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Which graphics card do you need for Lumion 2023?

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JavierP
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Looking for information on hardware for Lumion 2024?  See these articles:

 

  

Note: This article generally refers to desktop graphics cards.  For laptops, see Section 3.1 after following the guides in Sections 1 and 2.

 

1. Key Considerations

1.1: Graphics Card Performance (PassMark Score):

Lumion needs a dedicated graphics card with as many PassMark points as possible.

The higher the score, the better Lumion will perform and the faster it will render.

Do these two checks here for both desktop and laptop computers:

  • Click here to find out which dedicated graphics card your PC has got. (Integrated-only graphics cards, such as Intel HD graphics chips are not supported.)
  • Click here to see how many PassMark points your graphics card has got. You can also click here to use the PassMark search.

 

1.2: Graphics card memory:

More video memory will help with the overall performance of the Project. 

The following guidelines describe which graphics card, amount of video memory, and minimum score you will need based on the complexity of the Projects you expect to work on:

For laptops, keep in mind the differences between a laptop and a desktop.  See also Section 3.1.

 

1.3.: Is the graphics card Ray Tracing capable?:

Lumion 2023 now comes equipped with Raytracing capabilities  To use the Raytracing feature, a graphics card that supports this technology is required.

mceclip2.jpg

EVGA - Articles - RTX. It's On.   mceclip2.png

GPUs that do support hardware-accelerated raytracing:

  • Nvidia GeForce RTXseries (RTX 20X0, RTX 30X0, RTX 40X0…)
  • Nvidia Quadro RTXseries (Quadro RTX 8000, Quadro RTX 6000, Quadro RTX 5000…)
  • Nvidia RTX Aseries (RTX A6000, RTX A5500, RTX A5000, RTX A4000)
  • AMD Radeon RX 6000 series (RX 6900, RX 6900 XT, RX 6800, RX 6700 XT, RX 6600 XT)
  • AMD Radeon RX 7000 series (RX 7900 XT, RX 7900 XTX…)
  • AMD Radeon PRO W6000 series (PRO W6800, PRO W6600…)

Note that Ray Tracing is an optional feature. It is still possible to use Lumion 2023 even if your graphics card does not support Ray Tracing.  You just won't be able to make use of the Ray Tracing Effect but you can still render using the Rasterization rendering pipeline.

 

1.4:  Which rendering pipeline do you require? 

Lumion 2023 supports both rendering pipelines.

Ray Tracing: is an optional feature.  

Rasterization: if you do not wish to use Ray Tracing features you can still use the Rasterization rendering pipeline in Lumion 2023. 

Summary Requirements:

Requirement Minimum: Recommended: High-End:
PassMark Score: 8,000+ 14,000+ 22,000+
Graphics Card Memory:

 		Rasterization 6+GB 10+GB 16+GB
Raytracing 8+GB 10+GB 16+GB

Rendering movies in 4K resolution requires a minimum of 8GB graphics card memory.

Ensure you also review the requirements for your Projects as in Section 2.

 

1.5: Processor:

Fast graphics cards should ideally be paired with a fast CPU (Processor). Click here for more information on CPU requirements.

 

1.6: Power Supply:

Click here to check if your (desktop PC) power supply is suitable for your graphics card.  

Laptops have a supply specific to the requirements of the laptop and you can only use what is provided by the supplier.

 

1.7: Drivers:

Lumion 2023 has a hard requirement for recent graphics card drivers in order to start:

  • NVIDIA: At least version 528.49 (Released on 2/8/2023)
  • AMD: At least version 23.2.1 (Released on 14/2/2023)

Here's how to get the latest drivers:

 

 

2. Graphics card requirements

2.1. High-end requirements (For Ultra Complex Projects)

2.1.1: Extremely Complex:

Such as a detailed city, airport, or stadium.

Aedas-City-Bird-eye-view.jpg[By: Aedas, rendered by Beehive: Aedas City, featuring designs and projects by Aedas]

Minimum requirements:

Examples:

*Supports Raytracing.

2.1.2: Large-scale: 

Such as a detailed landscape made with high-end Lumion features such as Fine-detail Nature and 3D Grass.

Pine_43__Large_Scale_Master_Plan.png[By: Chuck B_ Edwards, Pine 43 | Large Scale Master Plan]

2.1.3: Highly Detailed:

Such as a detailed multi-floor building with interiors made up of many models and HD textures.

Highly_Detailed_Interior_Visualization_-_Night_Render.png[By: GAtlamaz. Highly Detailed Interior Visualization - Night Render]

Minimum Requirements:

Examples: 

*Supports Raytracing.

To keep up with these graphics cards, your CPU should have as high a GHz value as possible per thread and should exceed a Single-threaded CPUMark score of 2600 points or more.  Preferably 3500 or more for the ultra-high-performance cards such as the NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT.

 

2.2. Recommended requirements (For Complex Projects) 

Such as:

A small park or part of a city made with OpenStreetMap or other simple models.

