Minimum System Requirements for Blender 3D (2023)

A detailed guide for Blender beginners everything you need to know.

Are you looking to run 3D software like Blender or Maya on your computer?
It’s important to know not only the minimum system requirements but also the recommended specifications for optimal performance.

Want to make sure your computer can handle all the cool 3D stuff you want to create? There is a lot more to think about other than basic requirements. Don't miss out on the important details before making your purchase. Check out this in-depth information and find out what you, as a 3D artist, need to know.

This post applies to all 3D software programs, including Maya, 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Houdini, and Unreal Engine.

Note: Although this information applies to all 3D software programs, I will be focusing specifically on Blender 3D as it is the software I primarily use.

Contents show
3D software Hardware requirements for Artists - Blender 3D

Introduction – About this article

So a lot of people who watched my 1 year Blender progression video asked me what kind of computer I have. So, I wanted to tell you about all the parts I used to build my PC. And the best part is that it still works perfectly! So, I thought I would share that with you.

Before I show you the computer I use, I want you to know that you don't need a super-fancy computer to use Blender and learn how to make cool 3D stuff. But if you want to make 3D art and animation full-time and make it look super smooth, you might want to think about getting a stronger computer. To understand more about why I'm saying that, I've provided detailed information on all the hardware. So, make sure to check it out.

My PC Specifications For Blender 3D

The computer setup I am sharing with you was researched and built in 2020 by watching videos on YouTube, asking for advice from friends, and discussing in Blender 3D animation Facebook groups. Even though it’s been a couple of years, it’s still performing exceptionally well with no interruptions, and I believe it’s still valuable information for you today.

I'll suggest you look into the latest computer parts available before buying for your 3D animation needs. Compare options and read reviews to pick the best setup that fits your budget.

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Building Your Own Custom PC with NEWEGG PC BUILDER

My pc setup for Blender 3D. Specs for 3D artist

Do I need a good pc to run blender?

Having a good computer is important if you want to use Blender or any other 3D program smoothly. A good computer should have a lot of memory, a fast processor, a strong video card, and a display that shows accurate colors. Not having a good computer can cause problems and slow you down. That’s why it’s important to do research and choose the best computer for your needs and budget. Let me share my experience with you.

When I first started learning Blender, I was using an old laptop with just 3 GB of RAM and following Blender Guru‘s donut tutorial. It took forever to render just one frame, and my computer would crash all the time when I tried to do other things while rendering. It’s especially important to be able to multitask when you’re learning Blender on your own, because you’ll be watching tutorials and doing other things at the same time. So, before you buy a new computer, make sure to think about how you will be using it and pick one that can handle multitasking

Is Blender a heavy software?

Blender is also known as popular lite weight software available on the internet. It provides only what artists really need, and the remaining everything will be upon us. We can add additional functions to Blender through add-ons if we want.

Are you wondering how much a GB blender is?

The latest version of Blender 3.4 is currently available for 257 MB for Windows and 236 MB for macOS. It loads faster when you open it. you will never feel its a heavy software while working on Blender.

Why is blender so small in size?

Like other 3D programs, Blender doesn’t provide additional libraries like built-in 3d models and since it is an open source, the code is constantly being optimized. This is the main reason why blender is available so small in size.

Can my PC handle Blender?

Blender is lightweight software and can run on most PCs; however, a low-end computer may limit the features you can use. A higher-end computer will give you access to advanced features and faster performance. Consider not just the minimum requirements but also your specific needs and goals when selecting a computer setup.

Can Blender run 2GB RAM?

A low-end computer with only 2 GB of RAM will not be able to handle running Blender efficiently. Not only will the software run slowly, but even basic system applications may struggle to perform. With such limited resources, you will only be able to install and explore the Blender interface, but not use its full capabilities.

Can Blender run on 4GB RAM?

You can install Blender on your 4 GB of RAM laptop, but you can’t completely experience the Blender software. You can do basic things like:

  • Exploring the Blender Interface
  • work on basic Low Poly Models
  • You can only render smoothly in Eevee render engine but not the Cycles render (Ray-trace-based production render)

Is 8 GB enough for Blender?

According to Blender’s official system requirements, you need 8 GB of RAM to experience everything in the software. It is enough for you to work on Blender or any other 3D software, but more than 8 GB of RAM will be better while you work on heavy scenes.

Is 16GB RAM enough for rendering?

16 GB of RAM is good enough to work on your 3D projects. If you are new to 3D modeling, you can learn 3D software without any interruption. For high-level animation and high particles in the scene or environment design, it will be a bit slow to work on.

