Mastercam System Requirements and Hardware Guide
This guide details the minimum and recommended system configurations for Mastercam software. These recommendations are based on systems that are in use by Mastercam for testing and evaluation purposes. Our recommendation is to get as much power (processor, video card, and memory) for your systems as your company’s budget allows.
NOTE: A computer’s system information can be viewed in the Windows System Information app by searching Windows for ‘System Information’.
The specifications listed below are for the most recent version of Mastercam
Mastercam Hardware Guide and Suggestions
Below is a summary of the key components of a PC that affect Mastercam performance. The best hardware for your environment is heavily dependent on your budget and workflow; however, the information in this document is designed to help end users and their IT support make knowledgeable decisions when selecting hardware.
Type of Work
Our general recommendation is to get as much hardware power as possible for the available budget.
We expect the minimum recommendation to handle typical production type work including 2.5D and basic 3D milling, Turning, Wire EDM with Mastercam verification. Our higher specification recommended system is designed for more complex applications including advanced 3D and Multiaxis milling, Mill-Turn and Machine simulation.
Large files, either or both physical size and complexity, will put significant demands on the hardware. For this type of work, we recommend the more capable hardware specification.
Operating System
Mastercam continues to review the operating system (OS) requirements to provide the best possible user experience for our customers. Windows Professional editions with all the latest updates installed are recommended. While Mastercam may run on other Windows editions (such as Home Edition) or virtual environments (such as Parallels for Mac), it has not been tested on these configurations and is therefore not supported.
Supported Windows Versions:
- For computers running Windows 10, 22H2 64-bit Professional editions.
- Mastercam 2023 and later fully supports Windows 11.
- Mastercam 2022 was the last release available for Windows 7 and 8.1.
Processor
The computer’s processor speed will impact how fast the software will calculate and complete tasks. With each release, more and more aspects of Mastercam are becoming multi-core processor aware. Toolpath calculation and Simulation will generally run faster with a multi-core processor. Mastercam typically yields a 50% reduction in toolpath calculation time with the latest Intel processors.
Memory/ RAM (Random Access Memory)
When Mastercam uses all available RAM (Random Access Memory), it switches to using virtual memory space, which is stored on the hard drive, and will dramatically slow the system down. Mastercam recommends a minimum of 8 GB RAM. For large toolpath generation and simulation, Mastercam recommends a minimum of 32 GB RAM. Most computers allow for RAM to be upgraded at a relatively low cost.
Video/Graphics Card
When purchasing a new computer for Mastercam, one of the most important components is the video card/GPU (Graphics Processing Unit).
Mastercam recommends an NVIDIA RTX or AMD FirePro / Radeon Pro card with 4 GB or more memory. Other graphics cards can be used, but they must offer full OpenGL 3.2 and OpenCL 1.2 support. OpenCL is required for Mastercam to be able to redirect certain computation tasks to the graphics card to increase system performance.
Mastercam does not recommend or support the use of onboard graphics found with some PC configurations, such as built-in Intel graphics. These do not generally have the capability to drive graphics intensive applications such as Mastercam.
Make sure you are using up-to-date drivers from your card manufacturer. Unexpected behavior in Mastercam, especially display or menu behavior, can often be resolved with updated video drivers. The driver version can have a great impact on how the card performs.
The latest drivers for NVIDIA and AMD can be found on their websites. Mastercam recommends using the automatic detect feature to detect which video card is installed.
Monitor/Display
Most of Mastercam’s internal systems utilize dual monitors and they find this to be a more productive setup. Mastercam displays on the primary monitor while applications such as Mastercam Simulator, Code Expert, or any ancillary application can use the secondary monitor.
The minimum recommended resolution for the primary display is 1920 * 1080 resolution, typical of widescreen monitors available today. Mastercam will run on lower resolution screens but beware of potential sizing issues with larger dialog boxes and panels which may be awkward to work with. Lower resolution monitors may work fine as a second monitor in a dual screen setup.
Mastercam will run on large format displays, including 4K monitors and high-DPI devices, however, Mastercam may experience some unexpected display behavior with these configurations.
Storage (Hard Drive)
Mastercam has found that one of the best computer upgrades is to invest in a Solid-State Drive (SSD). They have faster read/write speeds, better load performance, and are energy efficient. These drives are now priced at a point which makes them a good investment. Many of our test systems employ a smaller primary SSD for the OS and installed applications, with a second large capacity conventional drive for data.
Note: Faster HD speed or SSD will NOT improve open performance if files are stored remotely (over network).
3D Mouse
A 3D mouse improves the way you interact with your 3D application. It is designed to be used by your non-dominant hand in tandem with a standard mouse for a balanced and cooperative work style. You gently manipulate the 3D mouse’s controller cap to simultaneously pan, zoom, and rotate 3D content while your standard mouse is free to select menu items or parts of the model.
Anti-Virus Software
Most computers have some type of anti-virus software to protect from unwanted malware. In some cases, the anti-virus software has been found to interfere with applications running on the computer, such as Mastercam. Mastercam does not recommend specific anti-virus products, but if you see unexpected issues, it may be a conflict with anti-virus software. As a test to resolve unexpected behavior, try temporarily disabling the anti-virus software or setting an exception for Mastercam.