How Much RAM Do I Need For CAD? [Quick Answer]

Here is all about How Much RAM Do I Need For CAD? Have you chosen every component for a new computer or laptop but are having trouble determining how much RAM you need for CAD? Or perhaps you want to see whether an upgrade is required before beginning work on a new project. In either case, there are many factors to consider when determining the ideal RAM configuration.

How Much RAM Do I Need For CAD?

Depending on the software you’re utilizing and the project you’re designing. For AutoCAD 2D and Inventor 3D, the required RAM is 4GB and 8GB, respectively. You also need Windows 10.1, a GPU that runs at 1.0 GHz, and a 2.5 GHz CPU. These are the minimal parameters; while I believe Inventor may load with 4 GB, large assemblies require a minimum of 16 GB.

Hardware Recommendations for Autodesk AutoCAD

Memory (RAM)

Although the size and complexity of the model you will be working with will determine exactly how much RAM you require, we normally advise a minimum of 16GB for all of our systems. Autodesk only advises 8GB of RAM for AutoCAD (with Mental Ray rendering).

Therefore the RAM requirements are quite low. Nevertheless, we believe that 32GB is a great starting point considering the relatively low cost of RAM and the fact that most customers tend to have more than simply AutoCAD running on their PC.

Storage (Hard Drives)

Given the decreasing pricing of SSDs, we always advise utilizing one as the main driver for your operating system, AutoCAD, and any open projects you are working on. Your system can boot, start apps, and load files much more quickly thanks to SSDs’ high speed than it could with a conventional hard drive.

For long-term storage, we advise having a secondary traditional hard drive in addition to a primary SSD because SSDs are still more expensive per GB than traditional drives. Having two SSDs is preferable if you can afford it (one for the operating system and AutoCAD, and a second set aside for ongoing tasks), in addition to a bigger traditional drive for storage.

Processor (CPU)

There are two primary specifications for Processors that describe a CPU’s capabilities:

• The number of operations a single CPU core can carry out in a second directly depends on the frequency (how fast it is).
• The number of cores refers to the actual number of cores of a CPU (how many operations it can run simultaneously).

Whether a higher frequency or more cores results in faster performance relies on how effectively a program uses multiple CPU cores. A single core of the CPU can only be used by most of AutoCAD’s programs because it is only single-threaded.

Because of this, we often advise purchasing a CPU with the greatest frequency. That refers to Intel’s Core i9 12900K or i7 12700K for current-generation CPUs, both of which feature fast clock speeds and a lot of cores (for multitasking, etc.).

The only AutoCAD applications exempt from the one-thread restriction are 2D Regeneration and Mental Ray rendering (source). When selecting a CPU, 2D regeneration should not be considered since it is not a particularly demanding task.

However, if you frequently render with Mental Ray, you might wish to select a CPU with more cores. In this situation, we advise visiting one of our several Rendering workstations.

Video Card (GPU)

The 2D and 3D models for AutoCAD are displayed on the screen using the video card. However, as only 3D models require anything more than a basic GPU, you would be better off spending less on the GPU and more on a faster CPU, SSD, or more RAM if you solely plan to work with 2D models.

In either case, we advise utilizing an NVIDIA Quadro workstation card. Although mainstream GeForce cards technically offer superior performance for your money, the drawback is that Autodesk has not officially approved their use in AutoCAD.

As a result, we strongly advise utilizing a Quadro card in any professional setting to ensure that you can receive complete assistance from Autodesk if you ever have a software problem.

When working with a 3D model, the faster the video card, the better performance (measured in frames per second) you will often obtain; however, we have seen that using a faster card than a mid-range NVIDIA Professional card has little to no discernible impact, save for in extreme circumstances.

The RTX A4000 is a reliable first choice, but for many users, especially those who work more with 2D than 3D workflows, it may be overkill. Given how little VRAM AutoCAD uses, there is little advantage to investing money on a card with lots of VRAM to use exclusively with it.

How Does Ram Affect CAD Work?

