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Hardware requirements | Substance 3D Painter

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  1. Home
  2. Getting Started
    1. Getting Started overview
    2. Activation and licenses
    3. System requirements
    4. Project creation
    5. Export
      1. Export overview
      2. Export window
        1. Export window overview
        2. Export settings
        3. Output templates
        4. List of exports
      3. Export presets
        1. Export presets overview
        2. Predefined presets
          1. Predefined Presets
          2. USD PBR Metal Roughness Preset
          3. Default Presets
        3. Creating export presets
    6. Glossary
    7. Performance
  3. Interface
    1. Assets
      1. Assets overview
      2. Navigation
      3. Customizing the layout
      4. Filter by path
      5. Saved searches
      6. Advanced search queries
      7. Adding a new library
      8. Sub-library tab
    2. Color picker
    3. Display settings
      1. Display settings overview
      2. Environment settings
      3. Camera settings
      4. Viewport settings
    4. History
    5. Layer stack
      1. Layer stack overview
      2. Creating layers
      3. Managing layers
      4. Masking and effects
      5. Blending modes
      6. Layer instancing
      7. Geometry mask
    6. Main menu
      1. Main menu overview
      2. File menu
      3. Edit menu
      4. Mode menu
      5. Window menu
      6. Viewport menu
      7. Plugins menu
      8. Help menu
    7. Project configuration
    8. Properties
    9. Settings
      1. Settings overview
      2. General preferences
      3. Shortcuts
      4. Libraries configuration
    10. Shader settings
      1. Shader settings overview
      2. Updating a shader
    11. Texture Set
      1. Texture Set overview
      2. Texture Set list
      3. Texture Set settings
      4. Texture Set reassignment
    12. Toolbars
    13. Viewport
      1. Viewport overview
      2. 2D view
      3. 3D view
      4. Camera management
    14. Miscellaneous
      1. Sliders
      2. Log
      3. Update checker
  4. Painting
    1. Painting overview
    2. Tool list
      1. Paint brush
      2. Eraser
      3. Projection
      4. Polygon fill
      5. Smudge tool
      6. Clone Tool
      7. Quick mask
      8. Path tool
    3. Straight line   
    4. Lazy mouse 
    5. Symmetry
      1. Symmetry overview
      2. Mirror Symmetry
    6. Fill projections
      1. Fill projections overview
      2. Fill (match per UV Tile)
      3. UV projection
      4. Tri-planar projection
      5. Planar projection
      6. Spherical projection
      7. Cylindrical projection
      8. Warp projection
    7. Presets
      1. Presets overview
      2. Creating and saving presets
      3. Creating particles presets
        1. Creating particles overview
        2. Installing the particle editor
        3. Overview of the particle editor
        4. Creating a new particle script
      4. Photoshop brush presets (ABR)
        1. Photoshop brush presets overview
        2. Exporting Brush Presets from Photoshop
        3. Importing Photoshop Brush Presets
        4. Photoshop Brush Parameters Compatibility
    8. Dynamic strokes
      1. Dynamic strokes overview
      2. Enabling Dynamic Stroke feature
      3. Dynamic Stroke Performances
      4. Creating custom Dynamic Strokes
    9. Advanced channel painting
      1. Channel painting overview
      2. Ambient Occlusion
      3. Flow Map
      4. Height Map
      5. Normal Map
  5. Effects
    1. Effects overview
    2. Generator
    3. Paint
    4. Fill
    5. Levels
    6. Compare Mask
    7. Filter
    8. Anchor Point
  6. Baking
    1. Baking overview
    2. How to bake mesh maps
    3. Baking visualization settings
  7. Content
    1. Creating custom effects
      1. Creating custom effects overview
      2. Generic filter
      3. Channel specific filter
      4. Generators
      5. Mesh map
      6. Mesh based input
      7. User data
    2. Importing assets
      1. Adding resources via the import window
      2. Adding content on the hard drive
      3. Receiving assets from other Substance 3D applications
  8. Features
    1. Automatic UV Unwrapping
    2. Physical size
    3. Smart Materials and Masks
    4. Subsurface Scattering
      1. Subsurface Scattering overview
      2. Enabling Subsurface in a Project
      3. Subsurface Parameters
      4. Subsurface Material Type
    5. Dynamic Material Layering
    6. UV Reprojection
    7. UV Tiles
      1. UV Tiles overview
      2. Image Sequence
    8. Color Management
      1. Color management overview
      2. Color management with Adobe ACE - ICC
      3. Color management with OpenColorIO
    9. Post Processing
      1. Post Processing overview
      2. Color correction
      3. Depth of Field
      4. Glare
      5. Lens Distortion
      6. Tone Mapping
      7. Vignette
      8. Color Profile
    10. Iray Renderer
      1. Iray Renderer overview
      2. Iray Settings
      3. Viewer and MDL Settings
    11. Plugins
      1. Plugins overview
      2. Autosave
      3. Resources Updater
    12. Sparse Virtual Textures
    13. Custom Shaders
    14. SpaceMouse® by 3Dconnexion
    15. Universal Scene Description (USD)
  9. Technical Support
    1. Hardware requirements
    2. Performance Guidelines
      1. Performances guidelines overview
      2. Conflicts and background applications
      3. Mesh and UV setup
      4. GPU Drivers
