Computer Requirements

[Anonymous]

I want to do a Diploma in Graphic Arts and the course uses AutoCAD. I'm told minimum requirements for my Mac is 8GB RAM and a 2GB graphics processor. I have 4GB RAM and 256MB graphics processor. Will AutoCAD still work or will it be mind numbingly slow?

[Anonymous]

Hi Fenbeagle,

AutoCAD will work with your configuration for minimal usage the slowness depents on the number applications you have installed and using in the same mac. You can refer to the system requirement for your mac in the following link.

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad-for-mac/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticle...

Hope the link is help full for your query.

If so please use the Accept as Solution or Kudos button below.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the forums and AutoCad!

I am just expanding upon the last posters post with my own experience....

Surprisingly Autocad doesn't rely heavily on your graphics card. So I bet yours is fine. So long as your model is supported.

The RAM you have is low, I would avoid using other software while running AutoCad.  if you can upgrade RAM it will be worth it. Depending on your model it maf be inexpensive and easy to do.

The processor does most of the heavy lifting....so an i7 would be best. AutoCAD uses 1 processor at a time so the faster the processor the better.

If you do not have an SSD (solid state drive) opening and saving will seem slow...despite the hard drive SAVE OFTEN!!!!  

I have a 2010 macbook pro with an i7, an SSD, 8gb of ram and a 512video card.  On small/simple files it runs just as well as my fully loaded 2013 iMAC.  On large/complex files the 2010 MBP screeches to a hault.On my 2013 iMAC I run complex files containing alot of nested data.  It is not unusual for me to use 24gb of RAM. And 1 of my processor cores is usually maxed out.

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

There are some good suggestions in this thread that hopefully have gotten you started on your hardware list.  I suggest that a solid state drive and lots of RAM are good starting points as well as the other items mentioned.

I am actually able to run REVIT, AutoCAD, Photoshop, Indesign, etc. rather comfortably on my MacBook Pro with 8 GB of RAM but when I start doing anything serious in 3D or rendering even that isn't really quite enough.

I hope this helps