Hardware Recommendations and Certifications
View the most recent recommended graphic boards, laptops and desktop hardware configurations.
Recommended Graphics Boards
Recommended CAE/CAD graphic boards to use with Altair Simulation applications.
AMD Graphics Cards
Products | GPU Model | Driver Version |
---|---|---|
Radeon™ Pro | W6800 W6600 VII WX 9100 W5700 WX 8200 W5500 WX 7100 WX 5100 WX 4100 WX 3200 WX 3100 WX 2100 |
|
Radeon™ Pro Mobility | WX 7130 WX 7100 WX 4170 WX 4150 WX 4130 WX 3100 WX 2100 |
|
NVIDIA Graphics Boards
Products | GPU Model | Driver Version | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M (Maxwell) |
P (Pascal) |
V (Volta) |
RTX (Turing) |
A* (Ampere) |
ADA Generation | ||
Quadro Series | M2000 M4000 M5000 M6000 |
P400 P420 P600 P620 P1000 P2000 P2200 P4000 P5000 P5200 P6000 GP100 |
GV100 | RTX 3000 RTX 4000 RTX 5000 RTX 6000 RTX 8000 T400 T600 T1000 |
RTX A2000 RTX A3000 RTX A4000 RTX A5000 RTX A6000 |
RTX 6000 ADA |
|
Quadro Mobility | M500M M520M M600M M620M M1000M M2000M M2200M M3000M M4000M M5000M |
P500 P520 P600 P620 P1000 P2000 P3000 P3200 P4000 P4200 P5000 P5200 |
N/A | T400 T600 T1000 T1200 T2000 RTX 3000 RTX 4000 RTX 5000 |
RTX A2000 RTX A3000 RTX A4000 RTX A5000 |
|
- Minimum OpenGL 3.2 and OpenCL 2.1 Requirement
- Virtual server/clients and VirtualGL setups may work, but are not officially tested or supported.
- NVIDIA Optimus or AMD Switchable Graphics
- In order to ensure best performance, these options should be set to use discrete NVIDIA or AMD GPU and not the Intel GPU.
- Power Options and Mobility Center
- In order to ensure best performance, these options should be maximum performance for both GPU and CPU.
- Graphics Driver Corruption or Installation Issues
- In order to ensure best driver compatibility, it is recommended to use “Custom” and “Clean” install options instead of the general “Express” driver installer options.
Recommended Workstation Desktop and Laptop/Notebook Hardware
DELL Workstations - Desktops
Product | Precision Workstation | |
---|---|---|
Workstation Model | NVIDIA Quadro GPU | AMD Radeon™ Pro GPU |
3260C | T400 T600 T1000 RTX A2000 RTX 3000 |
|
3450 SFF | P400 P620 P1000 T400 T600 T1000 |
WX3200 |
3460 (mini) | RTX 3000 | N/A |
3460 SFF | T400 T600 T1000 RTX A2000 |
|
3650 | P400 P620 P1000 P2200 T400 T600 T1000 RTX 4000 RTX 5000 RTX A2000 RTX A4000 RTX A5000 RTX A6000 |
W5500 W5700 W6600 W6800 WX3200 |
3660T | T400 T600 T1000 RTX A2000 RTX A4000 RTX A4500 RTX A5000 RTX A5500 RTX A6000 |
|
5860T | T400 T1000 RTX A2000 RTX A4000 RTX A4500 RTX A5000 RTX A5500 RTX A6000 GV100 |
|
7865T | T400 T1000 RTX A2000 RTX A4000 RTX A4500 RTX A5000 RTX A5500 RTX A6000 GV100 |
|
