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What kind of computer does Lumion 10 need?

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Arthur Roodenburg
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1. To have a great experience with Lumion 10, you will need:

  • A modern computer with a high-end graphics card.
  • Internet access.
  • A computer that meets or exceeds the minimum, recommended or high-end system requirements (depending on your needs).

The minimum, recommended and high-end system requirements for Lumion 10 are available on the following page:

 

2. If you need to buy a new computer:

When making any purchase, we recommend you consult with an expert in building PCs so that everything is tailored to your specific needs.

  • Please click here to see our laptop computer recommendations.
  • Please click here to see our desktop computer recommendations.

 

3. How does each hardware component affect Lumion?

The explanations below on how each PC hardware component affects Lumion can be useful information for purchasing upgrades for your existing computer or when purchasing a brand new computer to use with Lumion. As mentioned above, we recommend you consult with an expert in building PCs so that everything is tailored to your specific needs.

Graphics card

Upgrading your graphics card is the single most impactful thing you can do to improve your Lumion experience.
Graphics card memory

The more graphics card memory is available the more details, textures and models can be loaded, handled and rendered by your graphics card. 
CPU (processor)

The CPU plays a role in telling the graphics card what to show you on your screen, and it will be working hard while you are editing your scene. The more details and objects you have in your scene, the more instructions your CPU needs to send to your graphics card.
System memory (RAM)

Your RAM plays a role when a scene or model is loaded in Lumion. The more RAM you have, the bigger and more detailed these loaded scenes and models can be.
Hard drive

The speed of your Hard Drive plays a big role on how fast your models and scenes are loaded. The faster, the better. NVME SSD drives are the latest hard drive technology. 
Power supply

A power supply provides the whole system with electrical current at specific wattage and voltages. It must be able to give each component enough to run well. If it doesn't, the PC may turn itself off, restart or run at a lower performance to compensate.

 

4. Which high-end Lumion features are the most demanding for my computer?

In general, the more textures, models, and details you add while editing your Scene, the more demanding the whole Scene will be on your computer. Not only will your screen frame rate be affected, but your render time may also increase. A computer system that has at least the recommended system requirements will provide you with a smooth experience, but you can always push things too far depending on what you add to your Scene.

For your information, these are some of the high-end Lumion features that will demand more from your hardware:

  • 3D Grass Materials.
  • Leaves/Foliage Materials.
  • Video Textures.
  • Previewing Planar Reflections.
  • Previewing dynamic Spotlight shadows.

If you find that your Scene has become "too complex" and that your screen frame rate and render times have become affected, aside from considering upgrading your PC hardware, please check out our render tips in our article here.

 

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