The blender is a free open platform that is widely used in the film and video game industry, this is a powerful 3D animation and rendering software to create and learn visually appealing effects, games, and graphics.
However, one of the questions that many people have is whether a normal laptop can run Blender effectively.
In this blog post, we will explore the system requirements for running Blender, and discuss the various factors that can impact the performance of the software on a laptop.
Additionally, we will provide some tips and tricks on how to optimize your laptop for running Blender, so that you can get the most out of your hardware, lets’s quickly discuss Can a normal laptop run blender?
Also Read: Best laptop for blender
Can a normal laptop run blender?
Yes, to some extent normal laptop can run blender still performance depending on the inbuilt hardware specifications of the laptop, just like every application blender also demands certain system requirements if you want to use it on your laptop.
However, even though minimum system requirements are decent enough to render and design objects but we always suggest you get the recommended hardware requirements, If a laptop meets or exceeds these requirements blender works smoothly.
Especially working on complex scenes or using features that are more demanding on the hardware, requires more powerful specifications, and you should always aim for working on the latest version of the blender so you can get all the latest tools to use in your projects.
Additionally, along with good CPU and GPU, a large amount of ram provides the best performance, and if your laptop has average specifications, you can experience frequent crashes and lag, especially during rendering you might have to wait for hours to complete the process.
However, you can still use Blender on a lower-spec machine, but you may have to make a few important adjustments to your scene and settings to make it work smoothly.
Therefore, always suggest you check the recommended system requirements for the latest version of Blender, as tools and design requirements keep changing, now let’s quickly cover system requirements, and later we will also discuss how to choose a laptop for blender.
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Minimum System Requirements for blender
Now, it’s important to note that below mentioned minimum requirements are for those who are working on small projects and who have to deal less with rendering, as rendering scene especially 3D designs are very time-consuming that demands powerful graphics card.
Running more complex scenes or using features that are more demanding on the hardware will require more powerful specifications.
However, a processor is not out of the equation as while operating and designing you need solid CPU support, multi-threading performance is essential when choosing a laptop for a blender.
The minimum system requirements for running Blender on a laptop are:
- A 64-bit processor with 6 cores.
- At least 8GB of ram with the upgradable slot.
- SSD drive with 256GB SSD or higher.
- Dedicated GPU with at least 4GB VRAM.
- 64Bit operating system, windows 10, Linux, and macOS.
- A screen resolution of Full HD resolution 1920 x 1080.
Recommended system requirements for Blender
The below requirements are for users who are work relies on the complexity of the project, additionally, note that you must also have good internet connectivity, especially for work involved such as online rendering or cloud-based add-ons, for this faster internet requires.
Additionally, along with the processor, your GPU plays a vital role in real-time rendering, simulations, and physical calculations, so it’s worth noting that having a strong GPU is an added advantage for a blender project.
The recommended system requirements for running the latest version of Blender are:
- A 64-bit processor with 8 cores (The higher the better)
- At least 16GB ram with an upgradable slot up to 32GB.
- A dedicated GPU with at least 8GB of VRAM, such as an NVIDIA RTX 30 series or an AMD Radeon Pro 6000 series.
- 64-bit operating systems, such as Windows 10, macOS, or Linux.
- A screen resolution of at least 1920×1080.
- Screen size 15.6” to 17”
- A fast SSD for reading and writing files.
- Storage 500GB SSD with the upgradable slot.
Also Read: Laptop vs PC which is better for game development
Buying Guide- How to choose a laptop for Blender
Processor:
The processor is one of the most significant components to consider when looking for a laptop that can run the blender.
As the blender uses the CPU to execute the instructions of the software, it is responsible for performing calculations for 3D modeling, animation, rendering, and simulations.
Now choosing a processor is solely dependent on the specific needs of your workflow and the complexity of the projects.
As a general rule, you need a processor that has multi-threaded cores and high clock CPU frequency need to run demanding software like a bender.
At present powerful CPUs are intel i9 and Ryzen 9, both are equipped with a high number of cores and speed, These processors are ideal for professional users working on demanding projects such as large animations, visual effects, and simulations.
Moreover, you can also consider the intel i7 or Ryzen 7 for running the blender, additionally, CPU generations also need your attention.
Right now 12th generation of intel and AMD Ryzen 6000 series are the best processors for blender but again 11th gen or Ryzen 5000 series are pretty much fine.
Additionally, also make sure to check if the laptop CPU is designed with a new architecture that utilizes the power of AI and GPT-3, latest examples are Intel’s Alder Lake and AMD’s Zen 4, these are quite powerful for working on creative applications like a blender.
Overall blender works on the multi-threaded performance of CPU cores, a CPU with more cores allows Blender to process multiple tasks, and at the same time, this can significantly increase performance when working with complex scenes or large amounts of data.
