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Video Graphic Card Guidelines for Vectorworks - 9/15/2009

This purpose of this document is to provide guidance for users looking to purchase a new computer or upgrade exiting video hardware.

For information on known video graphic cards issues, please consult the following knowledge-base article: Click here

Vectorworks 2009 and 2010

In Vectorworks 2009, Vectorworks started using a completely new document interaction interface that depends on a high bandwidth interface between the CPU and the screen. This new interface has the potential to provide a very fast and fluid experience if used on capable hardware, or a noticeably slower experience if used on older or incompatible hardware.

Large displays with high resolutions now require more VRAM and video bandwidth than was demanded by previous versions of Vectorworks. Users with displays 30” and larger may experience unsatisfactory results when using old or underpowered graphics hardware.

In summary: Starting in Vectorworks 2009, the more powerful your graphics card is, the better your Vectorworks experience will be.

General Guidelines

VRAM
The amount of Video RAM required to drive Vectorworks adequately depends largely on the size of the display being used and the complexity of the Vectorworks document. Medium sized displays with a native resolution of 1600x1200 or less should be driven by a graphics card with at least 128MB of VRAM. Larger display should use a graphics card with at least 256MB of VRAM, with 512MB or more recommended.

Drivers
Drivers should be kept relatively up-to-date to get the maximum performance out of the graphics hardware and provide the best Vectorworks experience. On Windows, we recommend acquiring the latest drivers directly from the manufacturer's website (listed below are links to common manufactures).

NVIDIA Drivers: http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp
ATI Drivers: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx

If the video card you are using fits the recommendations listed in this document but Vectorworks seems slow and sluggish, updating your video cards drivers may correct the issue.

Important Note: On the Mac you cannot update video driver directly as hardware drivers are integrated with operating system updates.

Extended Functionality
The Vectorworks OpenGL rendering mode utilizes several rendering techniques that require hardware specific functionality. To determine if your hardware supports the rendering effects, go to the OpenGL Rendering Options Dialog and verify that the following checkboxes are not grayed out: “Use Anti-Aliasing”, “Draw Edges”, and “Use Shadows”.

Integrated Graphics Accelerators
Integrated Graphics Accelerators are available on some laptop and motherboard combinations. These types of media accelerators should be avoided as they are acceptable for basic window drawing but often provide poor results when used with a graphics intensive applications like Vectorworks.

Desktop and Workstation Video Cards
Most video card manufacturers provide one line of video cards for desktop computers and another for higher-end workstation computers. In general, desktop cards are geared towards providing good results for low vertex count models and are often acceptable for gaming applications where speed is required over detail. Workstation video cards on the other hand are generally designed to provide high quality and speed with detailed graphical models and are usually the best option when used with applications like Vectorworks.

Note: Some workstation and desktop video cards have power requirements that exceed the power available from certain desktop computers. You should check with your computer's manufacturer for compatibility issues before purchasing a new video card.

General Recommendations

Windows

The Windows operating system has a large selection of video card manufacturers, models, and driver versions. We recommend using a video card with a chipset manufactured by either NVIDIA or ATI as these two companies are the predominant players in the video card industry and as such are the suppliers of most of the cards that we test. See the Specific Recommendations section below for more detail on recommended cards for Windows machines.

Macintosh

Mac Pro-
With Mac Pros we also recommend using a video card with a chipset manufactured by either NVIDIA or ATI. See the Specific Recommendations section below for more detail on recommended cards for the Mac Pro.

MacBook, Mac Mini, and iMac-
On MacBooks, Mac Minis, and iMacs, the video card is usually integrated with the CPU and is not a user replaceable component. On older models of these machines, these video cards were an Intel integrated graphics accelerator and were generally not up to the task of handling some of the more advanced features of Vectorworks.

In early 2009, most MacBooks, Mac minis, and iMacs started shipping with a much more capable NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphic accelerator. This card provides generally adequate speed and reliability when running Vectorworks.

Specific Recommendations

NVIDIA's Quadro FX Series (Workstation)
The Quadro FX workstation series of video cards will provide plenty of speed and quality when used with high vertex count complex models as they are targeted at CAD and other visualization applications. We've found excellent performance and feature support with Quadro FX cards when used with Vectorworks.

Note: The other members of the Quadro family, namely the NVS series, are more geared towards driving multiple displays and less suited for complex 3D modeling. We recommend that you avoid these cards.

NVIDIA's GeForce series (Desktop)
The GeForce series cards will provide good results when used with Vectorworks and are usually of less cost than the higher end Quadro cards. The majority of the cards that we use and test in-house are in the GeForce families and with this extensive amount of testing we are usually able to find, diagnose, and fix issues related to these cards in a timely manner. The GeForce series provide good performance and excellent feature support when used with Vectorworks.

ATI's FireGL series (Workstation)
The FireGL series makes up ATI's high end offering of video cards. As with other workstation type cards they are geared for large models with high vertex counts. We have found excellent performance with these cards, but have seen occasional problems with feature support, primarily in the areas of anti-aliasing and OpenGL shadows.

ATI's Radeon series (Desktop)
ATI's Radeon series makes up ATI's low end offering and will provide acceptable results when used with Vectorworks. As with other desktop boards they are geared primary for gaming but cost less than ATI's FireGL cards. With the Radeon cards we have found excellent performance but occasional problems with feature support, primarily in the areas of anti-aliasing, OpenGL shadows, and general display flickering.