Is 32 GB RAM enough for Blender?

32 GB of RAM is enough to work on a good, high-level animation. You can run Blender smoothly while multitasking. It is good for simulations and environment design. Personally, I use 32 GB of RAM (16 x 2).

Is more RAM better for Blender?

RAM is used to store temporary data to make your work go faster. When we are working with textures in Blender, it holds the data in the form of RAM. Having more RAM can help the blender work faster, but if you go beyond the limit and use more RAM than is necessary, it’s just a waste of space. Purchase based on the nature of your work.

Is 64 GB RAM overkill?

For big 3D projects, 64 GB of RAM is not at all considered overkill, but in general, 64 GB of RAM is unnecessary if you are a beginner or work on normal projects. If you want You have the luxury to add more RAMs in desktops.

How much RAM do animators need?

I’ll suggest using 16GB to 32GB of RAM for basic animations. As I said, if you plan to work on heavy textures, you should go for more RAM.

Does RAM affect 3D rendering speed?

RAM also plays an important role in 3D rendering. Without sufficient RAM, it slows down the process of gathering resources required for your render and eventually slows down your render speed a bit. So having sufficient RAM does increase rendering speed.

What type of computer do I need for 3D rendering?

In simple terms, to run Blender efficiently, you should consider having a computer with at least 4 or more cores of CPU, 16 GB or more of RAM, and a 4 GB or more dedicated graphics card. These specifications will ensure that you have enough resources to run the software smoothly and efficiently render 3D content.

How much Storage does Blender take up?

Storage is one of the main things to consider in the long run. For the installation of Blender, you don’t need a lot of space; 500 MB is the recommended storage to run Blender. but you need to consider a few things in mind like simulations, Image sequence storage and etc.
How much storage do blender simulations and image sequences take up?

Simulations:

If you work on Blender simulations like Fluid (Manta Flow), Blender will require a good amount of storage to save the liquid simulation cache. I just randomly threw a number at you to make you decide how much storage you need for your setup. According to previous work that I have done, it generates 200 MB to 15 GB of cache on average. Cache space depends on the amount of simulation that you are working on. (You can delete that cache folder after rendering is complete if you want)

Image Sequence:

Rendering your animation in image sequence is the safest way to render your animation because if your PC crashes in the middle of the rendering process, you can start your rendering where the crash happened. Any animation in cycles render takes multiple hours or days sometimes, and you don’t want to lose your hours of data, which is why image sequence is best for animation rendering.

If you are rendering in high quality with a lot of frames, then your storage space will go up. So keep this in mind when planning a new setup. (You can delete the image sequence after rendering is complete if you want.)

I recommend 500GB–1TB of storage space.

Does Blender run faster on SSD?

The main things that make Blender run faster are the CPU, GPU, and RAM. SSD helps you open Blender faster, and the process of importing something from your system will be done quickly. I recommend SSDs over HDDs.

Does a “.blend” file take up a lot of storage space?

Blender file size will depend on the poly count. A regular scene will be approximately 50 MB without external data. If you pack high-quality textures and HDRIs, or any other files into the .blend file, then it will add to the size of the “.blend” file.

So you should at least have a good computer to run the blender smoothly. So, are you wondering what the minimum system requirements are to run Blender 3D?

Can a low end PC Run Blender?

Minimum system requirements for 3D Animation

Nowadays, every piece of software runs in the background, consuming the majority of RAM space. When we are working on our 3D projects, the background activity of other software will slow down our 3D software and occasionally cause it to crash in the middle of our workflow. Sometimes you also have to multitask, like watching a tutorial and working on it simultaneously, and then the software you are using will either slow down or crash. So, it would be best if you thought about this before purchasing your system.

You should at least meet these minimum requirements according to the Blender Official page

Minimum requirements for Blender

  • 8GB RAM
  • 64-bit quad-core CPU
  • Full HD display
  • Graphics card with 2 GB of RAM
  • equipment should be Less than 10 years old

These are the bare minimum requirements and recommended specifications for using Blender 3D. If you want your 3D animation to run smoothly, you should choose a good setup.

what are the recommended specs for Blender?

The recommended specs for Blender are nothing but the specifications that make Blender run smoothly, fast rendering, color accuracy, and a few other things to avoid interruptions while we are working on Blender.
As per the Blender official page, you need to consider the following specifications below to run Blender smoothly.

  • 8 core CPU
  • 32 GB of RAM
  • 8GB RAM of Graphic Card
  • Three-button mouse
  • 2560×1440 Display

There are a few more recommended specs for Blender to consider, as per my experience and the survey that I did before purchasing my system.