7960T | T400 T1000 RTX A2000 RTX A4000 RTX A4500 RTX A5000 RTX A5500 RTX A6000 GV100 |
|
7960 Rack | T400 T1000 RTX A2000 RTX A4000 RTX A4500 RTX A5000 RTX A5500 RTX A6000 GV100 |
DELL Workstations - Laptops
Product | Precision Workstation | |
---|---|---|
Workstation Model | NVIDIA Quadro GPU | AMD Radeon™ Pro GPU |
3470 | T550 | N/A |
3550 | P520 | N/A |
3551 | P620 | N/A |
3560 | T500 | N/A |
3561 | T600 T1200 |
N/A |
3570 | T550 T600 RTX A500 |
N/A |
3571 | T600 RTX A1000 RTX A2000 |
N/A |
5470 | RTX A1000 | N/A |
5540 / 5740 | T1000 T2000 RTX 3000* |
N/A |
5550 / 5750* | T1000 T2000 RTX 3000* |
N/A |
5560 | T1200 RTX A2000 |
N/A |
5570 | RTX A1000 RTX A2000 |
N/A |
5760 | RTX A2000 RTX A3000 |
N/A |
5770 | RTX A2000 RTX A3000 |
|
7540 / 7740 | T1000 T2000 RTX 3000 RTX 4000 RTX 5000 |
WX 3200 WX 7130 |
7550 / 7750 | T1000 T2000 RTX 3000 RTX 4000 RTX 5000 |
N/A |
7560 | T1200 RTX A2000 RTX A3000 RTX A4000 RTX A5000 |
N/A |
7670 | RTX A1000 RTX A2000 RTX A3000 RTX A4500 RTX A5500 |
N/A |
7760 | T1200 RTX A3000 RTX A4000 RTX A5000 |
N/A |
7770 | RTX A1000 RTX A3000 RTX A4500 RTX A5500 |
N/A |
Lenovo Workstations - Desktops
Product | Lenovo ThinkStation | |
---|---|---|
Workstation Model | NVIDIA Quadro GPU (442.92 or higher) | AMD Radeon™ Pro GPU |
P320 SFF / P320 TWR* |
P400 P600 P1000 P2000* P4000* |
N/A |
P330 SFF
/ P330 TWR* |
P400 P620 P1000 P2000* P2200* P4000* |
N/A |
P340 SFF
/ P340 TWR* |
RTX A2000* RTX 4000* RTX 5000* RTX A4000* RTX A5000* T400 T600 T1000 |
N/A |
P340 Tiny | T1000 | |
P348 | T400 T600 T1000 |
|
P350 SFF
/ P350 TWR* |
P2200 RTX A2000 RTX A4000* RTX A5000* T400 T600 T1000 |
|
P350 Tiny | T600 T1000 |
N/A |
P358 TWR | RTX A2000 T600 T1000 |
N/A |
P360
Ultra/ P360 TWR* |
RTX A2000 RTX A4000* RTX A4500* RTX A5000 RTX A5000m T400 T600* T1000 |
|
P360 Tiny | T400 T1000 |
N/A |
P520* / P520c | RTX 4000 RTX 5000 RTX 6000* RTX A2000 RTX A4000 RTX A4500 RTX A5000 RTX A6000* T400 T600 T1000 |
N/A |
P620 (AMD Ryzen PRO 3975X)
/ (AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5955WX) |
GP100 RTX 4000 RTX 5000 RTX 6000 RTX 8000 RTX A2000 RTX A4000 RTX A4500 RTX A5000 RTX A5500 RTX A6000 T400 T600 T1000 |
W5500 W5700 |
P720 / P920 | RTX 4000 RTX 5000 RTX 6000 RTX 8000 RTX A2000 RTX A4000 RTX A4500 RTX A5000 RTX A5500 RTX A6000 T400 T600 T1000 |
N/A |
NEC (mini) | P1000 | N/A |
Lenovo Workstations - Laptops (*Windows 10 support only)
Product | Workstation Model | |
---|---|---|
Lenovo ThinkPad | NVIDIA Quadro GPU | AMD Radeon™ Pro GPU |
P1 Gen1 |
P1000M P2000M |
N/A |
P1 Gen2* |
T1000 T2000 |
N/A |
P1 Gen3 |
T1000 T2000 |
N/A |
P1 Gen4 |
T1200 RTX A2000 RTX A3000 RTX A4000 RTX A5000 |
N/A |
P1 Gen5 |
RTX A1000 RTX A2000 RTX A3000 RTX A4500 RTX A5500 |
N/A |
