This article will assist you in selecting the optimal hardware for your 3D scanning and postprocessing needs. A list of general hardware and software requirements can be found further below.

For specific version of Artec Studio - please check the dedicated article.

In order to gain a better understanding of how Artec Studio algorithms impact different PC components, please refer to this article.
Another good resource is the  "Compatible hardware" section, where we regularly publish articles about performance benchmarks and various hardware recommendations.

1. General requirements

OS	Windows 8.1, 10 (x64), Windows 11 Windows 10 (x64) and later is required for Artec Micro I scanner. MacOS is not supported Virtual Machines (Parallels Desktop and etc) not supported
Graphics/video cards	HD reconstruction and AI texturing can be executed on NVIDIA graphics cards ONLY GPU cards with (!) Pascal 6.0 and higher Micro-architecture are supported Min 4 GB VRAM
CPU	min. Intel Core i5 (76xx and later) Intel Core i7 (7xxx and later) Intel Core i9 (7xxx and later) AMD Ryzen, Threadripper, and Intel Xeon CPUs: for more info, please check the detailed CPU section of the article further below
RAM	min. 16 GB for Artec Eva (SD mode) & Artec Spider min. 32 GB for Artec Eva (HD mode), Artec Leo, Artec Micro, Artec Ray I and Artec Ray II (64 GB highly recommended)
USB	Artec Eva, Artec Eva Lite, Artec Spider and Artec Space Spider: 1 x USB 2.0 port (type A). (USB 3.0 and 3.1 compatibility information) Artec Micro: 1x USB 3.0 or 3.1 port (type A) The Artec Micro will not work with a USB 2.0 port Artec Ray I: 1x USB 2.0, 3.0, or 3.1 port (type A) Important note: USB 3.1/3.2 compatibility is not guaranteed, please use Artec USB Kit

Not supported:

• OS:  Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac OS, any 32-bit OS, Windows 11 supported starting from Artec Studio 16
• CPUs: Intel Core i7 8550U, Intel Core i5 8350U, Intel Core i7-1065G7 with integrated graphics
• Graphics/video cards: AMD FirePro M6100 Fire GL V, Intel HD 4600, Quadro T1000/T200

Not recommended:

• NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFire configurations

 

2. Detailed requirements

2.1. Operating system

 

Windows 8.1, 10 (64-bit) or 11 operating systems are supported

• Windows 10, 11 are required for the Artec Micro scanner, which might not work properly on Win 7 / 8 / 8.1 operating systems due to driver incompatibility.
• Windows 7 is supported by Artec Studio 16 and older (15, 14 and etc)
• Windows XP and Vista are not supported.
• Mac OS is not supported, however, Artec Studio can be installed on Apple machines using Boot Camp.
• Artec Studio does not support Virtual Machines (Parallels, VMware, VirtualBox, HyperV etc).
• 32-bit operating systems are no longer supported starting from Artec Studio 9.2.
• More information about the compatibility of discontinued Artec scanners with Windows 8 and 10 is available in this article.

2.2. Graphics/video cards

 

Starting from Artec Studio 18, HD reconstruction and AI texturing can be executed on NVIDIA GPU only with min 4GB VRAM and Pascal 6.0+ Microarchitecture.

For optimal HD reconstruction performance, an NVIDIA GPU with a CUDA compute capability of at least 6.1 and 8+ GB VRAM is highly recommended.

 

• Link to the main article about graphics: Choosing a suitable graphics card for 3D scanning and post-processing
  
  
• Additionally, consult these articles for more information:
  NVIDIA drivers versions, verified by Artec3D
  AMD drivers version, verified by Artec3D
  Optimizing the performance of NVIDIA Quadro
  Intel + NVIDIA configuration
  
  
• Highly recommended: this link, which provides benchmarks of high-performance video cards.

2.3. CPU

 

Intel processors:

• Minimum requirement: Intel Core i5-76xx and later.
• Recommended: Intel Core i7 processors (Nehalem microarchitecture and later)
• Highly recommended: Intel i9 CPUs
• Intel Xeon CPUs are expected to work in most cases, as long as they rank fairly high on the CPU benchmark test scale.

