Do you have a hand in the fire of 3D design, animation, or the world of cinematic special effects? Are you familiar with the name of the Blender software? How well do you know the tools for making such graphic works? Here in this article, we want to review one of the most important tools introduced in the field of 3D design and animation in terms of hardware requirements. After reading this article, you can probably follow the path of installing, preparing, and learning the Blender program with a more detailed program.
Table of Contents
What systems does Blender work on?
I prefer to go to the main topic first, that is, the hardware required by Blender. This part of the article is written according to the latest update of Blender company’s hardware requirements for Blender software.
Blender always ready to work
It doesn’t matter if Blender is saved on a USB flash drive or the desktop folder of the operating system; this program is always ready to work without the need for installation and without the need for an Internet connection, and you can use it anywhere and anytime for free.
Operating system required for the Blender platform
Blender is a so-called software that does not need a specific operating system (cross_platform). In the description of the suitable operating systems of the Blender software, it is stated that the development of this program has been made so that the platform can be run on any operating system and configuration. However, the company does (officially) list the operating systems that developers are active on, including:
- Windows 8.1, 10 and 11
- Operating system macOS 10.13 Intel and 11.0 Apple Silicon
- Linux operating system
Blender claims to run on any operating system because the program is open source. That is, if someone who intends to use Blender can change its structure to suit his operating system, it is possible to install the program.
In the official description of the program, it is stated that if you want to have its icon on the Windows desktop, install files with the extension (.blend).
What hardware is needed to run this software better?
One of the prominent features and the strong point of Blender software is the reduction of hardware requirements. Blender does not require a third of the hardware power compared to its equivalent platforms. They have divided the hardware suitable for the application into two categories: minimum and recommended. Naturally, the full power of the program cannot be seen with minimal hardware, and it is better to have the recommended hardware.
The minimum hardware required by Blender to run
- 64-bit quad-core CPU with SSE2 support
- 8 GB of RAM
- Full HD screen
- Mouse, touchpad, or tablet with pen
- 2 GB graphics card with support for the OpenGL system
Recommended hardware from Blender to run
- 64-bit eight-core CPU
- 32 GB of RAM
- 2560×1440 display
- Mouse or pen with three-button tablet
- 8GB graphics card
Graphics cards suitable for the latest version of Blender
Always make sure you have the latest graphics drivers installed by the graphics manufacturer. Of course, it should be mentioned that the basic services of the Blender program can be implemented with the mentioned hardware, and the rendering services of this program require much more powerful graphics processors.
NVIDIA graphics cards
GeForce 400 and newer graphics cards – GPUs with Quadro Tesla architecture and newer, such as RTX-based graphics cards with NVIDIA drivers.
AMD graphics cards
GCN 1st generation and newer – Because Blender version 2.91 is not fully compatible with the Terascale 2 graphics architecture, we recommend using version 2.90. (Of course, this graphical architecture is no longer supported by Blender, but the program may still work.)
Intel graphics cards
Haswell architecture and newer.
macOS
Version 10.13 is for operating systems that use Intel graphics in their hardware, or so-called non-ARM. Version 11.0 of ARM-based graphics.
Operating system required for older versions of Blender
Blender version 2.93
Since Microsoft stopped supporting Windows 7 in January 2020, this version no longer supports Windows 7.
Blender version 2.9x
These versions of Blender require macOS 10.13 or higher.
Blender version 2.8x
These versions of Blender require macOS 10.12 or higher.
Blender version 2.79
This version is suitable for all operating systems that support OpenGL 2.1 architecture and above. It also runs and is supported for macOS version 10.9.
Blender version 2.76
This version of Blender requires an OpenGL version 1.4 or earlier graphics card and runs on Windows XP and newer versions of this operating system.
Where did the blender software come from?
What is a blender? If I had written this article around 2008, many people would probably have asked what Blender is, but now after several years of the release and development of Blender software, I assume that all of you who are reading this article are familiar with it. So I will settle for a short introduction.
Not many years, just 20 years ago, an open-source program was introduced in the field of animation and 3D design, which no one thought would be a hundred years old within three to four years. In 1995, Tan Rosendal produced this program for the personal use of a company, but a few years later, with the idea of creating a communication network between people, he introduced the same program as a new and new tool with new solutions and a new style of communication with the user.
Among the basic features of Blender software is that it has various extensions that improve the functionality of this software. Since Blender is open-source software, everyone can design the plugin they need and provide it to others for free or not.
In fact, from 2002 to 2010, when Blender practically became a jack-of-all-trades in the world of special visual effects and animation, nothing helped its growth except the development of Blender users.
From the very first year, Blender entered the market with the slogan of helping others with a free open-source program, and this issue promised the birth of a serious competitor for competitors. Blender software is now one of the most important free and powerful tools in the world of 3D images and special visual effects. Everyone likes it because it is more accessible than other programs like Autodesk, Maya, etc.