Minimum: Entry-Level Configuration

Operating System*

Microsoft® Windows®7 32-bit

Enterprise
Ultimate
Professional
Home Premium
Microsoft® Windows® XP SP2 (or later)

Professional
Home
Browser

Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 7.0 (or later)

CPU Type

Single- or Multi-Core Intel® Pentium®, Xeon®, or i-Series processor or AMD® equivalent with SSE2 technology. Highest affordable CPU speed rating recommended.

Autodesk® Revit® software products will use multiple cores for many tasks, using up to 16 cores for near-photorealistic rendering operations.

Memory

4 GB RAM

Models created in previous versions of Revit software products may require more available memory for the one-time upgrade process.
/3GB RAM switch not recommended. Revit software and system stability can be affected by memory conflicts with video drivers when the /3GB switch is active.
Video Display

1,280 x 1,024 with true color

Video Adapter

Basic Graphics:
Display adapter capable of 24-bit color

Advanced Graphics:
DirectX® 10 capable graphics card with Shader Model 3 as recommended by Autodesk.

Hard Disk

5 GB free disk space

Pointing Device

MS-Mouse or 3Dconnexion® compliant device

Media

Download or installation from DVD9 or USB key

Connectivity

Internet connection for license registration and prerequisite component download

32-Bit Autodesk Revit Architecture

• Microsoft® Windows® 7 32-bit Enterprise, Ultimate, Professional, or Home Premium; Microsoft® Windows Vista® 32-bit (SP2 or later) Enterprise, Ultimate, Business, or Home Premium; or Microsoft® Windows® XP (SP2 or later) Professional or Home*
• Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon™ dual core, 3.0 GHz (or higher) with SSE2 technology for Microsoft Windows 7 32-bit or Microsoft Windows Vista 32-bit (SP2 or later). Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon dual core, 1.6 GHz (or higher) with SSE2 technology for Microsoft Windows XP (SP2 or later)
• 3 GB RAM <== Way too Low!!
• 5 GB free disk space
• 1,280 x 1,024 monitor with true color
• Display adapter capable of 24-bit color for basic graphics; 256 MB DirectX® 9-capable graphics card with Shader Model 3 for advanced graphics. Find out more about recommended graphics hardware.
• Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 7.0 (or later)
• Microsoft Mouse-compliant pointing device
• Download or installation from DVD
• Internet connectivity for license registration

64-Bit Autodesk Revit Architecture

• Microsoft® Windows® 7 64-bit Enterprise, Ultimate, Professional, or Home Premium; Microsoft® Windows Vista® 64-bit (SP2 or later) Enterprise, Ultimate, Business, or Home Premium; or Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional x64 edition (SP2 or later).*
• Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon™ dual core, 3.0 GHz (or higher) with SSE2 technology for Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit or Microsoft Windows Vista 64-bit (SP2 or later). Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon dual core, 1.6 GHz (or higher) with SSE2 technology for Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 edition (SP2 or later)
• 3 GB RAM <== Way too Low!!
• 5 GB free disk space
• 1,280 x 1,024 monitor with true color
• Display adapter capable of 24-bit color for basic graphics; 256 MB DirectX® 9-capable graphics card with Shader Model 3 for advanced graphics. Find out more about recommended graphics hardware.
• Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 7.0 (or later)
• Microsoft Mouse-compliant pointing device
• Download or installation from DVD
• Internet connectivity for license registration

Performance Recommendations

• Microsoft® Windows® 7 64-bit Enterprise, Ultimate, Professional, or Home Premium
• Quad Core Intel® Xeon® Processor (2.50 GHz, 2X6M L2, 1333) or equivalent AMD processor
• 8 GB RAM (or more) <== Still too Low???  I think so.
• 1,280 x 1,024 monitor with true color
• 1 GB (or more) DirectX® 9-capable graphics card with Shader Model 3. Find out more about recommended graphics hardware.