      5. NVIDIA Drivers Settings
      6. GPU VRAM amount and bandwidth
      7. GPU VRAM and other applications
      8. Texture Sets amount
      9. Layer management
      10. Channels management
      11. Substance filters and materials
      12. Viewport display
    3. Configuring Pens and Tablets
    4. Exporting the log file
    5. Exporting a DXDiag
    6. Technical issues
      1. GPU Issues
        1. Crash when working with overclocked GPU
        2. Forcing the external GPU on Mac OS
        3. GPU drivers compatibility
        4. GPU drivers crash with long computations (TDR crash)
        5. GPU has outdated drivers
        6. GPU is not recognized
        7. GPU is not recognized and is mentionned as GDI Generic
        8. Issues with Nvidia GPUs on recent Mac OS versions
        9. Multi/Bi-GPU
        10. Running on integrated GPU
        11. Painter doesn't start on the right GPU
      2. Startup Issues
        1. Application failed to start because of Qt
        2. Crash or freeze during startup
        3. Software conflicts
      3. Rendering Issues
        1. Artifacts and glitches on Mac OS with Custom GPUs
        2. Blocky artifacts appear on textures in the viewport
        3. Mesh appears pink in the viewport
        4. Mesh flash to white when moving camera
        5. Some HDPI scaling values are not working
      4. Stability Issues
        1. Crash during export
        2. Crash when opening or saving a file
        3. Crash while baking
        4. Crash with low virtual memory
        5. Windows Blue Screens
      5. Miscellaneous Issues
        1. Corrupted texture error message
        2. Shelf resources are gone after 7.2 update
        3. Error there is no disk in the drive
        4. Error with missing api-ms-crt dll
        5. Impossible to drag and drop files into the shelf
        6. Impossible to use the ALT keyboard shortcut on Linux
        7. Assets (or shelf) previews are empty
    7. Workflow Issues
      1. Export Issues
        1. My exported opacity map is totally black
        2. Texture dilation or Padding
      2. Tools Issues
        1. Normal map looks incorrect when loaded in layer or tool properties
        2. Paint Tool bleeds on other UV islands
      3. Project Issues
        1. A project has been processed as a text file and is now corrupted
        2. Loading files from a network
        3. Preserve brush strokes setting stays disabled
        4. Projects are really big
      4. Shelf Issues
        1. Thumbnails in the shelf look incorrect
      5. Viewport Issues
        1. Mesh faces disappear when looking at them from behind
        2. Viewports and textures are blurry or lack sharpness
      6. Plugins Issues
        1. Substance Source plugin doesn't load
      7. License Issues
        1. Maintenance is expired dialog on startup
  10. Pipeline and integration
    1. Installation and preferences
      1. Preferences and application data location
      2. Automated installation
      3. Retrieving the installation path
    2. Configuration
      1. Command lines
      2. Environment variables
      3. Firewall Configuration
      4. Querying Current Software Version
      5. Remote Desktop
    3. Resource management
      1. Shelf and Assets location
      2. Resource paths
        1. Adding resource paths by editing preferences manually
        2. Editing resource paths manually
        3. Editing the Shelf Preferences with Python
      3. Adding saved searches manually
      4. Preferences and content migration
      5. Excluding resources in a resource path
  11. Scripting and development
    1. Scripts and plugins
      1. Creating a Javascript plugin
      2. Remote control with scripting
    2. Shader API Reference
      1. Shader API overview
      2. Changelog - Shader API
      3. Libraries - Shader API
        1. Lib Alpha - Shader API
        2. Lib Bayer - Shader API
        3. Lib Defines - Shader API
        4. Lib Emissive - Shader API
        5. Lib Env - Shader API
        6. Lib Normal - Shader API
        7. Lib PBR - Shader API
        8. Lib PBR Aniso - Shader API
        9. Lib Pom - Shader API
        10. Lib Random - Shader API
        11. Lib Sampler - Shader API
        12. Lib Sparse - Shader API
        13. Lib SSS - Shader API
        14. Lib Utils - Shader API
        15. Lib Vectors - Shader API
      4. Parameters - Shader API
        1. All Custom Params - Shader API
        2. All Engine Params - Shader API
        3. All Rendering States Params - Shader API
        4. Layering Bind Materials - Shader API
        5. Layering Declare Stacks - Shader API
      5. Shaders - Shader API
        1. PBR Material Layering - Shader API
        2. PBR Metal Rough - Shader API
        3. Pixelated - Shader API
        4. Surface Shader - Shader API
        5. Toon - Shader API
  12. Release notes
    1. All Changes
    2. Version 9.0
    3. Version 8.3
    4. Version 8.2
    5. Old versions
      1. Version 8.1
      2. Version 7.4
      3. Version 7.3
      4. Version 7.2
      5. Version 2021.1 (7.1.0)
      6. Version 2020.2 (6.2.0)
      7. Version 2020.1 (6.1.0)
      8. Version 2019.3
      9. Version 2019.2
      10. Version 2019.1
      11. Version 2018.3
      12. Version 2018.2
      13. Version 2018.1
      14. Version 2017.4
      15. Version 2017.3
      16. Version 2017.2
      17. Version 2017.1
      18. Version 2.6
      19. Version 2.5
      20. Version 2.4
      21. Version 2.3
      22. Version 2.2

