This site requires JavaScript to be fully operational.
More Information

Computer System Requirements

PC Minimum¹

Windows 10 / 11 64-bit
8 GB of RAM
Video card²
- 2 GB of RAM
- DirectX 12³
5 GB of available hard disk space
Internet access⁴

Mac Minimum¹

Monterey / Ventura
8 GB of RAM
Video card²
- Apple M1 or newer
  OR
- Intel/AMD card: 2GB of RAM with support for Metal GPUFamily macOS 2 or newer
5 GB of available hard disk space
Internet access⁴
Supported Mac Models

Locating Your Computer's Specifications

PC and Mac Recommended

32 GB of RAM
512 GB SSD
PC
- Desktops:
  - Intel i9 / AMD Ryzen 5000
  - 8 GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 / AMD Radeon RX 6800
- Laptops:
  - Minimum 15" screen
  - Intel i7
  - 8 GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 / AMD Radeon RX 6800M
Mac
- Desktops:
  - Mac Pro
- Laptops:
  - MacBook Pro 16"
  - Metal GPUFamily: Apple M1 or newer
  - 8 GB video memory

Tips for Buying a New Computer

If you are thinking about purchasing a new computer to run Chief Architect, read our ChiefBlog article to learn more about computer specifications.

Differences Between PC and Mac Versions of Home Designer

	PC	Mac
Walkthrough Export Formats	.AVI / .MP4 / .WMV	.MOV / .MP4 / .M4V
.WMF / .EMF Support	Yes	No
Gamepads	Yes	No

¹ Windows computers with ARM processors are not supported. It is recommended that laptops have a minimum 15" screen.

² Supported video cards include (1) dedicated video cards such as NVIDIA GeForce RTX (2) Intel integrated graphics on 6th generation or newer Intel processors (i3/i5/i7).

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.

Known Incompatibilities

/** * General Styles */ .wide { max-width: 1300px; } .x-wide { max-width: 1600px; } .medium-gray-bg { background-color: #e5e5e5; } .u-imageCenter { display: block; margin: 0 auto; } .text-primary { color: #60c3e7 !important; } .text-red { color: #f00; } .u-strike { text-decoration: line-through; } .size-12 { font-size: 0.75rem; } .size-14 { font-size: 0.875rem; } .size-16 { font-size: 1rem; } .size-18 { font-size: 1.125rem; } .size-21 { font-size: 1.3125rem; } .size-24 { font-size: 1.5rem; } .size-36 { font-size: 2.25rem; } .size-48 { font-size: 3rem; } .size-60 { font-size: 3.75rem; } .size-72 { font-size: 4.5rem; } .is-h3-size { font-size: 1.375rem; } .social-icon-container { float: none; margin: 0 auto; max-width: 320px; } .social-icon-container .social-icon { border-bottom: none; font-size: 1.25rem; padding: 0; margin: 0; color: inherit; } .social-icon:hover, .social-icon:focus { border-bottom: none; } @media only screen and (min-width: 40.0625em) { .is-h3-size { font-size: 1.6875rem; } } .img-link { color: #222; transition: color 0.3s ease-out; } .img-link:hover, .img-link:focus { color: #0382b8; border-bottom: none; } a:hover, a:focus, button:hover, button:focus, input:hover, input:focus { outline: none; } html.js .lazy { background-image: none; } html:not(.not-a-robot) .robots-no-index { display: none!important; } .external-link-icon { position: relative; top: 4px; left: -5px; max-height: 1.0625rem; } .site-header .site-search { width: 425px!important; display: flex!important; } @media screen and (max-width: 850px) { .site-header .site-search { width: 365px!important; display: flex!important; } } .site-header .site-search-filter { width: 140px; border-radius: 3px 0 0 3px; background-color: #f5f5f5; margin-right: -1px; } .site-header .site-search-term { flex: 1; border-radius: 0 3px 3px 0!important; } @media screen and (max-width: 47.9375em) { .site-header .site-search { width: auto!important; /* IE doesn't understand width: initial */ width: initial!important; } } .site-header .site-quick-links>li:first-of-type { margin-left: 2rem; } .site-header .site-quick-links a { border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; } .site-header .site-quick-links a:hover { border-bottom-color: #0382b8; } .u-imageCenter { display: block; margin: 0 auto; } @media only screen and (min-width: 40.0625em) { a .brand-title { font-size: 2.75rem; font-weight: 300; line-height: 1; } a .brand-tagline { font-size: 2.3125rem; font-weight: 300; line-height: 1; } } @media only screen and (max-width: 40.0625em) { a .brand-title { font-size: 2.25rem; font-weight: 300; line-height: 1.3; } a .brand-tagline { font-size: 1.8125rem; font-weight: 300; line-height: 1.3; } } .xsmall-scrn-br { display: none; } @media only screen and (max-width: 945px) { .xsmall-scrn-br { display: block; } } @media only screen and (max-width: 767px) { .xsmall-scrn-br { display: none; } } @media only screen and (max-width: 400px) { .xsmall-scrn-br { display: block; } .table{width:100%;border-collapse:collapse}.table th,.table td{border:1px solid #ddd}a.mcb-head:hover,a.mcb-head:focus{border-bottom:2px solid #e5e5e5;color:#e5e5e5}@media only screen and (max-width:40em){.table thead{display:none}.table tr{display:block;border-bottom:1px solid #ddd}.table td{display:block;text-align:right;border-bottom:1px solid #ddd}.table td:last-child{border-bottom:0}.table td:before{content:attr(data-label);float:left;text-transform:uppercase;font-weight:bold}}

.msg-need-js{margin:0 0 1em 0;padding:.5em 0 1em 0}.msg-need-js a{color:#000;border-bottom:2px solid #000}.msg-need-js a:hover{color:#000;border-bottom:2px solid #000}.msg-need-js p{margin:0}.no-js .banner,.no-js .play-pause,.no-js #prev-btn,.no-js #pause-btn,.no-js #play-btn,.no-js #next-btn,.no-js .panorama-slider,.no-js #vrview,.no-js .lazy,.no-js .view-pano-file-container{display:none}