P14s | P520 | N/A |
P14s Gen1 |
P520 | AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U with Radeon Graphics (2
GB) AMD APU 4400 |
P14s Gen2 |
T500 | AMD APU 5500 |
P14s Gen3a |
N/A | Radeon PRO Graphics |
P14s Gen3i |
T550 | N/A |
P15 Gen1 |
T1000 T2000 RTX 3000 RTX 4000 |
N/A |
P15 Gen2 |
T1200 RTX A2000 RTX A3000 RTX A4000 RTX A5000 |
N/A |
P15s Gen1 |
P520 | N/A |
P15s Gen2 |
T500 | |
P15v Gen1 |
P620 | N/A |
P15v Gen2 |
T600 T1200 RTX A2000 |
N/A |
P15v Gen3a/Gen3i |
T600 T1200 RTX A2000 |
N/A |
P16 Gen1 |
RTX A1000 RTX A2000 RTX A3000 RTX A4500 RTX A5500 |
N/A |
P16s Gen1a |
N/A | Radeon PRO Graphics |
P16s Gen1i |
T550 | N/A |
P17 Gen1 |
T1000 T2000 RTX 3000 RTX 4000 RTX 5000 |
N/A |
P17 Gen2 |
T1200 RTX A2000 RTX A3000 RTX A4000 RTX A5000 |
N/A |
P40 Yoga |
M500M | N/A |
P43s* | P520 | N/A |
P50 | M1000M M2000M |
N/A |
P50s | M500M | N/A |
P51 | M1200M M2200M |
N/A |
P51s | M520M | N/A |
P52 | P1000 P2000 P3200 |
N/A |
P52s | P500 | N/A |
P53* | T1000 T2000 RTX 3000 RTX 4000 |
N/A |
P53s* | P520 | N/A |
P71 | M620M P3000 P4000 P5000 |
N/A |
P72 | P600 P2000 P3200 P4200 P5200 |
N/A |
P73* | P620 T2000 RTX 3000 RTX 4000 RTX 5000 |
N/A |
Acer Workstations and Laptops (*Windows 10 support only)
Product | Acer | |
---|---|---|
Workstation Model | NVIDIA Quadro GPU | AMD Radeon™ Pro GPU |
ConceptD 500* |
RTX 4000 | N/A |
ConceptD 700* |
RTX 4000 | N/A |
Veriton K8 |
RTX 4000 | N/A |
Veriton K8690G |
RTX A4000 | N/A |
Product | Acer | |
---|---|---|
Mobile Workstation Model | NVIDIA Quadro GPU | AMD Radeon™ Pro GPU |
ConceptD
3 Pro* |
T1000 | N/A |
ConceptD
3 Ezel Pro* |
T1000 | N/A |
ConceptD
5 Pro* |
RTX 3000 | N/A |
ConceptD
7 Pro* |
RTX 3000 | N/A |
ConceptD
7 Ezel Pro* |
RTX 5000 | N/A |
Altos Workstations and Laptops (*Windows 10 support only)
Product | Altos Computing |
|
---|---|---|
Workstation Model | NVIDIA Quadro GPU | AMD Radeon™ Pro GPU |
BrainSphere™ P130 F5 |
RTX 2000 | N/A |
BrainSphere™ P530 F4 |
K420 P400 K620 K1200 P1000 P2000 P4000 P5000 P6000 GP100 RTX 2000 RTX 4000 RTX 5000 |
N/A |
SuperMicro Workstations
Product | SuperMicro | |
---|---|---|
System Model AS- 5014A-TT |
NVIDIA Quadro GPU | AMD Radeon™ Pro GPU |
Mainstream Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3955WX |
RTX A4500 | W6800 |
Performance Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3975WX |
RTX A4500 | W6800 |
Expert Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3995WX |
RTX A4500 | W6800 |
(visit SuperMicro for a complete GPU support list) |
Comments
For NVIDIA GPU based laptops/notebooks the Optimus power saving option in the BIOS should be disabled and the NVIDIA drivers properly installed for optimal performance in Altair Simulation products.
