Chief Architect System Requirements for Windows and Mac

Windows Minimum 1

  • Windows 10 / 11 64-bit (Snapdragon processors not supported)
  • 16 GB of RAM
  • Video card 2
    • 4 GB of RAM
    • DirectX 12 3
  • 5 GB of available hard disk space
  • Internet access 4

macOS Minimum

  • Sequoia / Tahoe
  • 16 GB of RAM
  • Apple M1 or newer (Intel processors and A18 Pro/Neo are not supported)
  • 5 GB of available hard disk space
  • Internet access 4
  • Supported Mac Models

How to Find Your Computer's Specifications

Chief Architect System Requirements for Earlier Versions

Choosing a Computer for Chief Architect

If you are shopping for a new machine to run Chief Architect, this related blog article walks through what specifications matter most.

How the Windows and Mac Versions Differ

PC Mac
Walkthrough Export Formats
 
 .AVI / .MP4 / .WMV .MOV / .MP4 / .M4V
.WMF / .EMF Support
 
 Yes No
Gamepads
 
 Yes No
Virtual Reality 6
 
 Yes No
DLSS Real-Time Denoising 5
 
 Yes No
  • 1 Windows computers with ARM processors are not supported (e.g. Snapdragon processors).
  • 2 Supported video cards include: (1) dedicated video cards such as NVIDIA GeForce and AMD Radeon (2) Intel integrated graphics on 11th generation or newer Intel processors. The "Physically Based" and "Clay" rendering techniques require a ray-tracing-compatible video card, such as one from the NVIDIA GeForce RTX or AMD Radeon RX series 5. See the system recommendations and read our ChiefBlog article about computer specifications.
  • 3 DirectX 12 requires Shader Model 6.0 or newer. Learn how to identify the shader model of your graphics card.
  • 4 Internet access required for installation, license authentication, deactivation and video & library catalog access. Internet access for license authentication is required once every 14 days.
  • 5 DLSS Real-Time Denoising requires an NVIDIA ray-tracing-compatible graphics card.
  • 6 Virtual reality requires a computer that meets the system requirements of both Chief Architect and the VR headset manufacturer. Learn more.

Known Incompatibilities