Villa_Winery.jpg[By: Act-3D, Villa Winery, model by Ten Over Studio]

A large home with detailed interiors made up of several models and HD textures but mostly Lumion Library content.

Villa_in_Casale.jpg[By: Act-3D, Villa in Casale, model by Marco Caccini]

A single residential or commercial model with a single section of landscape using some high-end models such as Fine-detail Nature. 

Museum_Development.jpg[By: Act-3D, Museum Development, model by Obra Visual]

Minimum Requirements:

Examples:

*Supports Raytracing.

To keep up with these graphics cards, your CPU should have as high a GHz value as possible per thread and should exceed a Single-threaded CPUMark score of 2200 points or more. 

 

2.3. Minimum requirements (For Simple Projects)

Such as:

A small park or residential building with Lumion models and textures.

Cabrera.jpg

[By: Act-3D, Villa Cabrera]

Minimum Requirements:

Examples: 

*Supports Raytracing.

The CPU should have as high a GHz value as possible per thread and should exceed a Single-threaded CPUMark score of 2000 points or more.

Please note that this configuration would not be capable of processing Lumions' high-end features such as Raytracing or 3D Grass. Also, rendering in 4K and 8K resolutions requires at least 8GB of video memory. We recommend upgrading your hardware should you find that your computer is close to these minimum requirements.

 

 

3. Frequently Asked Questions

3.1.  What is a suitable Laptop?
Similar model graphics cards for laptops have a much lower level of performance.  The amount of memory may also be different than their counterpart for the desktop.  For laptop recommendations, see this article after following Sections 1 and 2 above:
3.2. What about Intel's new line of dedicated ARC graphics cards?

At the moment Intel ARC GPUs are not officially supported.

 

3.3. What is more important? Graphics card speed or memory?

You should try and aim for the best in performance along with maximizing memory. But for Lumion, generally, graphics card performance is the key criterion, and then the amount of memory.

You would only focus more on the memory of a card if you intend to work on complex, or, extremely large, and complex Projects. For smaller-scale Scenes, the price/performance benefit is to focus on graphics card speed.

 

3.4. Are there differences between gaming-based and professional/workstation cards?

NVIDIA GeForce and AMD Radeon cards can render gaming-based 3D graphics very fast.

  • Examples include: NVIDIA RTX 3070 8GB, NVIDIA RTX 3080 10GB, NVIDIA RTX 3090 24GB,  AMD Radeon 5700 XT 8GB, AMD Radeon 6700 XT 12GB, AMD Radeon 6900 XT 16GB.

NVIDIA Quadro, NVIDIA RTX A series, and AMD Radeon Pro cards, often referred to as professional or workstation cards, may sometimes have more memory and can calculate and render lines and fills very fast in CAD software.  They also often include certified drivers for specific CAD software but could be more expensive.

  • Examples include: NVIDIA RTX A5000 24GB, NVIDIA RTX A6000 48 GB, NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 24GB, AMD Radeon Pro W6800 32 GB.

Many of our customers use consumer (game-based) graphics cards when working in both Lumion and in their CAD software.  Although there are slight differences between consumer and pro/workstation graphics cards, consumer cards work fine in CAD software.

If you need to choose between a more expensive pro/workstation card and a less expensive consumer card with the same PassMark points, then the consumer graphics card is usually a good choice.

For every purchasing decision, always consult with a hardware professional for your computers' specific requirements.

 

3.5. Can Lumion make use of multiple graphics cards?

Multiple graphics cards (in NVIDIA SLI, NVIDIA NVLink, or AMD Crossfire configuration) will not boost the performance or render speed in Lumion. Lumion will only use the graphics card that is connected to the monitor that the Lumion window starts on.

 Some of our users make use of two graphics cards connected to two different monitors.  That way, you can use Lumion on one monitor/graphics card while the other monitor/graphics card is used for other software. This arrangement tends to have a negligible impact on performance. 

Note that if other software is running that demands a lot from the computers' CPU, then this may result in extended render times as the computers' max performance will be split between many programs.

It's also worth mentioning that NVIDIA has discontinued support for the SLI bridge.  NVLink is available but is currently limited only for the GeForce RTX 3090, RTX A6000, and RTX A5000 and newer.  It is not compatible with the bridges from the 20-Series and Quadro RTX cards.

 

3.6. Does Lumion support External Graphics Card Units (eGPUs)?

Please see this article:

 

3.7. Is Lumion compatible with Docking stations?

Docking stations (for example the Dell D6000) are not officially supported and we cannot guarantee that Lumion will work as expected.

 

3.8. What about Graphics cards for Dell & HP workstations

Please see Section 4 in this article regarding some power supplies in Dell and HP computers:

 

3.9. Are AMD NAVI graphics cards supported?

If you have an AMD Navi graphics card, you should use the very latest AMD driver (from 1st of April 2020 or newer).

 

See also:

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