Is a dedicated graphics card needed for AutoCAD 2018?

[Anonymous]

I am a teacher and currently looking to upgrade my computers. I have spoken to my technical support person and given him the system requirements for AutoCAD 2018. We are confused as to weather or not we need dedicated graphics cards to run AutoCAD 2018 properly. Please advise.

[john.vellek · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous,

I see that you are visiting as a new member to the AutoCAD forum. Welcome to the Autodesk Community!

 Here is a link to the AutoCAD 2018 system requirements for others that might join this thread.  I suggest though that if you are provisioning new computers you should look to the 2019 specs as they (IMHO) are much more realistic for Windows 10 environments and running AutoCAD with any kind of complex data such as 3D, rendering, point clouds, etc.

Without knowing more about the hardware you are considering, it is hard to determine whether the on-board graphics will be sufficient.  In most cases that I see, Hardware Acceleration is not capable which means 3D capability is going to be hindered.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[pendean · Accepted solution]

You need something way better than the built in Intel series graphics cards thrown into most value-priced computers o run the program to use for more than just light duties: What kind of coursework are you teaching in your lab, basic drafting or more than that? And at what level, high-school, college or technical school?

[cadffm · Accepted solution]

I totally agree with the other guys.

Without knowing about your work(which objects and function, how complex) it is not possible to know if a simple graphic chip is good enough.

You can buy a computer with onboard graphic but enough space for a  dedicated graphics card as option.

For my work (2D) the intel HD 4600 chip set works really very well for Autocad.
No dedicated card is really better for my drawings. But this is depend of used objects&functions/features !!!

Search for a cpu with fast cores ~4Ghz +/- , check the single core benchmark listings and just try it. If it not works fine with onboard GPU you can buy a dedicated card.

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

I am coming back to your thread to see if the issue or question you posed has been resolved.  If so, please mark the post or posts as Solution(s) to help others find the answer quickly. If your issue persists, please give me a bit more detail on this issue so we can continue to work towards getting this solved.