Revit 2022 and 2023 System Requirements – What you need to Know

Autodesk publishes a new system requirements guide for Revit every year. The specifications stayed pretty much the same the last couple of years to run Revit 2022 or 2023 for example. So what are the real system requirements when it comes to using Revit?

If we look at Autodesk’s requirements, we will see that they created requirements for three situations: entry, medium, and large models. But the main difference between the three is only the amount of RAM.

In this article, I will explain what the system requirements are for Revit and give you a couple of examples of good components to have in your new computer.

Revit System Requirements

AutoDesk publishes every year the system requirements for the latest Revit version. They will list the requirements for an entry-level configuration, best value, performance, and one for Revit LT. But if we compare the 4 requirements, you will notice that there is barely a difference between them. Only the amount of RAM.

The recommended system requirements by AutoDesk for Revit 2022 and 2023 are:

CPUSingle- or Multi-Core Intel®, Xeon®, or i-Series processor or AMD® equivalent with SSE2 technology
Memory16GB RAM
Video cardDirectX 11 capable graphics card with Shader Model 5 and a minimum of 4GB of video memory
StorageAt least 30GB of disk space
MonitorUltra-High (4k) Definition Monitor (at least 1920 x 1200)
Revit System Requirements

And there are some other non-important requirements, like, .Net frameworks, a browser, mouse, etc.

When looking at the requirements, then you may have noticed that it doesn’t really help you with selecting the right workstation. So let’s take a closer look at what you really need to run Revit.

Processor

When you are looking for a new workstation for Revit there is only one thing really important, the single-core speed of the CPU. Revit does use multiple cores to some extent, but the main process of Revit is still single-core-based. So for the best performance you want to have a high base CPU clock speed.

Base clock speeds are not the whole story when we look at the performance of CPUs. These days the Instruction Per Cycle (IPC) can greatly vary between CPUs. A higher IPC means that the processor can do more calculations at the same time than a similar CPU with a lower IPC.

Intel processors have a base clock speed and a Turbo Boost speed. Turbo Boost is a technique that allows to processor to overclock itself when a program requires a lot of processing power. This may sound great, but the problem with overclocking is that it generates more heat, so your CPU can only run for a short amount of time on the higher frequency.

Good processors for Revit are for example:

  • AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
  • AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
  • Intel Core i7-12700KF
  • Intel Core i9-12900K

If you want to compare CPUs for Revit then the single-thread comparison from CPUBenchMark is a good indication.

Memory

Autodesk recommends only 8GB RAM for its entry-level workstation. These days you need 8GB already to run Windows smoothly, so 16GB RAM is really the bare minimum that you should use. When working with large models you will also need more memory for your workstation.

A good starting point is 2x 16GB of RAM (32GB in total). This way you will utilize the full channel width, which will give you the best performance.

Video card

Revit doesn’t really need a lot of GPU power to run smoothly. Most processing is done by the CPU, so you should invest most money into the CPU and Memory. A good GeForce video card will work fine in most cases, but Autodesk has only certified the Quadro or Radeon Pro GPU at the moment.

A good and affordable video card for Revit is the Nvidia Quadro P1000 or P2200 for example. These cards are more than enough work on large models in Revit and do an occasional render.

Storage

The storage requirement is really low. The mentioned 30GB is only for the installation files. To work with Revit you will need a lot more storage. Revit creates a lot of temporary files when working on models. These files can really consume a lot of storage space.

When you are working with collaboration models, you will also need a lot of space to cache all the models and families that you are using. At a minimum, you will need 500GB of disk space, but I would recommend getting 1TB if possible.

Because Revit stores a lot of temporary files, it will do a lot of reading and writing on the disk. So invest in a fast SSD disk. If your motherboard supports it, then go for an M.2 SSD, because these are more than 5x faster than normal SSD drives, for example, the Samsung 970 EVO or WD Black SN750.

Monitor

Monitors are not really system requirements when it comes to running Revit. But go at least for a 27″ Quad HD monitor (2560×1440 pixels). The higher resolution allows you to show more information (properties menu etc) on your screen while leaving enough room for modeling.

Recommend System for Revit

So with the requirements explained let’s put together a good Revit workstation, that will give you the best value for your money:

ItemProductEstimate price
CPUIntel Core i7-12700KF$ 360
MemoryKingston FURY DDR5 4800MHz 32GB (2 x 16GB)$ 200
Video cardPNY NVIDIA Quadro P1000 $ 400
StorageSAMSUNG 980 PRO 1TB PCIe NVMe Gen4 M.2$ 160
MotherboardMSI PRO Z690-A$ 230
Recommend System Revit

If you add a case, power supply, and some case fans to it you should be able to complete the workstation for less than $2000. For this price, you will have a good Revit workstation that will allow you to work with medium to large-size Revit models.

Wrapping Up

Make sure that you invest most of your money in a CPU with a high base core speed. You can increase the memory if you need to work with large models up to 64GB RAM. But on most occasions, the 32GB will be more than enough.

Another good upgrade is to add an extra SSD NVMe disk. This allows you to separate Windows and program data from your Revit files, which will make loading models faster. A good disk for this is the normal Samsung 980 (without the pro) because this disk has a higher IOPS read and write speed (which is good for reading and writing a lot of small files).

If you have any questions about the Revit system requirements, then just drop a comment below.

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