Product: | MicroStation | ||
Version: | V8i | ||
Environment: | N\A | ||
Area: | Hardware / Input Devices | ||
Subarea: | N/A |
NOTE: This is accurate as of the date it was published. Advancements in technology may supersede what is identified below. Please refer to this article's history for changes and updates.
Overview
This document outlines hardware recommendations for MicroStation V8i versions from SELECT Series 1 up to SELECT Series 4. The info apply to all V8i versions, if not explicitly mentioned otherwise.
This document includes installation requirements, minimum hardware requirements and recommended requirements for various 2D and 3D workflows.
Installation Requirements
CD drive or access to the Internet required for product installation. The minimum system configuration for installation:
Operating System | Windows 10 Windows (from SELECT Series 4) Microsoft Internet Explorer v6.0 or later with 128-bit cipher strength |
Communication Protocols | Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) |
Virtualized Environments | Citrix XenApp 5.0 64-bit on Windows Server 2008 Citrix XenApp 7.15 64-bit (from SELECT Series 4) |
Software Prerequisites | The Prerequisites for Bentley Desktop Applications are automatically downloaded and installed to your workstation while you install MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries 3). The Prerequisites for Bentley Desktop Applications needs to be installed on your system once, and only needs to be reinstalled if you are installing a later version of MicroStation that requires an updated prerequisite pack. Windows Installer Version 3.1v2 (up to SELECT Series 3) |
Supported Databases | The database versions supported by MicroStation are subject to updating after the product release. You can refer to MicroStation database support in Bentley Communities for the latest information. |
Minimum Profile
The minimum recommended workstation profile for running MicroStation V8i is:
Processor | Intel® or AMD® processor 2.0 GHz or greater |
Memory | 512 MB minimum, 2 GB recommended. More memory almost always improves performance, particularly when working with larger models. MicroStation does support more than 2GB of physical RAM on systems running Windows operating systems that support this -- see this article for more information regarding this. |
Hard Disk | up to SELECT Series 3: 900 MB free disk space (which includes the 400 MB install footprint for a complete installation) |
Video | Graphics card supported by DirectX 9.0c (up to SELECT Series 3). See the graphics card manufacturer for latest information on DirectX drivers. 256 MB of dedicated video RAM or higher is recommended. If insufficient video RAM or no graphics card supported by DirectX can be found, MicroStation attempts to use software emulation. For optimal performance, graphics display color depth should be set to 24-bit or higher. When using a color depth setting of 16-bit, some inconsistencies will be noted. |
To gauge how well MicroStation might perform on your computer, use the MicroStation Graphics Benchmark (link to be added soon), which is a series of tests designed to validate and score your system, as well as gather other important system information that can impact performance and diagnose potential problems. You can also view results of other users' systems to evaluate and compare your system.
Recommendations for 2D and 3D workflows
2D Drafting and Detailing | 3D Modeling and some Visualization | 3D with heavy Visualization usage | |
CPU last updated: August 2012 | Intel® Xeon® E3 & E5 Intel® Core™ i5 Intel® Core™ i3 | Intel® Xeon® E3 & E5 & E7 Intel® Xeon® E5-2667 v3 (20M Cache, 3.20 GHz | Intel® Xeon® E7 Intel® Xeon® E5-2690 v3 (30M Cache, 2.60 GHz) |
Physical Memory | 2 GB | 4 GB 16GB recommended for visualization | 8 GB (more can be utilized by Luxology Rendering engine on 64bit Windows 7) 32 GB recommended for visualization |
Graphics Memory | 256 MB - 1GB | 512 MB - 2GB | 512 MB - 6 GB |
Graphic cards Nvidia (Workstation) | FX370 K420* K620* | FX1500 K620* K2200* K4200* | FX3700 K2200* K4200* K5200* |
Graphic cards Nvidia GeForce (gaming) | 8600 GTS 8600 GT 8500 GT 8400 GS 9500 GT 9600 GSO | 8800 Ultra 8800 GTX 8800 GTS 8800 GT 9800 GTX 9800 GT 9600 GT | 8800 Ultra 9800 GTX+ 9800 GTX GTX 280 GTX 260 |
Graphic cards AMD/ATI FireGL (FirePro) Workstation | V3600 W2100* | V5600 W2100* W4100* W5000* W5100* | V7600 W4100* W5100* |
Graphic cards AMD/ATI Radeon (gaming) | HD 2000 Series | HD 3000 Series | HD 4000 Series |
Graphic cards Intel® | Intel® HD Graphics 3000 | Intel® IrisTM Pro Graphics P6300 | |
Operating System | 32bit or 64bit Windows 7 Windows 7 (64bit) for MicroStation V8i SS2 | 32bit or 64bit Windows 7 (64bit Strongly recommended) for MicroStation V8i SS2 | 64bit Windows 7 (64bit Strongly recommended) for MicroStation V8i SS2 |
* = Certified to work with Windows 7 and MicroStation V8i (SELECTseries 2).
See Also
External Links
MicroStation Graphics Benchmark (link to be added soon)
MicroStation ReadMe
ATI FirePro™ Professional Graphics Product comparison