AMD processors:

Important note: all AMD CPUs listed below were tested with Artec Studio 15.1 only, and are not guaranteed to work with older Artec Studio versions.

• AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12-Core
  
• AMD Ryzen 5800x
• AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX
  
  
  CPU benchmark tests for all CPUs can be found here. CPUs ranked higher on the list have better performance.

(!) Please note there is a known issue - Artec Studio 15 crashes importing Artec Leo scans on the desktops/laptops with the following CPUs - resolved in Artec Studio 16

11th generation Intel Core i5, i7, i9 - 11XXX
Mobile 10th generation i3, i5, i7- 10XXGX

 

 

2.4. RAM

Artec Leo and Artec Eva scanners: the amount of required RAM depends on the scanning mode

• SD mode (the only available mode in Artec Studio 15.0 and older):
  Artec Eva: minimum 16GB of RAM
  Artec Leo: minimum 32 GB of RAM
   
• HD mode (only available in Artec Studio 15.1 and newer):
  Artec Eva: minimum 32 GB of RAM
  Artec Leo: minimum 32 GB of RAM (64+ GB highly recommended for optimal performance)
  
  
• Artec Spider or Space Spider scanners require a minimum of 16 GB RAM.
  
  
• Artec Micro scanners require a minimum of 32 GB RAM.
  
  
• Artec Ray I and Artec Ray II scanners require a minimum of 32 GB RAM, but 64+ GB is highly recommended when working with large projects.
  
  
• The general rule is that for reasonably fast post-processing, your RAM capacity should be three times the size of your Artec Studio project.

 

2.5. USB

Artec Micro:

• One USB 3.0 or 3.1 port (type A) is required for the Artec Micro scanner.
  The Micro scanner will not work with a USB 2.0 port.

Artec Ray:

• One USB 2.0, 3.0, or 3.1 port (type A) is needed for the Artec Ray.
• The Ray can also be controlled wirelessly via the Artec Remote app (available for iOS and Android). In this case, you will need a MicroSD card slot or adapter on your PC in order to transfer the data.

Artec Eva, Eva Lite, Spider, and Space Spider scanners

• One USB 2.0 port is required for an Artec Eva, Eva Lite, Spider, or Space Spider scanner.
  These scanners are also compatible with USB 3.0.
• When connecting more than one scanner to a single computer, using a powerful desktop PC is highly recommended. Furthermore, an independent USB 2.0 host controller and/or PCI Express USB 2.0 card per scanner is required. Each scanner should be plugged into a separate USB controller.
• USB 3.1 chipsets might have compatibility issues, especially in portable devices (i.e. laptops, tablets, hybrids). Be sure to consult the following articles: USB 3.1 issues and Kanex adapter before making any hardware purchasing decisions.

You can verify which USB controller is installed in your laptop or PC by checking the Universal Serial Bus controllers section in Windows Device Manager.

 

Laptops with multiple USB controllers

Pictured above is a laptop equipped with two separate USB controllers (USB 3.0 and USB 3.1). Additionally, there are two USB 3.0 root hubs.
If your PC has at least one USB 3.0 controller available, you need to find out which USB port this 3.0 controller is linked to. Connecting your scanner to this specific USB 3.0 port will resolve the issues and no further action will be necessary.

 

Laptops with USB 3.1 controllers only

Pictured above is a laptop equipped with a USB 3.1 controller only. No USB 3.0 controller is available. The USB 3.0 root hubs (ports) do not count, since all USB traffic is still being routed through the main USB 3.1 host controller. In case your machine is equipped with a USB 3.1 controller only (or multiple USB 3.1 controllers), you can increase your Eva/Spider scanner's performance by using the Kanex adapter. 
Please make sure that you have a Thunderbolt 3 port available to use the Kanex adapter.

 

 

 

In case you experience any issues with your Artec 3D scanner or require technical assistance with your device or Artec Studio, in the first instance please contact your local Artec dealer/distributor directly. You can also contact the Artec Support Team by clicking on "Submit a request" button on the bottom right part of the screen or by emailing support@artec3d.com