3D, CAD and rendering
Modelling and rendering apps use the graphics chip and its memory heavily; CAD apps often list certified workstation cards.
What matters
- Graphics memory: scenes and textures must fit in it for fast viewports and renders.
- System memory: large assemblies and scenes need plenty.
- A dedicated graphics chip: most of these makers list one.
General guidance in our own words. The figures below are the makers' published requirements.
The requirements
| App | Minimum | Recommended | System the list names (the recommended list where there are two) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blender | 8 GB memory, 2 GB graphics memory, 2 GB VRAM with OpenGL 4.3 and Vulkan 1.3; NVIDIA GeForce 900 series or newer, Intel Kaby Lake or newer | 32 GB memory, 8 GB graphics memory, 8 GB VRAM | Windows 11; macOS 26 on Apple silicon | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| Autodesk AutoCAD | 16 GB memory, 2 GB graphics memory, 2 GB GPU with 29 GB/s bandwidth, DirectX 11 | 32 GB memory, 8 GB graphics memory, 8 GB GPU with 106 GB/s bandwidth, DirectX 12; page advises a card with dedicated VRAM | Windows 11 64-bit | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| SOLIDWORKS | 16 GB memory, Certified graphics cards and drivers only; page gives no memory figure | 32 GB memory, Certified graphics cards and drivers only; page gives no memory figure | Windows (versions on the source page) | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| Autodesk Fusion | 8 GB memory, DirectX 12 GPU; integrated Intel UHD 630 or newer accepted | 32 GB memory, 8 GB graphics memory, DirectX 12 GPU; 8 GB or more dedicated memory for discrete GPUs | Windows 11 24H2 or newer | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| Autodesk Revit | 16 GB memory, 4 GB graphics memory, DirectX 11 card with Shader Model 5; page recommends 4 GB video memory | not published | Windows 11 64-bit | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| SketchUp | 8 GB memory, Discrete graphics card with OpenGL 3.1; 8 GB VRAM for models with PBR textures, ambient occlusion or image based lighting | not published | Windows 11; macOS 15 to 27 on Apple silicon | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| Autodesk Maya | 8 GB memory, Refers to Maya certified hardware list; no memory figure | 16 GB memory, Refers to Maya certified hardware list; no memory figure | Windows 11; macOS 14 to 26 | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| Maxon Cinema 4D | 16 GB memory, No GPU figure for the editor itself | Card that meets Redshift requirements: NVIDIA CUDA 5.0 or newer or AMD RDNA 2 or newer with 8 GB VRAM | Windows 10 22H2 or 11; macOS 15 or later | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| Rhino | not published | 8 GB memory, 4 GB graphics memory, OpenGL 4.5 video card with 4 GB video memory | Windows 10 or 11 | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| KeyShot Studio | 4 GB memory, OpenGL 2.0 capable system (CPU mode) | 16 GB memory, 8 GB graphics memory, GPU mode: NVIDIA Maxwell or newer (Turing or newer preferred) or AMD RDNA 3 or newer, ideally 8 GB dedicated VRAM | Windows 10 22H2 or 11; macOS Sonoma 14 to Tahoe 26 | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| Unreal Engine 5 editor | not published | 32 GB memory, 8 GB graphics memory, DirectX 12 graphics card, 8 GB or more graphics RAM | Windows 11 | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| Unity editor | 8 GB memory, DX10, DX11, DX12 or Vulkan capable GPU | not published | Windows 10 21H1 or newer; macOS 13 or newer | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| Houdini | 16 GB memory, 12 GB graphics memory, OpenGL 4.0 and OpenCL 1.2 card with 12 GB VRAM or more; page does not use the word dedicated | 32 GB memory, 12 GB graphics memory, Same graphics card requirement as the minimum (12 