I recently installed Revit 2010 on a MacBook Pro.  The MacBook had Boot Camp installed and also VMWare Fusion 3.  The install went onto the Boot Camp partition fairly easily.  The Boot Camp partition was Windows XP.  I installed Revit 2010 on my laptop with Windows 7 – so I am testing it out on that also.

Using Boot Camp is better with VMware Fusion. I no longer have to choose between Windows and Mac at startup. I can run my Windows partition side-by-side with the Mac OS. VMware Fusion automatically recognizes my Boot Camp partition and lets me run it concurrently with the Mac. I can also run it in Unity mode which makes the partition sit right alongside my Mac programs as if it were part of the Mac OS.

You can also go to Full Screen to see the entire Revit program.  Just click on the VMWare option…

Boot Camp supports the 32-bit releases of Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Vista. You can run either operating system on your Mac at native speed by booting into the Windows environment.

Boot Camp Assistant creates a partition just for Windows XP without erasing your existing Mac OS X information.  The drivers are automatically installed after installing Windows when you insert the disc into your Macintosh.

After running Boot Camp and installing Windows XP or Vista, you can switch between Windows and Mac OS X by holding the Option (Alt) key at start up.

When you start your Mac, holding down the Options (Alt) key, it will offer you the bootable partitions.  Select Windows to boot directly into Windows.

I have noticed that the direct boot method is best for long term work.  Quick checks of models in Revit can be done via VMWare, but it is much slower than a direct Windows boot.

Want to run Revit on a Mac?

Here is a list of Questions and Answers for those that are thinking about it – found on the Autodesk website.

While this list is not specific to Revit – It is linked from the Revit page on Autodesk’s site. It shows AutoCAD based reviews, so take that into account.

You can filter and search based on Vendor or specific cards (if you have one in mind)

Go to the list

Here are the System Requirements and Recommendations for running Revit Arch 2010 on your PC. I suggest you go with the Recommendations.

System Requirements for 32-bit Autodesk Revit Architecture

* Microsoft® Windows Vista® 32-bit (SP1), including Ultimate, Business, or Home Premium edition, or Microsoft® Windows® XP (SP1 or SP2) Professional or Home edition*
* Intel® Pentium® 4 1.4 GHz or equivalent AMD® processor
* 3 GB RAM (1 GB RAM if no rendering is required)
* 5 GB free disk space
* 1280 x 1024 monitor and display adapter capable of 24-bit color
* Windows® Internet Explorer® 6.0 (SP1 or later)
* Microsoft Mouse-compliant pointing device
* Download or installation from DVD
* Internet connection for license registration

System Recommendations for 32-bit Autodesk Revit Architecture

* Windows XP Professional (SP2 or later)*
* Intel® Core™2 Duo 2.4 GHz or equivalent AMD processor
* 4 GB RAM
* 5 GB free disk space
* Dedicated video card with hardware support for Microsoft® DirectX® 9 (or later)
* Internet Explorer 6.0 (SP1 or later)
* Two-button mouse with scroll wheel

System Requirements for 64-bit Autodesk Revit Architecture

* Windows Vista 64-bit (SP1), including Ultimate, Business, or Home Premium edition, or Windows XP Professional (SP1) x64 edition*
* Pentium 4 1.4 GHz or equivalent AMD processor
* 3 GB RAM
* 5 GB free disk space
* 1280 x 1024 monitor and display adapter capable of 24-bit color
* Internet Explorer 6.0 (SP1 or later)
* Microsoft Mouse-compliant pointing device
* Download or installation from DVD
* Internet connection for license registration

System Recommendations for 64-bit Autodesk Revit Architecture

* Windows XP Professional x64 edition (SP1 or later)*
* Intel Core 2 Duo 2.40GHz or equivalent AMD processor
* 8 GB RAM
* 5 GB free disk space
* Dedicated video card with hardware support for DirectX 9 (or later)
* Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 (or later)
* Two-button mouse with scroll wheel