Graphics Drivers and Hardware for Photo RAW

Photo RAW leverages your graphics hardware (often referred to as a video card or GPU) and its associated drivers to handle the rendering of your images, AI processing, Resizing, and many other functions.  This article will cover how to identify your hardware, determine if it meets the requirements needed to run Photo RAW, and how to update and configure its drivers.  At the bottom you'll find a list of the hardware we've tested internally, as well as a list of supported GPUs.

How to Identify Your GPU

Windows

Open the Start menu in Windows and select Settings.  In the System section, click About, then the Device Manager option.  In the Device Manager window, expand the Display Adapters section.  This will show your current hardware.  You can then use the hardware's name to search online for its specifications.  Some systems will have multiple GPUs present.

Apple

Click the Apple menu (by default in the top left corner in the menu bar) and select About This Mac.  This will bring up a simple overview of your hardware.  Click the More Info... option to see your system's About section.  At the bottom of this section, click System Report, then select the Graphics/Displays section to see your system's hardware.

Photo RAW GPU Requirements

Minimum Requirements	Recommended Requirements
Windows DirectX 12, DirectML, Vulkan 1.1, and OpenGL 4.2 compatible video card with 4GB VRAM, 1920x1080 resolution (at 100% scale factor)	Windows DirectX 12, DirectML, Vulkan 1.1, and OpenGL 4.2 compatible video card with 8GB VRAM, 1920x1080 resolution (at 100% scale factor) from AMD or Nvidia.  Intel GPUs are NOT supported.
macOS Metal, Vulkan 1.1, and OpenGL 4.2 compatible video card with 4GB VRAM, 1920x1080 resolution (at 100% scale factor)	macOS Metal, Vulkan 1.1, and OpenGL 4.2 compatible video card with 8GB VRAM, 1920x1080 resolution (at 100% scale factor)

For a more in-depth look at what your GPU does and doesn't support, you can download and install GPU-Z.  It will give you all the technical details of your hardware.  This is for Windows ONLY.

https://www.techpowerup.com/download/techpowerup-gpu-z/ 

Most importantly, you'll see boxes for OpenGL, DirectML, and Vulkan at the bottom of its window in the Computing and Technologies section.  If these boxes are checked then your hardware supports what Photo RAW needs to run.  If they aren't you'll need to update your hardware.

How to Update your GPU's Drivers

While the GPU hardware is important to run Photo RAW, the software drivers for that hardware are equally important.  Keeping these drivers up-to-date will help keep Photo RAW running smoothly.

Apple drivers are handled through the operating system only.  To check for updates, open System settings, select General, then Software Update.  

We recommend checking with the manufacturer of your hardware for the latest drivers rather than relying on Windows or another update utility.  

Nvidia:

Click the link below for Nvidia's latest drivers:

AMD/ATI:

Click the link below for AMD/ATI's latest drivers: 

How to Configure Windows to use your GPU with Photo RAW

It's important to make sure Windows is using the right graphics hardware for the job.  Some systems can have multiple GPUs, such as one built into the processor and a dedicated GPU.  Windows generally will pick the best performing option, but not always.  To make sure Photo RAW is using the correct GPU for Photo RAW, follow these steps: 

1.   Open Windows Settings.
2.   In the Search field, type Graphics.
3.   Scroll down the list of available applications to find Photo RAW.
   
   • If Photo RAW is NOT listed, click the 'Browse' button under the Custom section to navigate to the installation location of Photo RAW, then 'ON1 Photo RAW <year>.exe' as the target.
      
     
4.   Select Photo RAW, then click the Options button.     
      
5.   From the available options, click the High-Performance option, then Save.
      

 

Internally Tested GPUs

These are GPUs our development team uses and tests against on a regular basis.

OS	Make	Model
MacOS	AMD	Radeon Pro 555, 560, Vega 56, 5500M
	Apple	M1, M1 Max, M2
Windows	AMD	AMD RX 580 (Polaris GCN) AMD RX 6700 (Navi2 RDNA) AMD RX 6700XT (Navi2 RDNA) AMD RX 7900 XT (Navi3 RDNA)
	Intel	Intel 9th Gen Intel 11th Gen Intel 12th Gen Intel ARC A370M
	Nvidia	NVIDIA MX-150 (Pascal) NVIDIA GTX 10xx (Pascal) NVIDIA GTX 16xx (Turing) NVIDIA RTX 20xx (Turing) NVIDIA RTX 30xx (Ampere) NVIDIA RTX 40xx (Ada Lovelace)

 

Supported GPUs

These are GPUs that meet the technical specifications and, when equipped with the minimum 4GB of VRAM, should work with our latest software versions.  This is not a comprehensive list.  Newer models of those listed here are also supported.

OS	Make	Model
MacOS	Apple	MacBook Pro introduced in 2012 or later MacBook Air introduced in 2012 or later MacBook introduced in 2015 or later Mac mini introduced in 2012 or later iMac introduced in 2012 or later iMac Pro Mac Studio Mac Pro introduced in late 2013 or later
Windows	AMD	AMD Radeon™ RX 5700 Series AMD Radeon™ R9 Series graphics AMD Radeon™ R7 Series graphics AMD Radeon™ R5 240 graphics AMD Radeon™ HD 8000 Series graphics for OEM systems (HD 8570 and up) AMD Radeon™ HD 8000M Series graphics for notebooks AMD Radeon™ HD 7000 Series graphics (HD 7730 and up AMD Radeon™ HD 7000M Series graphics for notebooks (HD 7730M and up) AMD A4/A6/A8/A10-7000 Series APUs AMD A6/A8/A10 PRO-7000 Series APUs AMD A6/A8/A10/FX™ 8000 Series APUs AMD E1/A4/A10 Micro-6000 Series APUs AMD E1/E2/A4/A6/A8-6000 Series APUs AMD A4-1200, A4-1300 and A6-1400 Series APUs AMD E1-2000, E2-3000, A4-5000, A6-5000, and A4 Pro-3000 Series APUs See More
	Nvidia	Maxwell Architecture/GeForce 900 series and above.  See More