Blender Minimum system requirements. bhagathgoud.com

Additional recommendation for Blender – My personal suggestion

Color accuracy and Faster workflow will reduce our time a lot.

Color accuracy: If you work on a monitor with low color accuracy and share your work online, people with good screens will experience your work differently. It is more important when you are working for an industry or freelancing.

Faster workflow: a few types of equipment make our work easy to do and are necessary in some cases, like a graphics tablet. If your work involves drawing or sculpting, then graphic tablets will be a time saver. You won’t regret buying one.

  • For color accuracy, I recommend an IPS panel display if not then go for a VA panel.
  • Graphic Tablet without the display will do our job( Only go for tablets with a display if it’s necessary)
  • Keyboard with NUMPAD.
Do I need a Graphic Tablet for Blender?

Do I need a graphic tablet for Blender?

For modeling and animation, you don’t need a graphics tablet. Everything can be done with a mouse. It will be helpful while we are working on sculpting and Handpainted texturing. You can’t do perfect sculpting without pen pressure.

Do I really need a graphic tablet?

Graphic tablets will be a massive time saver while we are sculpting. yes, You can sculpt with a mouse but you have to change the brush size and opacity frequently, but the graphic tablets eliminate that process with the pen pressure. You can do sculpting without a graphic tablet. so a graphic tablet is not necessary to sculpt or draw. I recommend getting one.

Do I need Numpad for Blender?

Numpad makes our workflow faster. We can use it in various ways:

  • switching different angles like Top view, Bottom view, Left view, right view, and orthographic view
  • View the camera perspective
  • Frame an Object
  • To rotate the view
Is Numpad really necessary?

Not really. You can access everything I mentioned above without using a keyboard, but having a numeric keypad is very efficient for doing our work.

Numpad - numeric keypad

What makes 3D rendering faster?

There are multiple types of things that makes 3D rendering faster, but these are the most important factors to consider.

  • A good RAM
  • more cores CPU
  • Powerful Graphic Card
  • SSD

How many CPU cores for 3D rendering?

A good rendering speed requires an 8-core CPU. 8 cores help not only in rendering but also in reducing the risk of your software crashing and running smoothly. Having more cores than eight will also improve performance. For 3D rendering, I personally use an 8-core CPU.

What is good CPU for Blender?

As a 3D Artist, I chose AMD Ryzen 7 because it provides the required performance while causing no additional issues.

what is more important for rendering CPU or GPU

Blender renders images using both the CPU and the GPU. The GPU handles lighting and shading calculations, while the CPU manages the rest. This means that if you have a powerful graphics card, Blender will perform better for you. But even so, if you do not have a high-end graphics card, you can still use Blender. Personally, I always render my scenes on my GPU because it renders faster with the GPU than the CPU.

what is GPU rendering?

GPU is an acronym that stands for Graphics Processing Unit, and it is a chip located in graphics cards (it acts like a processor for the graphics card or video card). GPUs are designed to render graphics for display on electronic devices.

It is used to perform very fast mathematical calculations in video editing, calculating light rays for 3D rendering, machine learning, mining digital currencies, and so on.

What are the supported graphics cards for Blender?

The below-mentioned graphic cards are supported graphic cards as per the Blender official page.

  • Nvidia
  • AMD
  • Intel
  • macOS

Is graphic card required for Blender?

If you have a good CPU, it’s enough to render an image, but while you are working on animation, a graphic card is necessary because a typical video will be around 30 frames per second on average. It takes a long time to render 1 frame using the CPU. Graphic cards are meant to do this job to complete our renders faster. A graphic card for Blender is not required, but using a good one will help you do your renders faster.

Should I use a laptop or PC for 3D software?

One of the main issues with PC is that you can’t take it with you wherever you go. But you can do that with a laptop. For 3D, you can do everything that a PC can do in a laptop, but the main issue will be the battery draining challenge. When working on large 3D art projects, the power consumption is high, causing the battery to drain, and the cooling system in laptops is inefficient when compared to PC. The PC has a cooling system, and power is drawn directly from the power socket. The hardware in the CPU Cabinet will have good airflow, resulting in improved PC performance.

These are the minimum system requirements and my system specifications for Blender that I want to share. I believe these are the main specifications to consider for 3D software. If you want more, comment down below and I’ll add more.

If you find it useful, feel free to share it with your friends.

Looking for more about Blender?

In this post, you learned about what kind of computer you need to run Blender or other 3D programs. Now you have the information to decide what kind of computer you should get. If you want to learn more, check out some of my other posts.

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