System Requirements

Overview

FlexSim is designed to run on most modern Windows systems. Unique or complex modeling situations may carry additional hardware requirements.

Review the FlexSim Answers article Recommended System Requirements for an in-depth discussion regarding the hardware components that make the most difference when building and running your simulation models.

Minimum System Requirements

Most desktop and laptop computers produced in the last few years meet FlexSim’s minimum requirements. A system that meets these minimum requirements will allow you to:

evaluate FlexSim
work through the tutorials
build and run small to medium sized models

CPU	Any modern¹ x86 or x64 Intel or AMD processor.
RAM	4 GB RAM
Graphics	Any GPU that supports OpenGL 3.1 or higher: Nvidia GeForce 300 Series or higher AMD Radeon R600 (HD 2xxx, HD 3xxx) Series or higher Intel HD 2000 or higher You may need to update your graphics driver for FlexSim to work properly. See the FlexSim Answers article Graphics Compatibility - Common Problems and Solutions for more suggestions on improving graphics compatibility and performance in FlexSim.
OS	Any Windows operating system² currently supported by Microsoft, 32- or 64-bit. Supported editions of Windows include: Windows 10 (supported versions) Windows 8.1 (support ends January 10, 2023)
Disk Space	3 GB free FlexSim’s installer may be up to 1.2 GB in size, depending on version. After successful installation, the installer file may be deleted. After installation, FlexSim’s program files use up to 1.2 GB of disk space. Your model files, CAD layouts, images, custom 3D shapes, data for import, exported reports, and other simulation related assets that you provide will take disk space in addition to the software’s installation footprint.
Additional Software	Latest .NET Framework³ (required) .NET Framework 3.5 (required for OptQuest add-on) Visual Studio⁴ (optional)

Recommended Specs

For the best experience - and for larger, more graphically intense, customized, or complex models, including using features such as importing CAD drawings, custom 3D objects, using the experimenter or optimizer, etc. - we recommend certain upgrades above the specifications listed in the minimum requirements.

Our recommendations are included in the following table. A high-end computer system produced within the last two years will typically include such specifications.

CPU	A CPU scoring 12,000 or better in PassMark - CPU Mark multi-thread benchmark, and 1800 or better in the single-thread benchmark, such as: Intel Core i7-7740X or higher AMD Ryzen 5 1600 or higher
RAM	16 GB RAM or more
Graphics	A GPU scoring 8,000 or better in PassMark - G3D Mark benchmark, such as: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or higher AMD Radeon RX 480 or higher
OS	One of the last two versions of Microsoft Windows 10, 64-bit. (See the Windows 10 version history table).

Notes

Some modern low power processors, such as Intel’s Atom, have lower performance in highly demanding apps like FlexSim than mainstream desktop and notebook processors. Consequently, software responsiveness will suffer and simulations will take longer to complete on these low power CPUs. ARM processors are not supported.
Once an operating system reaches its end of extended support with Microsoft, FlexSim no longer actively supports that OS. Windows on ARM is not supported.
FlexSim uses functionality provided by Microsoft’s latest .NET framework. The .NET framework is already installed on most computers. It can be freely obtained as a standalone download directly from Microsoft. In addition, FlexSim’s OptQuest add-on requires .NET framework version 3.5.
Microsoft’s Visual Studio can be used in conjunction with FlexSim to build compiled models or enhance system level functionality (OS, network, etc.). These features are optional, however. FlexSim does not require a compiler to build or run simulation models. Microsoft’s Visual Studio Community is a free download from Microsoft Corporation.