Minimum system requirements and recommendations

System requirements and recommendations for Intel and AMD-based Microsoft Windows & Linux PCs, and Intel-based Apple Macs.

Supported Operating Systems
  • Windows 10 (x64)
  • Windows 8.1 (x64)
  • Ubuntu V18.04 or higher
  • openSUSE builds, later than April 2018
  • Fedora builds, later than April 2018
  • Mac OSX 10.13 or higher
Note: Windows 8.1 will reach the end of Microsoft’s Extended Support program on 10 January 2023.
Note: Mac OSX is supported only on Intel-based hardware at this time.
Deprecated Operating Systems
  • Windows Server 2008 R2
  • Windows Server 2008 (with SP2 or higher)
  • Windows 7 (x64)
Note: we do not recommend running mission-critical CAD software on unsupported operating systems, as your PC may become more vulnerable to security risks.
  • On 14 January 2020, Microsoft ended support for Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2.
  • On 14 January 2020, Microsoft ended the Windows 7 Extended Support initiative.
Minimum CPU:
  • Intel® Core™ i5
  • AMD Ryzen™ 5
  • 2.5 GHz or higher
 Recommended CPU:
  • Intel® Core™ i7
  • Intel® Core™ i9
  • AMD Ryzen™ 7
  • AMD Ryzen™ 9
  • 3.0 GHz or higher

The CPU with the highest single-thread performance rating will always excel with BricsCAD®.

Additional CPU cores can be a bonus, because BricsCAD® supports the concept of ‘helper threads’ for many data- and calculation-intensive tasks.

Note about Intel® Xeon® and AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ CPUs: these top-tier workstation CPUs support large on-chip memory cache, more PCIe® I/O lanes and multi-channel, high speed memory architectures. Will they help BricsCAD® run faster? Maybe. You will need to do testing in your specific environment, to determine if the additional cost of these systems is justifiable.
Minimum System Memory:

8 GB

 Recommended System Memory:
  • 16 GB
  • 32 GB

For maximum performance, determine the memory configuration of your PC and ensure that each memory channel on the motherboard is populated with at least one memory module (SIMMs/DIMMs).

Note: the number of available memory channels may not correlate 1:1 with the number of RAM sockets on your PC’s motherboard. Questions? Please check with your hardware supplier before you buy system memory.
Minimum Disk Space:

2 GB for BricsCAD® Ultimate, installed

 Recommended Disk Space:

(As needed)

We recommend Solid-State Drives (SSDs) as system drives, for both BricsCAD® and Windows. Drawings and support files can reside on slower mechanical hard disk drives, if necessary.

Note: solid-state disks can be up to 10x faster reading and 20x faster writing data than a mid-range hard disk drive (for example Seagate Barracuda 5.4k RPM, SATA 6.0).
Minimum Display System:
  • 1920 x 1080 True Color display and a graphics card with 1 GB VRAM
  • Apple Mac Displays
 Recommended Display System:
  • Multiple 3840 x 2160 (4k) True Color displays, with a PCIe® graphics card w/GPUs and 4 GB VRAM
  • Apple Mac Retina (4K and 5K) Displays

On Microsoft Windows systems, most graphics cards & GPUs from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel® are supported.

On Linux systems, most graphics cards and GPUs from NVIDIA and AMD are supported.

On Mac systems, native Apple display hardware is supported.

BricsCAD®’s non-wireframe display modes are generated by RedSDK technology from Redway3D®. For maximum RedSDK performance in these modes, a GPU is required.

Note: We suggest that you install the latest drivers available for your display hardware, as recommended by the manufacturer.

Note to Linux users: Hardware acceleration of 3D graphics on Linux systems is NOT supported on:

  • Intel® graphics chipsets / cards

  • Laptops with dual graphics adapters.

    However, recent driver developments by NVIDIA show promise in this area.

For more information about supported graphics hardware for BricsCAD®, see the Redway3D GPU chipset reference page.