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.
- Download the findVid program appropriate for your system (32-bit or 64-bit)
- Then run the executable in a command prompt window
- 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.
- 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 - Rename the existing graphicsConfig.env file
% cp graphicsConfig.env graphicsConfig.env.old
- Download the new graphicsConfig.env file by clicking on the file name in the browser window.
- 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. - Reset the permissions on the graphicsConfig.env file.
% chmod 644 graphicsConfig.env