Hardware requirements

This page regroups system requirements and hardware compatibility information.

Supported systems

Below is a list of hardware and systems supported by the application:

Platform Minimum Recommended Optimal
Windows
  • OS:
    • Windows 10 (64bit, version 1909)
  • CPU:
    • Intel Core i5
    • AMD Ryzen 5
  • GPU:
    • Nvidia Geforce GTX 1060
    • Nvidia Quadro P2200
    • AMD Radeon RX 580
  • VRAM:
    • 4GB
  • RAM:
    • 16GB
  • Hard drive:
    • SSD type with 30GB of free space
  • OS:
    • Windows 11 (64bit)
  • CPU:
    • Intel Core i7
    • AMD Ryzen 7
  • GPU:
    • Nvidia Geforce RTX 2080
    • Nvidia Quadro RTX 4000
    • AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
  • VRAM:
    • 8GB
  • RAM:
    • 32GB
  • Hard drive:
    • SSD type with 30GB of free space
  • OS:
    • Windows 11 (64bit)
  • CPU:
    • Intel Core i9
    • AMD Ryzen 9
  • GPU:
    • Nvidia Geforce RTX 3080
    • Nvidia Quadro RTX 6000
    • AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
  • VRAM:
    • 16GB
  • RAM:
    • 64GB
  • Hard drive:
    • SSD type with 50GB of free space
Mac OS

  • Model:
    • MacBook Pro 2020
    • iMac Pro 2020
  • OS:
    • Mac OS 11 (Big Sur)
  • CPU:
    • Intel Core i9
  • GPU:
    • AMD Radeon Pro 5600M
    • AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56
  • RAM:
    • 16GB
  • Hard drive:
    • SSD type with 30GB of free space

  • Model:
    • MacBook Pro 2021
    • iMac Pro 2021
  • OS:
    • Mac OS 12 (Monterey)
  • CPU:
    • Apple M1 Pro
  • RAM:
    • 32GB
  • Hard drive:
    • SSD type with 30GB of free space

  • Model:
    • MacBook Pro 2022
    • Mac Pro 2022
  • OS:
    • Mac OS 12 (Monterey)
  • CPU:
    • Apple M1 Pro Max
  • RAM:
    • 64GB
  • Hard drive:
    • SSD type with 50GB of free space

Linux

  • OS:
    • CentOS 7.0 (Enterprise ETLA only)
    • Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Steam only)

  • OS:
    • CentOS 7.6 (Enterprise ETLA only)
    • Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Steam only)

  • OS:
    • CentOS 7.6 (Enterprise ETLA only)
    • Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Steam only)

General recommendations

To get good performance when using the UV Tile workflow we advise to use:

  • 32GB of RAM
  • GPU with 8GB of VRAM
  • SSD to store both project and application cache.

