cards in a timely manner. The GeForce series provide good performance and excellent feature support when used with Vectorworks.
ATI's FireGL series (Workstation)
The FireGL series makes up ATI's high end offering of video cards. As with other workstation type cards they are geared for large models with high vertex counts. We have found excellent performance with these cards, but have seen occasional problems with feature support, primarily in the areas of anti-aliasing and OpenGL shadows.
ATI's Radeon series (Desktop)
ATI's Radeon series makes up ATI's low end offering and will provide acceptable results when used with Vectorworks. As with other desktop boards they are geared primary for gaming but cost less than ATI's FireGL cards. With the Radeon cards we have found excellent performance but occasional problems with feature support, primarily in the areas of anti-aliasing, OpenGL shadows, and general display flickering.