The minimum 8 cores are something that provides enough processing power to handle most of the tasks that Blender can perform
Whereas CPU frequency that is measured in GHz also need in your laptop, as high speed performs calculations faster, which can also improve the performance of Blender, to work on high simulation and animation minimum 3.5Ghz clock speed can benefit you a lot.
Also Read: Best laptop for game development
Graphics card
There is a large amount of data involved in a blender, especially for 3D graphics and rendering, this is where GPU comes into action as it is optimized for handling heavy data.
Overall 3D graphics has a lot of mathematical calculations that require maximum power from the GPU rather than the processor.
Also, 3D models also work and included a lot of different effects some of which are calculating lighting, shadows, and reflections, all these consume a lot of computing power that the CPU can not tackle alone, if you have powerful GPU work becomes easier on real-time and complex rendering work more efficiently.
However, graphics card also helps you to navigate, visualize, and efficiently viewport interactions, so when choosing a graphics card for a blender you need to consider memory, its Cuda core, compatibility, and brand.
For tackling such heavy rendering scenes ideally 8GB video card memory ensures handling everything efficiently, whereas, for the rendering process, it’s essential to check the Cuda core as well, the higher the better for rendering as it can also determine the performance of the GPU.
Now, this also depends on the intensity of your work if you handling a project of game development and complex 3D design you might need larger Cuda cores around 3000 and higher.
Whereas for normal 3D modeling, basic architecture projects and animation, GPU with a moderate number of Cuda cores is sufficient, around 1500 to 2000 should be acceptable.
When it comes to brand you have 2 options Nvidia and AMD, and the good thing is both are compatible with blenders, yet since you are looking for a laptop for a blender then I suggest Nvidia GPU due to its availability in the market and AMD GPUs are often out of stock when it comes to AMD GPU.
Some examples of graphics cards that are suitable for blenders are as given below
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070, 3080 and 3090
- AMD Radeon Pro W5700 and W6700
- Nvidia Quadro RTX 4000,5000,6000 and 8000
An overall modern graphics card can make your workflow smooth yet it’s not necessarily essential as it also depends on your budget however good thing is RTX 3070 GPU from Nvidia available in mid-budget laptops.
Also, make sure your selected GPU is compatible with your laptop’s operating system for blender and choose a laptop accordingly, you can also check on the official website of the blender.
Also Read: Best Gaming laptop under 750
Ram
The amount of ram in your laptop is also a crucial factor for running blender, as a large amount of ram support means your processor gets all the information quickly and again memory size also depends on the complexity of the scenes and models you are working with.
As a general rule, the more RAM you have, the better performance you will have, the overall blender is able to run on as little as 8GB ram but if you deal with a lot of complex scenes where large models, simulations, and rendering work involve, recommended ram support is 16GB with latest technology.
Storage capacity
The space requirement also largely depends on the size of the files you work on as every model has a different complex scene and texture of resolutions.
Additionally, the blender also takes little HDD space even though Blender itself is a relatively small program that can barely consume about a hundred megabytes of storage.
Yet it’s hard to assume how much space it can take in your laptop as a lot depends on what version you are uploading in your system and which operating system you have.
Overall let’s assume you have a 2.93 version on windows it takes only about 300-350MB whereas on mac it can consume up to 500 MB.
Now it comes to the approximate file size of a blender, as said it depends on working like a low-resolution model takes about a few megabytes, but the high-resolution model, texture acquires a lot of space in gigabytes so overall it depends on your work intensity.
So if you work on small-medium projects you can settle with a 256GB SSD but make sure you have an upgradability feature, for the safer side 500GB SSD is better, whereas for a heavy-size project even 1TB is recommended.
The SSD also plays a vital role in opening the software to load your data and files, so there should not be a second thought on SSD, you must keep your workflow smooth and efficient, there are 2 types of SSD drives you should get NVMe for fast performance.
Operating system
The blender is one of the cross-platform applications that are compatible with all the operating systems you can use on windows, Mac, and Linux, even though Mac is the safest and easy to use over windows yet I would highly suggest getting a windows laptop for blender.
The biggest reason why Mac laptops are not the most ideal for working on the blender is their lack of availability in the graphics card department.
Almost all MacBook’s designed with integrated GPU which can really delay your rendering process and you can also find it difficult to navigate programs during viewport.
However, if you are designing games for all the platforms then it’s a tricky situation windows laptop also allows you to use mac on their platform you just need the latest Mac OS, for a detailed guide you will get many videos on how to install mac on windows PC.
Budget:
So how much do you need to spend on the best laptop for running a blender, well this can vary depending on the specific requirements of the software and what kind of work you do in a blender, minimum of 8GB ram with a fast processing system, dedicated graphics card necessary for working with a blender.
For basic usage, you should spend about 900 to 1000 dollars, however, for professional use you need to get a laptop with a higher processor like an intel i7 with 8 cores, Nvidia RTX 3070 GPU, and 16GB ram.