For AMD GPU based laptops/notebooks; the Enduro/Switchable Graphics power saving option should be disabled and the AMD drivers properly installed for optimal performance in Altair Simulation products.
Optimus (Intel/NVIDIA) enabled drivers may create performance issues with notebooks/laptops compared to a dedicated non-shared GPU driver. Disabling the Optimus feature in BIOS, if available, will help give the best overall graphics performance.
Disable nView Window manager under NVIDIA drivers if you experience random crashes and/or issues.
All power saving modes, settings and governors for CPU frequencies and GPU performance should be set to maximum settings in order to get the optimal performance out of Altair Simulation products. This includes smooth graphics and high frame rates (FPS) on Windows and Linux platforms.
Altair Simulation 2022.3 Solver Hardware Configuration Recommendations
Recommended hardware configurations for Altair Solvers.
AcuSolve Solver
Problem Size | Small | Medium | Large |
---|---|---|---|
Typical Workload Steady State or Transient |
Steady state: Up to 1M nodes Transient: Up to 100K nodes |
Steady state: Up to 10M nodes Transient: Up to 1M nodes |
Steady state: Greater than 10M nodes Transient: Greater than 1M nodes |
Throughput 1 | Single job | Single job | Single job |
CPU 2 | Dual CPU socket For example, Intel Xeon Gold “Cascade Lake” or “Ice Lake” or AMD EPYC 7002 or 7003 series |
Dual CPU socket For example, Intel Xeon Gold “Cascade Lake” or “Ice Lake” or AMD EPYC 7002 or 7003 series |
Dual CPU socket For example, Intel Xeon Gold “Cascade Lake” or “Ice Lake” or AMD EPYC 7002 or 7003 series |
Number of CPU / node | 1-4 | 1-4 | 1-4 |
Number of cores / node | 32 – 128 | 32 – 128 | 32 – 128 |
Number of nodes | 1-8 | 8 – 48 | >48 |
Minimum Memory Configuration / node 3 | 300MB to 3GB | 3GB to 30GB | More than 30GB (3KB per CFD node) |
Storage (minimum) | 500 GB SATA or SSD | 1.5 TB local storage | 1.5 TB local storage |
Network Interconnect | Gigabit Ethernet Or Infiniband | Infiniband | Infiniband |
Operating System | Linux kernel 2.6.32 or
higher Windows 7 or 10 |
Linux kernel 2.6.32 or higher | Linux kernel 2.6.32 or higher |
GPU | Yes | Yes | Yes |
MPI | Intel MPI 2018.4 or higher | Intel MPI 2018.4 or higher | Intel MPI 2018.4 or higher |
Setup (2000-3000 computational nodes per core) |
Pure OpenMP or Hybrid OpenMP/MPI | Hybrid OpenMP/MPI | Hybrid OpenMP/MPI |
Hyper Threading | Not recommended | Not recommended | Not recommended |
Feko Solver
Problem Size | Small | Medium | Large |
---|---|---|---|
General recommendations given for MoM and MLFMM dependent on problem size in terms of number of unknowns / mesh elements. For other solution methods (FEM, FDTD, RL-GO, PO, UTD) many factors to be considered. | Pure MoM: less than 50k
unknowns. MLFMM: between 100k and 500k unknowns |
Pure MoM: between 50k and 100k
unknowns. MLFMM: between 500k and 5M unknowns |
Pure MoM: >100k unknowns MLFMM: >5M unknowns |
Throughput 1 | Single job | Single large job or few jobs in parallel | Single very large job or multiple jobs |
CPU 2 | Dual CPU socket For example, Intel Xeon Gold “Cascade Lake” or “Ice Lake” or later |
Dual CPU socket For example, Intel Xeon Gold “Cascade Lake” or “Ice Lake” or later |