GB VRAM or more); 16 GB or more is ideal for large GPU simulations | Windows 11 64-bit; macOS on Apple silicon only; Linux | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| ZBrush | 4 GB memory, Video card with OpenGL 3.3 or higher and Vulkan 1.1 or higher | 8 GB memory, Video card with OpenGL 3.3 or higher and Vulkan 1.1 or higher | Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit; macOS 10.14 or above | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| Adobe Substance 3D Painter | 16 GB memory, 8 GB graphics memory, GeForce RTX 2060 Super, Radeon RX 5700 XT or similar with 8 GB VRAM; page says integrated GPUs are not supported on x86-64 | 32 GB memory, 16 GB graphics memory, GeForce RTX 3080, Radeon RX 6800 XT or similar with 16 GB VRAM | Windows 11 64-bit version 24H1; macOS on Apple M2 Pro with 32 GB | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| Autodesk 3ds Max | 4 GB memory, Refers to the 3ds Max Certified Hardware list; no memory figure | 8 GB memory, Refers to the 3ds Max Certified Hardware list; no memory figure | Windows 11 | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| Autodesk Inventor | 16 GB memory, 2 GB graphics memory, Absolute minimum 2 GB GPU, 42 GB/s bandwidth, DirectX 11; page lists 4 GB as minimum recommended | 32 GB memory, 8 GB graphics memory, 8 GB or 16 GB GPU, 240 GB/s bandwidth, DirectX 12; page advises a card with dedicated VRAM | 64-bit Windows 11 | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| Autodesk Civil 3D | 16 GB memory, 2 GB graphics memory, Basic: 2 GB GPU, 29 GB/s bandwidth, DirectX 11 | 32 GB memory, 8 GB graphics memory, 8 GB GPU, 106 GB/s bandwidth, DirectX 12; page advises a card with dedicated VRAM | 64-bit Windows 11 | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| Archicad | 8 GB memory, Any DirectX 11 compatible graphics card | 16 GB memory, 4 GB graphics memory, 4 GB VRAM DirectX 11 graphics card (entry-level residential projects) | Archicad 30 supported: Windows 11, macOS 15, 26 and 27 | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| Twinmotion | 16 GB memory, 6 GB graphics memory, Graphics card with 6 GB dedicated VRAM and benchmark score 10,000 or higher; Intel Arc not officially supported | 64 GB memory, 12 GB graphics memory, Graphics card with 12 GB dedicated VRAM and benchmark score 20,000 or higher | Windows 11, or Windows 10 64-bit 1909 or newer | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| Lumion Pro | 16 GB memory, 6 GB graphics memory, GPU with G3DMark 8,000 or higher, such as GTX 1060 or RX 580; 6 GB graphics memory or more | 32 GB memory, 10 GB graphics memory, GPU with G3DMark 14,000 or higher, such as RTX 3060 or RX 6700 XT; 10 GB graphics memory or more | Windows 10 64-bit version 2004 or newer | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| D5 Render | Ray-tracing GPU: GTX 1060, Intel Arc or Radeon RX 6400 named as minimum | 32 GB memory, GeForce RTX 3060 (Ti) named; page gives no VRAM figure | Windows 10 version 1809 or newer | official page read 2026-10-22 |
| Godot Engine | 4 GB memory, Integrated graphics with Vulkan 1.0 (Forward+ and Mobile) or OpenGL 3.3 (Compatibility) | 8 GB memory, Dedicated graphics with Vulkan 1.2 (Forward+ and Mobile) or OpenGL 4.6 (Compatibility); example GTX 1050 | Windows 10; macOS 10.15; Linux released after 2020 | official page read 2026-10-22 |
Which laptops meet the most of these
The 30 best of 359 listed laptops, compared with each laptop's largest memory option. Memory and graphics memory only. The operating system is not checked: many of these apps and games run only on Windows or only on macOS, so open the source link before you rely on a ranking. A laptop whose maker does not state its graphics memory counts as not meeting any figure that depends on it. The graphics class and processor each maker names are in the source links too.