Which graphics cards do you recommend?

DesignBuilder recommends NVIDIA graphics cards (adapter) as they have shown the best compatibility over the years with the OpenGL graphics systems used by DesignBuilder. Most mid-range and better graphics adapters from NVIDIA are suitable for use with DesignBuilder.

Graphics card incompatibilities with DesignBuilder

If DesignBuilder does not run on your computer you should try the following:

1. Install the latest drivers for your graphics adapter, especially if you are having stability or graphic display problems with DesignBuilder. This is because DesignBuilder uses advanced OpenGL features and some of these features were not fully implemented in early driver releases.

2. Try adjusting the various settings on the control panel for your graphics card.

If you cannot get your graphics card working with DesignBuilder, a possible workaround is simply to disable the graphics card. When you do this the basic graphics system provided on the motherboard will be used and these can provide a useful temporary solution. It is important to bear in mind however that when using onboard Intel graphics cards, DesignBuilder will have less memory available to work with which could cause problems for larger models.

To disable the graphics card, follow these instructions:

1. Open Control Panel
2. Open System Dialog
3. Click on Advanced System Settings to open up the "System Properties" dialog
4. Click on the "Hardware" tab
5. Press "Device Manager" button
6. Open Display adapters by clicking on the + or > to the left of the line
7. Right-click on the Graphics card to be disabled and select the "Disable" option

Note that the Update driver option on the right-click menu may be worth trying before disabling it.

The above instructions are for Windows 7 and 8 but instructions are similar for Windows 10 and 11.