Dual CPU socket For example, Intel Xeon Gold “Cascade Lake” or “Ice Lake” or later |
Number of CPU / node | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Number of cores / node | 32 – 56 | 32 – 56 | 32 – 56 |
Number of nodes | 1 | 8 – 16 | > 16 |
Minimum Memory Configuration / node 3 | 64 GB | 128 GB | 256 GB |
Storage (minimum) | 500 GB SATA or SSD | 500 GB SATA or SSD | 500 GB SATA or SSD |
Network Interconnect | Gigabit Ethernet | Infiniband | Infiniband |
Operating System | RHEL or CentOS 8.3 Windows 10 |
Linux kernel 2.6.32 or higher | Linux kernel 2.6.32 or higher |
GPU | Yes | No | No |
MPI | Intel MPI 2018.4 or higher | Intel MPI 2018.4 or higher | Intel MPI 2018.4 or higher |
Setup | Pure MPI | Pure MPI | Pure MPI |
Hyper Threading | Not recommended | Not recommended | Not recommended |
Flux Solver
Problem type | Small | Medium | Large |
---|---|---|---|
Typical Workload (depending on number of DOF, element type, and other factors) | < 300 000 DOF | Around 500 000 DOF | Around 5M DOF |
Throughput 1 | Single | Single | Single |
CPU 2 | Dual CPU socket For example, Intel Xeon Gold “Cascade Lake” or “Ice Lake” |
Dual CPU socket For example, Intel Xeon Gold “Cascade Lake” or “Ice Lake” |
Dual CPU socket For example, Intel Xeon Gold “Cascade Lake” or “Ice Lake” |
Number of CPU / node | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Number of cores / node | 8 | 16 | 16+ |
Number of nodes | 1 | 1 | 1-4 |
Minimum Memory Configuration / node 3 | 8 GB | 16-32 GB | 300GB |
Storage (minimum) | 500 GB SATA or SSD | 1 TB local storage SSD | 1.5 TB local storage SSD |
Network Interconnect | Infiniband | ||
Operating System | Linux kernel 3.10.0-693 or
higher Windows 7 or 10 with SSD |
Linux kernel 3.10.0-693 or
higher Windows 7 or 10 with SSD |
Linux kernel 3.10.0-693 or
higher Windows 7 or 10 with SSD |
GPU | No | No | No |
MPI | Intel MPI 2018.4 or higher | Intel MPI 2018.4 or higher | Intel MPI 2018.4 or higher |
Setup | SMP | SMP or Hybrid 2MPI/node | SMP or Hybrid 2MPI/node |
Hyper Threading | Not recommended | Not recommended | Not recommended |
Radioss Solver
Problem Size | Small | Medium | Large |
---|---|---|---|
Typical Workload Crash & Impact |
Component tests, sled test, drop test, … Less than 500K elements |
Medium crash model, between 1 and 6 millions of elements model | Accurate car crash model (rupture), very large model with size > 6 million elements |
Throughput 1 | Single job | Single large job or few jobs in parallel | Single very large job or multiple jobs |
CPU 2 | Dual CPU socket For example, Intel Xeon Gold “Cascade Lake” or “Ice Lake” or AMD EPYC 7002 or 7003 series |
Dual CPU socket For example, Intel Xeon Gold “Cascade Lake” or “Ice Lake” or AMD EPYC 7002 or 7003 series |
Dual CPU socket For example, Intel Xeon Gold “Cascade Lake” or “Ice Lke” or AMD EPYC 7002 or 7003 series |
Number of CPU / node | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Number of cores / node | 32 – 64 | 32 – 128 | 32 – 128 |
Number of nodes | 1 | 8 – 16 | > 16 |
Minimum Memory Configuration / node 3 | 64-128GB | 64-256GB | 64-256GB |
Storage (minimum) | 500 GB SATA or SSD | 1,5 TB local storage | 1,5 TB local storage |
Network Interconnect | Gigabit Ethernet | Infiniband | Infiniband |