Overall getting a highly configured laptop, can easily cost you around 1500$ to even 2000 dollars, especially if you design games or work on 3D animation then you are going to work on more complex scenes with a lot of rendering processes and constant checking, all this requires a high-end computing system.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a blender?
The blender is widely used in filmmaking and game designing communities but it has also usable for architecture, animation, and model arts, as it consists of features such as 3D modeling, texturing, rendering compositing, and motion tracking.
Overall, it’s quite popular with beginners and professionals as it’s free and open-source 3D creation software that does not cost you much all you need is a compatible computer or laptop.
What is important for blender CPU vs GPU?
For blender, you need both, however largely dependent on your working style just, for instance, if your work does not involve a lot of rendering the model and scenes, you can go with moderate GPU whereas a processor at any given time is essential for running Blender smoothly.
As the CPU handles everything from the beginning like calculating the programs and designing, so you don’t need to stress out your processor in such a demanding situation.
Whereas dedicated GPU handles the rendering process and also helps to manage the viewport on complex models, as dedicated GPU doesn’t rely on the CPU it works as independent hardware to handle the heavy load of rendering, which can significantly speed up the process and improve the overall performance of Blender.
Additionally dedicated graphics card also helps video game designers and animators to test the performance constantly, especially the FPS, and how your game performs on GPU also makes your work a lot easy.
Can a blender run without a graphics card?
Yes, you can run the blender on an integrated GPU but your performance limits as the blender are resourceful applications that use a lot of power from your GPU, especially while working on 3D graphics and rendering.
Once you are working on an integrated GPU, blender starts to use i-GPU for rendering which consumes a lot of power that can also slow down the process.
As i-GPU is attached to the motherboard with the CPU, so all the information transmits to the CPU, and later it proceeds to GPU which is not ideal for blender, as they have smaller memory, fewer CUDA cores, and less computing power.
Moreover, GPU is also responsible to provide smooth navigation in a blender, and in-depth real-time visualization, so even though low-resolution projects work decently on i-GPU, I would still suggest d-GPU as you never know what kind of project you have to handle in the future.
Nvidia Vs AMD which is better for blender?
The Nvidia is compatible with all the versions of blender whereas AMD graphics cards are suitable for version 3.0 or above, but when you compare both brands Nvidia has a better-performing ratio in a blender.
As Nvidia graphics cards are known for their CUDA cores, which are optimized for handling the mathematical calculations required for 3D graphics and it takes minimum time to render complex scenes.
AMD graphics cards, on the other hand, are known for their OpenCL support which is an open standard for general-purpose parallel computing, that’s supported by Blender but the challenge is to get AMD GPUs in the market as they are limited in laptops.
How much ram does the blender use?
The amount of ram the blender uses depends on your workflow, intensity of scenes, and texture size, however, blender typically uses anything between 3-8GB of ram, but also note that the operating system also uses ram, so without opening a single tab your laptop consumes about 2-4GB.
This depends on which version of the operating system you are using, so basically more ram means you have the luxury to run complex scenes smoothly, also while rendering laptop memory plays its role overall suggesting you have a laptop with 16GB ram for smooth and efficient work.
Can I use MacBook for the blender?
Yes, you can use a MacBook for Blender, however, it’s important to understand that the working flow on a blender can be affected by the number of hardware specifications the blender requires, so you need a powerful processor and plenty of ram support.
Moreover, the biggest drawback of the MacBook it does not come with a dedicated GPU that can put a strain on your mac laptop, as this 3D software uses GPU while rendering, therefore a large number of blender users prefer windows over Mac.
However, if you are still considering Mac for blender then suggest you go with the MacBook Pro that are released either in 2020 or above, as these MacBooks come with a faster processor and plenty of ram support.
Are gaming laptops good for blender?
Yes, gaming laptops are excellent tools for running software like blender, as often gaming laptops are furnished with high-end processors and much-needed graphics cards with a large amount of ram that has an upgradeable slot with an SSD drive to keep your laptop’s performance efficient.
Combining all these components they make sure a smooth and responsive experience when working with large and complex scenes in Blender.
However, it’s important to note that not all gaming laptops have equal hardware to run blender, it’s a good practice to check the system requirements of the version of Blender you plan to use and compare them to the hardware specifications of the gaming laptop.
Additionally, even though gaming laptops are meant for handling heavy stress yet is worth checking the thermal design of the laptop and make sure it can handle the pressure of running heavy 3D software
Final words:
So here while concluding this topic on whether can normal laptop run blender, also suggest you keep your laptop plugged in while working on heavy and complex scenes, especially during rendering as firstly it takes a lot of power from your laptop and drains the battery faster.
Secondly, at times your laptop intends to get heated up so with good thermal your laptop battery also can affect, and it can also harm the durability of the laptop.
Overall, it’s safe to use a normal laptop but gaming laptops or workstations are always better choices, make sure to check system requirements before selecting any laptop as a lot also depends on what version of blender you are using.
