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Which graphics card do you need for Lumion 10?

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Arthur Roodenburg
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1. Lumion needs a graphics card with as many PassMark points as possible

  

1.1: Click here to find out which graphics card your PC has got.

1.2: Click here to see how many PassMark points your graphics card has got. You can also click here to use the PassMark search.

1.3: Compare your PassMark score to the scores in the 'Recommended graphics card requirements' section below to see what sort of Lumion Scenes you can expect to be able to work on.

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

1.5: Click here to check if your power supply is suitable for your graphics card.  

 

2. Recommended graphics card requirements

The following guidelines describe which graphics card and minimum PassMark points you will need based on the complexity of the Scenes you expect to work on:

Ultra complex Scenes - High End: (for example a highly detailed city, airport or stadium, highly detailed interiors, multi-floor with interiors, very detailed landscape using several high-end Lumion features such as 3D grass, Fine Detail Trees, etc.)

Very complex Scenes: (for example a large park or part of a city, detailed to highly detailed interiors, multi-floor with interiors)

Simple to Moderately complex Scenes: (for example a small park or residential building with Lumion models and textures.)

  • Minimum 6,000 PassMark points. Examples: NVIDIA GTX 1650, Quadro P2000
  • 3 GB+ graphics card memory.
  • Rendering movies in 4K resolution (3840x2160 pixels) requires a minimum of 6GB graphics card memory.
  • DirectX 11 compatible.
  • A PC with this hardware is not recommended, as in will not be capable of smoothly handling Lumion’s high-end features. We recommend upgrading if you find that your computer is similar to this configuration.

 

Example of some PassMark graphics card points:

 

3. What's the difference between NVIDIA Quadro and NVIDIA GTX/RTX graphics cards?

  • Non-Quadro GTX/RTX graphics cards can render "game" graphics very fast (Lumion is built with a game engine).
  • Quadro cards often have more memory and can calculate and render lines very fast in CAD software. They also often include certified drivers for specific CAD software.

Many of our customers use GTX/RTX graphics cards when working in both Lumion and in their CAD software. Although there are slight differences between Quadro and GTX/RTX graphics cards, GTX/RTX graphics cards work fine in CAD software. If you need to choose between an expensive Quadro graphics card and a cheaper GTX/RTX graphics card with the same number of PassMark points, the GTX/RTX graphics card is usually a good choice. For every purchasing decision, always consult with a hardware professional to get the best advice for your computer's specific configuration.

 

4. Multiple graphics cards (SLI/Crossfire), NVLink and graphics cards with more than 1 GPU

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

4.2: Some of our users make use of 2 graphics cards connected to 2 different monitors. That way, you can use Lumion on 1 monitor/graphics card while the other monitor/graphics card is used for other applications. This sort of set-up tends to have a negligible impact on performance. Note that if other programs are running which demand a lot from the computer's CPU, this may result in extended render times as the computers max performance will be split between many programs.

 

5. Docking stations

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

 

6. Graphics cards for Dell & HP workstatations

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR DELL & HP OWNERS: Some power supplies in Dell and HP computers with high-end graphics cards are known to make the computer restart when you start rendering Photos or Movies in Lumion. A number of users reported that the reboots stopped occurring after they replaced the Dell/HP power supplies with power supplies from reputable manufacturers (80+ gold-rated or better and with a sufficient Wattage).

Unless you can replace the power supply with a more suitable one, you will need to limit the amount of power to the graphics card via an app called MSI Afterburner, so that the graphics card runs slower. This will prevent the PC from restarting in most cases:

 

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