Operating System | Linux kernel 2.6.32 or higher Windows 7 or 10 |
Linux kernel 2.6.32 or higher | Linux kernel 2.6.32 or higher |
GPU | No | No | No |
MPI | Intel MPI 2018.4 or higher | Intel MPI 2018.4 or higher | Intel MPI 2018.4 or higher |
Setup | Pure MPI | Pure MPI or Hybrid with 2 or 4 OpenMP threads per MPI | Hybrid with 2 or 4 OpenMP threads per MPI |
Hyper Threading 5 | Yes, Hybrid with 2 OpenMP per MPI | Not recommended | Not recommended |
OptiStruct Solver
Problem type | Small or medium | Large static | Large dynamic |
---|---|---|---|
Typical Workload (depending on number of DOF, element type, and other factors) | Nonlinear - less than 2M DOF; linear static - less than 5M DOF; NVH - less than 5M DOF | Nonlinear - more than 2M DOF; linear static - more than 5M DOF | NVH - more than 5M DOF |
Throughput 1 | Single | Single | Single or few jobs in parallel |
CPU 2 | Dual CPU socket For example, Intel Xeon Gold “Cascade Lake” or “Ice Lake” |
Dual CPU socket For example, Intel Xeon Gold “Cascade Lake” or “Ice Lake |
Dual CPU socket For example, Intel Xeon Gold “Cascade Lake” or “Ice Lake" |
Number of CPU / node | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Number of cores / node | 8-24 | 24+ | 24+ |
Number of nodes | 1 | 1-8 | 1-8 |
Minimum Memory Configuration / node 3 | 16-64GB | 128GB | 256GB |
Storage (minimum) | 512GB local storage | 1TB local storage | 3 TB local storage, SSD and RAID0 recommended |
Network Interconnect | Infiniband | Infiniband | |
Operating System | Linux kernel 2.6.32 or higher Windows 7 or 10 with SSD |
Linux kernel 2.6.32 or higher Windows 7 or 10 with SSD |
Linux kernel 2.6.32 or higher Windows 7 or 10 with SSD |
GPU | Yes | Yes | Yes (Eigenvalue Extraction – AMSES or Lanczos) |
MPI | Linux: Intel MPI 2018.4 (recommended) Windows: Intel MPI 5.1.0.078 (recommended) |
Linux: Intel MPI 2018.4 (recommended) Windows: Intel MPI 5.1.0.078 (recommended) |
Linux: Intel MPI 2018.4 (recommended) Windows: Intel MPI 5.1.0.078 (recommended) |
Setup | SMP or DDM hybrid or SMP+GPU | DDM hybrid or SMP+GPU | SMP or DDM hybrid or SMP+GPU |
Hyper Threading | Not recommended | Not recommended | Not recommended |
Recommended GPU Computing Processor List
Recommended graphic boards for use with the Altair Solver applications for high-powered GPU computing.
Manufacturer and Model | Graphics Card | Driver Version (Minimum or Higher) |
|
---|---|---|---|
AcuSolve | NVIDIA (Tesla) |
P100 V100 |
Linux (64-bit) 418.39 Windows (64-bit) 396.26 |
NVIDIA (Quadro) |
GP100 GV100 |
Linux (64-bit) 418.39 Windows (64-bit) 396.26 |
|
OptiStruct | NVIDIA (Tesla) |
P100 V100 |
Linux (64-bit) 440.33 Windows (64-bit) 441.22 |
NVIDIA (Quadro) |
GP100 GV100 |
Linux (64-bit) 440.33 Windows (64-bit) 441.22 |
- The most recent vendor/manufacturer drivers should be used and all driver support for these cards should be addressed to the appropriate manufacturer of the graphics board.
- Double Precision GPU cards should be used to run OptiStruct. Single precision GPU cards (such as RTX 600, etc) are not recommended for OptiStruct runs.
Additional Information on Driver Installations
The NVIDIA Driver Update recommendation is to use the Custom installation option and select the Perform clean installation option to validate that there are no conflicts in DLL/drivers.