General Requirements
In the menu to the right you will find specific requirements for each platform.
These requirements are common to all platforms:
- A DVD drive for installation.
- A working network card and internet connection is recommended during installation.
- At least 1 GB memory, but 4 GB per processor core or more is recommended.
- 1-4 GB of disk space, depending on your licensed products and installation options.
- Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0 or later to view and print the COMSOL documentation in PDF format.
Floating Network Licenses
Floating network licenses are supported on heterogeneous networks of Windows, Linux, and Mac computers. Both the license manager and the COMSOL application can run on either Windows, Linux, or Mac, and a single computer can run both of them.
COMSOL Multiphysics System Requirements for Windows
System Requirements for 32-bit Windows
- The following 32-bit Windows operating systems are supported:
- Windows 7
- Windows Server 2008 R2
- Windows Server 2008
- Windows Vista
- Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2 or later
- Windows XP with Service Pack 3 or later
- Intel Pentium IV or AMD Athlon XP processor or later.
System Requirements for 64-bit Windows
- The following 64-bit Windows operating systems are supported:
- Windows 7
- Windows Server 2008 R2
- Windows Server 2008
- Windows HPC Server 2008 R2
- Windows HPC Server 2008
- Windows Vista
- Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition with Service Pack 2 or later
- Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 or later
- Windows XP Professional x64 Edition with Service Pack 2 or later
- A PC with one of these processors: AMD with AMD64 or Intel with EM64T.
Graphics System Requirements
COMSOL recommends hardware rendering for performance reasons. Hardware rendering requires drivers that support OpenGL version 1.4 or DirectX version 9 on the local console. Alternatively, software rendering can be used. The Optimize for Quality setting in graphics preferences requires OpenGL 2.0. Hardware rendering requires at least 24-bit color graphics. Software rendering also supports 16 bit color graphics. For performance reasons, we recommend that the graphics card has at least 512MB memory.
Tested AMD Graphics Cards
| Card Model | Operating System | Driver Version |
|---|---|---|
| FirePro™ V3900 | Windows 7 | 8.911.3.1-120116a-132089E |
| FirePro™ V4900 | Windows 7 | 8.85.7.1-110717a-124599C |
| FirePro™ V5900 | Windows 7 | 8.85.7.2-110901a1-125182C |
| FirePro™ V7750 | Windows Server 2008 R2 HPC | 8.540.0.0 |
| FirePro™ V7800 | Windows 7 | 8.85.7.1-110717a-122786C |
| FirePro™ V7900 | Windows 7 | 8.83.5.4-110520a-119550C |
Tested NVIDIA® Graphics Cards
| Card Model | Operating System | Driver Version |
|---|---|---|
| GeForce™ FX 5200 | Windows 7 Ultimate 32 Bit | 9.6.8.5 |
| GeForce™ FX 5200 | Windows XP 64 Bit | 6.14.11.7519 |
| Quadro™ FX 3800 | Windows Server 2008 R2 | 8.17.12.7614 |
| Quadro™ FX 540 | Windows XP 32-Bit | 6.14.12.7614 |
| Quadro™ FX 540 | Windows XP 64-Bit | 6.14.12.7565 |
| Quadro™ FX 550 | Windows Vista Pro 64 Bit | 7.15.10.9746 |
The graphics cards listed above have been rigorously tested for compatibility with COMSOL Multiphysics. Please note, however, that other AMD or NVIDIA graphics cards may also be compatible with COMSOL Multiphysics. Graphics cards that belong to the same model series as one of the cards listed above are more likely to be compatible with COMSOL Multiphysics.
Optional LiveLink for MATLAB Requirements
LiveLink for MATLAB is compatible with MATLAB R2011a and R2011b.
Optional Products for CAD Interoperability
The following products support import of 3D CAD files on Windows platforms:
| Product | Supported file formats | Required products |
|---|---|---|
| CAD Import Module | ACIS (SAT), IGES, Inventor, Parasolid, Pro/E, SolidWorks, and STEP | COMSOL Multiphysics |
| LiveLink™ for AutoCAD® | Same as above | COMSOL Multiphysics |
| LiveLink™ for Creo™ Parametric | Same as above | COMSOL Multiphysics |
| LiveLink™ for Inventor® | Same as above | COMSOL Multiphysics |
| LiveLink™ for Pro/ENGINEER® | Same as above | COMSOL Multiphysics |
| LiveLink™ for SolidWorks® | Same as above | COMSOL Multiphysics |
| LiveLink™ for SpaceClaim® | Same as above | COMSOL Multiphysics |
| File Import for CATIA® V5 | CATIA V5 | CAD Import Module, or a LiveLink product for a CAD package |
LiveLink™ for AutoCAD®
LiveLink for AutoCAD requires AutoCAD 2011 or AutoCAD 2012.
LiveLink™ for Creo™ Parametric
LiveLink for Creo Parametric requires Creo Parametric 1.0.
LiveLink™ for Inventor®
LiveLink for Inventor requires Autodesk Inventor 2011 or Autodesk Inventor 2012.
LiveLink™ for Pro/ENGINEER®
LiveLink for Pro/ENGINEER requires Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0 or Wildfire 5.0, or Creo Elements/Pro 5.0.
LiveLink™ for SolidWorks®
LiveLink for SolidWorks is compatible with SolidWorks 2010, 2011, and 2012 (requires COMSOL 4.2a Update 1).
LiveLink™ for SpaceClaim®
LiveLink for SpaceClaim requires SpaceClaim 2011 or 2011+, and the Data Exchange II module available from SpaceClaim.
Parallel System Requirements
COMSOL supports shared-memory parallelism and distributed-memory parallelism on 32-bit and 64-bit Windows. Distributed-memory parallelism requires Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 with Service Pack 1, Windows HPC Server 2008, or Windows HPC Server 2008 R2.
Internet Protocol Support
IPv4 and IPv6 are supported on all Windows platforms.
