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Houdini 16.5 System Requirements

Operating System

Windows:  

  • Windows 10 (64 bit)
  • Windows 8.1
  • Windows 8
  • Windows 7 SP1
  • Windows Server (any version) is NOT supported.

Mac OS X: Requires:

  • Requires 64-bit Intel-based Mac with OSX 10.10.2 and higher

Linux: 

  • Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (64-bit) 
  • Debian 7.0+ (64-bit) 
  • RHEL 6+ (64-bit) 
  • Fedora 16+ (64-bit) 
  • Open SUSE 12.1+ (64-bit) 
  • CentOS 6+ (64-bit) 
  • Mint 13+ (64-bit)

gcc 4.8 is required. 

>> VFX Reference Platform

Note: 32-bit windows and linux are no longer supported

Important: Pre-release versions of operating systems are not supported. This includes Insider Preview, alpha, betas, etc.

All platforms require administrator privileges to install.

Memory

  • 4 GB required
  • 64bit Operating System required
  • 8 GB or higher and 64GB strongly recommended for fluid simulations

Processor

  • Intel or AMD x64 CPU with SSE 4.2 required

Disk Space

  • 2GB required for installation

Input Devices

  • 3 Button mouse required
  • Scroll wheel used where present
  • Wacom tablet recommended for Houdini's brush-based tools

Graphics Cards

A GL3.3 compliant graphics card is required. GL4.0+ is highly recommended.

2GB VRAM or more is required. Less than this can result in display errors such as blank windows. High DPI displays (4K, 5K) or multiple monitors require a minimum of 4GB.

Graphics card must support OpenCL version 1.2. 

It is VERY important that you install the latest driver for your graphics card. Failing to do so may result in display issues and/or slow performance: 

Windows

 - NVidia GeForce GPUs: 390.77 or higher (don't use 376.xx - you'll have slow performance and crashes)

- NVidia Quadro GPUs: 390.77 or higher (don't use 376.xx - you'll have slow performance and crashes)

 - AMD: 17.Q1 or higher

 - Intel 10.18.10.3958 or higher.

Linux

- NVidia Quadro & GeForce GPUs: 390.25 or higher (don't use 376.xx - you'll have slow performance and crashes)

 - AMD: 17.Q1 or higher

 - Intel 10.18.10.3958 or higher.

NOTE: Intel cards are NOT supported on OSX.

We don't recommend any specific computer manufacturer. As long as your machine has the recommended RAM, CPU, graphics card, and VRAM, it should be acceptable for use.

SUPPORTED CARDS

Monitor

  • Minimum resolution: 1024 x 768; Recommended resolution: 1920 x 1200 (widescreen).
  • 2GB VRAM or higher required for dual displays or single displays greater than 1920x1080.
  • 4GB of VRAM (or higher) required for High DPI displays such as 4K and 5K (3840x2160, 5120x2880)
  • Color depth of 32-bit (“true color”) required.
  • We recommend you either select sRGB as your color profile or calibrate your monitor to gamma 2.2.

GPU Acceleration

  • On certain graphics cards, Houdini can use the GPU to dramatically increase the performance and speed of your Pyro FX and Fluid simulations.
  • In order to take advantage of this capability, you'll need a GPU capable of supporting OpenCL. Refer to the Supported Graphics Cards page.
  • The amount of VRAM your GPU has access to will limit the size of simulation that you can run on it. 4GB + is ideal for larger simulations.
  • GPU acceleration currently does NOT make use of multiple OpenCL devices (i.e. two or more graphics cards) but this may change at a future date.

3rd Party Dependencies

http://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini/licenses/index

Other

  • Sound card and speakers/headset required for audio 
  • Class C network (TCP/IP) recommended for local access licenses
  • Network support required for offline simulation, batch processing and rendering
  • Internet browser required for connection to www.sidefx.com (Houdini Forum)
  • Video encoder required for creating AVI/QT/etc.