Recommended graphics cards for Autodesk Navisworks products

You want to know the recommended graphics card and system specifications for Autodesk® NavisWorks®.

In order to ensure that Navisworks runs as efficiently as possible, you need to have a compatible graphics card installed correctly on your computer.

There are two main types of graphics cards commercially available: workstation and consumer. Workstation graphics cards are much higher priced than consumer cards, because they generally offer dedicated drivers and are tested and optimized to work across a wide range of leading CAD applications. Examples of current workstation quality graphics cards include the NVIDIA Quadro® FX and ATI FirePro™ ranges.

Consumer graphics cards are usually relatively inexpensive. However, they are generally optimized for video gaming performance rather than CAD usage. Examples of current consumer quality graphics cards include NVIDIA® Geforce® and ATI Radeon™ ranges.

Autodesk performance testing has found that Navisworks performs well on both workstation and consumer graphics cards. It is strongly recommended that you buy the best card your budget can afford and keep the drivers up to date.

If you are planning on purchasing a consumer graphics card, ensure that you download the latest drivers from the vendor's website, because the drivers provided on the installation CD included with the graphics cards are commonly out of date. If you are considering purchasing a workstation graphics card, verify that your computer meets the requirements of the card.

You have the option to generate graphics in Navisworks with hardware acceleration disabled. However, tests have shown that using hardware acceleration in Navisworks is faster than relying solely on the software.

Autodesk Navisworks 2012 and later versions

Autodesk Navisworks 2011 and earlier versions

Navisworks uses OpenGL for all rendering. Navisworks requires a graphics card that supports at least OpenGL® 1.5.