Miscellaneous:

  • For working in comfortable conditions we recommend a monitor with a resolution greater than 1 Mega Pixels and wider than 1280 pixels.
  • Exporting at 8K (8192*8192 pixels) requires a GPU with more than 2GB of VRam.
  • Only versions 2019.x and above have been notarized in order to run on MacOS 10.15 (Catalina).
  • On CentOS 7.5 or older, the application may not start because of a library dependency issues (FT_Get_Font_Format error). We recommend updating the system or installing the following library .
  • To use the software via RDP (Remote Desktop) see the dedicated documentation page.
  • Crash on Ryzen CPU when baking, can be fixed by updating the BIOS.

Supported GPUs

Below is a list of the GPU models compatible with the application:

  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 and above
  • NVIDIA Quadro M2000 and above
  • AMD Radeon RX 580 and above
  • AMD Radeon Pro 5300 M
Note:

Computation freeze can happen in some rare cases on AMD VEGA GPUs.

Unsupported configurations

  • Windows:
    • Virtual machine are not supported.
    • Windows Server is not supported.
  • Mac:
    • Only official Apple configurations are supported.
    • eGPUs are not currently supported and may have stability issues.
  • Linux:
    • Mesa drivers on Linux are not supported.
  • Any platform:
    • Integrated GPUs are not supported.

Minimum GPU Drivers Versions

Below is a list of the minimum GPU drivers version required for the application to run without issues. This list may be subject to changes as new versions release.

To download new drivers see: GPU has outdated drivers.

Vendor Platform Version
Nvidia Windows
  • GeForce : 442.50
  • Quadro : 442.50
Linux
  • GeForce : 410.73
  • Quadro : 410.73
AMD Windows / Linux
  • Radeon : 19.7.1
  • Radeon Pro / Firepro : 18.Q4
Intel Windows / Linux
  • All : 15.33
Note:

On Mac OS the GPU driver is provided by the operating system itself. Update to the latest version of your OS to access the newest driver.

Drivers compatibility issues

For a detailed list of GPU drivers issues per constructor please take a look a the dedicated documentation page.

GPU Raytracing for Baking

To enable GPU Raytracing via Optix or DXR the minimum drivers recommended above must be installed.

DXR requires the following minimum configuration as well:

  • Windows 10 version 1809 (build number 10.0.17763), see this page for more information
  • GPU with Pascal architecture (Nvidia GeForce 10XX)

GPU raytracing runs optimally on dedicated ray tracing hardware such as NVIDIA GeForce RTX or NVIDIA Quadro RTX GPUs.

Supported Graphic tablets

Below is a list of compatible Graphic Tablets which have been tested with Substance 3D Painter version 7.4.2:

Vendor Model Platform Drivers Version
Wacom
  • Intuos Pro MEDIUM Size
  • Intuos S Size
WindowsDriver 6.3.45-1
Mac OSDriver 6.3.45-3
XPen
  • Deco 01
WindowsXP-PENWin_3.2.2.211027
Mac OSXP-PENMac_3.2.3_211203
LinuxXP-PEN-pentablet-3.2.1.211019-1
Huion
  • Q11K
WindowsXP-PENWin_3.2.2.211027
Mac OSXP-PENMac_3.2.3_211203
Xencelabs
  • Pen Tablet Medium
WindowsXencelabsWin_1.2.1-14
MacXencelabsMac_1.2.1-18
LinuxXencelabsLinux_1.1.0-2

Supported 3Dconnexion SpaceMouse models

Below is a list of compatible Graphic Tablets which have been tested with Substance 3D Painter version 8.1:

ModelPlatformDrivers version
  • Compact
  • Pro
  • Enterprise
Windows10.8.6.3431
MacOS10.7.2.3454

Language

The software interface is available in the following languages:

  • English
  • German
  • French
  • Japanese
  • Chinese (simplified)
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