Abaqus 6.8 & 6.8-EF Graphics Devices

SIMULIA tests specific graphics devices to insure adequate performance with Abaqus/CAE and Abaqus/Viewer; the graphics devices that have been tested (or scheduled for testing) are listed in the table below. However, we cannot certify that these devices are completely compatible with all possible hardware and software configurations. Other devices may be compatible but have not been tested.

NOTE: Newer driver versions for the graphics card listed on this page are expected to work, but may not be compatible. We recommend that you use the tested driver version if you experience problems.

We may update graphics tuning parameters for graphics devices. These changes are intended to configure Abaqus to best utilize individual graphics devices. Updated graphics tuning parameters are included in the graphicsConfig.env file, which can be downloaded and placed in your Abaqus installation.

The use of graphics hardware acceleration on Windows platforms may cause display problems with some graphics adapters or drivers. Users may wish to disable graphics hardware acceleration to determine if a particular issue is specific to their graphics adapter or graphics driver.

Listing of tested configurations per platform:

  • Windows/x86-32
  • Windows/x86-32(laptop)
  • Windows/x86-64
  • Linux/x86-32
  • Linux/x86-64

Unless otherwise specified, the tested configuration of the display settings for all the graphics adapters is as follows:

Display Setting

Value

Color Palette

TrueColor (32 bits per pixel)

Desktop Area

1280 by 1024 pixels

Refresh Frequency

 (Fastest possible with above settings)



Windows/x86-32

Vendor

Graphics Device

Graphics Memory

Driver Version

Operating System

Results

AMD [ATI]

FireGL V3300

128MB

8.440

Windows XP SP2

Pass

FireGL V5600

512MB

8.440

Windows XP SP2

Pass

FireGL V7200

256MB

8.440

Windows XP SP2

Pass

NVIDIA



Quadro FX 1400

 

128MB

169.39

Windows XP SP2

Pass 

Quadro FX 3400

 

512MB

169.39

Windows XP SP2

Pass 

Quadro FX 370

128MB

162.65

Windows XP SP2

Pass

Quadro FX 4600

1.5GB

169.39

Windows Vista Business

Pass1

Quadro FX 560

128MB

162.65

Windows XP SP2

Pass

Quadro FX 5600

1.5GB

169.39

Windows XP SP2

Pass


Windows/x86-32 (laptop)

Vendor

Graphics Device

Graphics Memory

Driver Version

Operating System

Results

ATI

Mobility FireGL V3200

 

128MB 

8.163

Windows XP SP2 

Pass 

Intel

P965 Express

 

384MB

6.14.10.4860

Windows XP SP2 

Pass 

NVIDIA

Quadro FX 570M

 

512MB

167.66

Windows XP SP2 

Pass 


Windows/x86-64

Vendor

Graphics Device

Graphics Memory

Driver Version

Operating System

Results

AMD

FireGL V3600

 

512MB

8.440

Windows XP 64

Pass

FireGL V7300

512MB

8.440

Windows XP 64

Pass

NVIDIA

Quadro FX 550

 

128MB

162.65

Windows XP 64

Pass 

Quadro FX 1700

 

512MB

169.39

Windows XP 64

Pass

Quadro FX 3500

256MB

169.39

Windows XP 64

Pass

Quadro FX 5500

1GB

169.39

Windows Vista Business

Pass1


Linux/x86-32

Vendor

Graphics Device

Graphics Memory

Driver Version

X11 Version

Operating System

Results

NVIDIA

Quadro FX 3500

 

256MB

169.12

X.org 6.8.2

SuSE 9.3

Pass 


Linux/x86-64

Vendor

Graphics Device

Graphics Memory

Driver Version

X11 Version

Operating System

Results

NVIDIA



Quadro FX 1500

128MB

169.12

X.org 6.8.2

RHEL 4

Pass

Quadro FX 570

512MB

169.12

X.org 6.9.0

SuSE 10.0

Pass

Quadro FX 3400

256MB

87.76

X.org 6.8.2

RHEL 4

Pass

Quadro FX 4600

256MB

169.12

X.org 6.9.0

SuSE 10.0

Pass

AMD

FireGL V7600

1.5GB

In progress

FireGL V3750

256MB

7.12

X.org 6.9.0

SLES 10

Pass

 

Additional Information

Abaqus/CAE and Abaqus/Viewer support OpenGL hardware graphics acceleration on all supported platforms. For instructions on how to turn off hardware acceleration.
See: How to disable graphics hardware acceleration to resolve graphics incompatibility

If the graphics device in which you are interested in is not listed on this page, you may submit a Request for Enhancement.
See: Customer submission of Requests-for-Enhancements (RFEs) for SIMULIA

To determine your graphics card and graphics card driver for Windows systems

It is best to use the system Display Properties dialog to get this information, but if you have difficulty, or if you only have remote access to the system, try the findVid program.

  1. Download the findVid program appropriate for your system (32-bit or 64-bit)
  2. Then run the executable in a command prompt window
  3. Following is example output from running the findVid.exe command

=============================================

C:\Temp>findVid32.exe -sv
CurrentRefreshRate => 75 (0x4B)
DeviceID => "VideoController2"
Name => "NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600"
SystemName => "SEAHAWK"
VideoModeDescription => "1280 x 1024 x 4294967296 colors"
VideoProcessor => "Quadro FX 5600"
InfDriverDate => "07/13/2007"
InfDriverVersion => "6.14.11.6250"

============================================

 

Updating your graphicsConfig.env file

Follow these instructions for updating your graphicsConfig.env file. You should update each release of Abaqus 6.8 that you have installed (e.g. 6.8-1, 6.8-2, ...). The examples given in the instructions show updating Abaqus 6.8.

NOTE: The date stamp on the graphicsConfig.env file should help you determine which releases of Abaqus 6.9 you should update. If the date of the file is later than the creation date of the release (reported by abaqus whereami), then you should update that release.

  1. Find your Abaqus 6.8 version install directory and set your current directory to the site directory for that version.

     

         % abaqus whereami
    Abaqus 6.8-001
    Abaqus Site ID: 

    Abaqus is located in the directory /disk2/abaqus/6.8-1
    /disk2/abaqus/6.8-1/cae/External/ebt
    Sequence Information:
    /disk2/abaqus/6.8-1/cae: 2008_01_10-12.21.05 85388

    % cd /disk2/abaqus/6.8-1/site

     

  2. Rename the existing graphicsConfig.env file

     

          % cp graphicsConfig.env graphicsConfig.env.old

     

  3. Download the new graphicsConfig.env file by clicking on the file name in the browser window.
  4. Select the  save as option, and save the file in your Abaqus 6.8-1 site directory. In the current example, the path to this directory is
    /disk2/abaqus/6.8-1/site.
  5. Reset the permissions on the graphicsConfig.env file.

     

          % chmod 644 graphicsConfig.env