Archicad 8.1 System Requirements

Operating System:
Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows XP pro (Archicad will not start with Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98 or Windows ME)

MS Internet Explorer 5.5
(MS Internet Explorer 6.0 recommended)
QuickTime 6
Macintosh® OS X.2 or later

MS Internet Explorer 5.1 or later
QuickTime 6
CPU:
Intel® Pentium III, Pentium 4 or compatible CPU recommended.
Power Macintosh G4 (minimum 1GHz) recommended.
RAM:
 512MB minimum
Recommended:
1GB
Hard Drive Space:
 500MB minimum free hard drive space required for full installation for Archicad 8.1. Free hard disk space is required according to model complexity (over 1 GB recommended for complex models and 3D visualization). 500MB minimum free hard drive space required for full installation for Archicad 8.1. Free hard disk space is required according to model complexity (over 1 GB recommended for complex models and 3D visualization).
Note: UNIX formatted HDs are not supported.
Video Card:
Standard Open GL cards with onboard video memory of 64 MB are recommended. The required minimum resolution is 1024 by 768 pixels with 24 bit color depth.

To find compatibility data for Open GL cards that have been tested with Archicad 8.1, consult the following website:
Video Card Test Results

Note: The quality of the images and the speed at which the screen is refreshed depends on the type and quality of the display card. For more information about choosing the right display adapter for Archicad, see the Archicad 8.1 manual Using and Optimizing Archicad section.
Display:
17″ as minimum
19″-24″ monitors are recommended.
Plotter and Digitizer Drivers:
All major plotters, printers can be driven directly from Archicad and PlotMaker, including Calcomp, EnCad, Graphtec, Hewlett-Packard, Mimaki, Mutoh, OCE, Seiko, Selex, Xerox. No additional software is required.
(*) Note: Archicad 8.1 can run on a display with a resolution of 640×480 pixels / 16 color (sometimes it has to be started in VGA Mode for verification purposes) but some dialog boxes do not fit on the screen, thus making the proper usage of the program impossible.