It’s not as big of a pact as it once was in the age when you could install 16GB on your PC for only $150. However, if you go back to 2006, at the very beginning of 64-bit computing, it was a huge problem since, to start with, a 32-bit operating system could only access a maximum of 4GB of RAM, including video card memory.

Furthermore, any process could only consume 2GB of RAM at a time. You could easily exceed that limit in CAD applications that required loading big files into memory, such as a map base or top-level assembly, and watch your program crash or refuse to save.

The CAD application would create a page file and start switching the memory footprint between RAM and the hard disc if you didn’t have enough RAM to load the entire drawing or finish an operation. When you start copying the page file, the hard disc becomes incredibly sluggish and unstable.

All of this occurred during a brief period when the computer needed to be skyrocketed, and software programs attempted to do more to display the final product on screen. While working on this tester model.

I distinctly remember continually checking Task Manager to see my Solidworks process footprint since it would progressively increase as I made changes to the model. I had to save it before it reached 1.4 GB. Then, it was completed. I couldn’t load it all into memory, so I had to divide a 32-page drawing among multiple files.

I recall the day they installed Windows 7 64-bit on a Core 2 Duo. What a relief, thank God. So let’s fast-forward to the present day, where memory is extremely affordable, Windows XP has been decommissioned, and CAD apps are nearly exclusively 64-bit. The quantity you require

Because workloads vary and programs’ installed and loaded memory footprints are still expanding, many alternative ways exist to respond to this issue. The most cost-effective move is to use all of your RAM, as RAM is inexpensive, and worrying about whether you have enough while working is time-consuming and unnecessary.

In my experience, the amount of memory required for CAD modeling, animation, and rendering has never exceeded 16 GB. Although having 16GB won’t necessarily make your PC high-end, it will eliminate the RAM bottleneck.

How Much RAM Do I Need For Software Engineering?

This vague query makes it unclear if we’re referring to the target or the host. The smallest possible size for the target machine is 32 bytes of RAM and 2 KB of Flash. The host system, where you write and compile your code, may have the lowest system requirements for you to use an editor and compiler for the target. As of right now, Atmel Studio needs:

A computer with a processor that runs at 1.6 GHz or above has RAM for x86 of 1 GB, and RAM for x64 is 2 GB. 512 MB more RAM is required if running on a virtual machine. 6 GB of disc space is available. The most obvious option for the ATTiny stated before is this IDE. Other tools might have different specifications.

AutoCAD System Requirements & PC Recommendations

Here are the general AutoCAD system requirements and PC recommendations:

AutoCAD System Requirements:

• Operating System: Windows 10 (64-bit)
• Processor: 2.5 GHz (3+ GHz recommended)
• Memory (RAM): 8 GB (16 GB or more recommended)
• Display Resolution: 1920 x 1080 (or higher) with True Color
• Graphics Card: 1 GB GPU with DirectX 11 support (4 GB or more recommended, NVIDIA or AMD)
• Disk Space: 7.0 GB free space

Recommended PC Specifications:

• Processor: Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 (or equivalent)
• Memory (RAM): 32 GB or more
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA Quadro or AMD Radeon Pro (for demanding 3D work)
• Storage: SSD for faster load times
• Display: High-resolution monitor with good color accuracy
• Operating System: Windows 10 (64-bit)

Keep in mind that these recommendations are based on general guidelines and the specific requirements of AutoCAD versions available up to September 2021. AutoCAD versions and their requirements may have changed since then, so always refer to Autodesk’s official website or documentation for the most accurate and up-to-date system requirements for the specific version of AutoCAD you intend to use.

Conclusion

To get high-level performance here we end up all about How Much RAM Do I Need For CAD? I would recommend getting an Intel processor 3rd generation or newer; if using 3rd gen, consider 6-12GB RAM, and if using some newer processor, kindly go for 4-32GB RAM.

All of the files and processing are not dependent on the RAM. Instead, you need to have a good CPU and graphics (in some cases, integrated graphics work just fine).

Frequently Asked Questions