These are the recommended hardware and software components for the listed Arden Software products. In general, meeting or exceeding these specifications will provide improved performance, a better user experience and a longer compatibility with future Impact releases.
Existing hardware of lower specifications could be utilised and in these cases the specifications should be verified by your support representative prior to installation.
Note, this article covers all released versions of Impact 2019 (v11.x) including Release 2 and Release 2 Service Pack 1
Impact 2019
Hardware Requirements
- Intel® Core™ i5/i7/i9 CPU1 or equivalent
- 8GB Memory or greater
- 2GB nVidia graphics card2 or greater
- Monitor capable of resolution 1920 x 1080 or greater [See also Multiple Monitor Support]
Software Requirements
- Windows 7/8/8.1/10/11 [See also Supported Operating Systems]
- Windows Installer
- A suitable database engine to host the design database, e.g. SQL Server or Oracle3
- Appropriate database client drivers
1. An important consideration with processor selection for an Impact CAD client is that those CPUs with higher clock speed tend to perform more strongly than those with more cores. Pay particular attention to the 'single thread speed' offered by each available CPU.
2. Consideration should be made for the type of work to be carried out. Those frequently working with 3D, graphics and animation should pay close attention to the graphics card requirements.
3. Refer to [Supported Database Platforms] for more information on design database hosting options.
NOTE: Installing and using Impact CAD software on a Terminal Services or Remote Desktop Services (RDS) server (e.g. Citrix) is not typically recommended due the highly graphical nature of CAD software. However, both Citrix and Microsoft do have solutions designed specifically for this available. Windows Server 2016 for example is the first version that adds support for OpenGL 4.4. It should be further noted that you cannot use standalone, Nalpeiron licensing service with this configuration, instead Impact Licence Server is required.
Impact 2019 Viewer
As per Impact 2019 requirements.
Impact 2019 Licence Server
Impact 2019 Licence Server supports both a traditional hardware dongle or dongleless version. The latter was introduced for virtual server and cloud hosted environments, but also has the advantage of have no physical component that can break, get lost or stolen.
Hardware Requirements
- USB port1
Software Requirements
- Windows 7/8/8.1/11 or Windows Server 2008/2012/2014/2016/2019 [See also Supported Operating Systems]
- Windows Installer
- DESkey ‘DK2’ Dongle Drivers2
1. Required only for the hardware dongle based version of Impact 2019 Licence Server
2. Required for BOTH hardware dongle and dongleless versions of Impact 2019 Licence Server
Impact 2019 Licence Server Administrator
Hardware Requirements
- None
Software Requirements
- As per Licence Server
Further Information
Supported Operating Systems
Whilst the operating systems listed in each product’s software requirements reflect the recommended options, other supported operating systems include:
- Both 32 and 64 bit versions of those operating systems mentioned
Windows Vista, though we do not recommend it as Microsoft ended mainstream support on 10 April 2012.
Windows 11 was released after Impact 2019, but it is since tested and proven to be supported without notable issues.
WARNING: Impact and affiliated products will no longer install on Windows XP because Microsoft ended support for it in April 2014. Similarly, Windows 2000 is no longer supported. Windows Server 2003 is also no longer be supported for our server-based software
Supported Database Platforms
Impact relies upon a database engine to hold its data that's then accessible by one or more clients.
Impact 2019 requires that your database server is running up-to-date software, as follows:
Microsoft SQL
- SQL Server 2008 SP1, version 10.00.2531 or later
- SQL Server 2008 R2, version 10.50.1600 or later
- SQL Server 2012 (11.0)
- SQL Server 2014 (12.0)
- SQL Server 2016 (13.0)
- SQL Server 2017 (14.0)
SQL Server 2019 (15.0)
TIP: For SQL Server databases, the compatibility level needs to be “SQL Server 2005 (90)” or higher.
Oracle
- Oracle 11g Release 1, version 11.1.0.6 or later
- Oracle 12c
- Oracle 18c
- Oracle 19c
MySQL
- MySQL, version 5.1 or later
Multiple Monitor Support
Working with multiple monitors can offer great flexibility for arranging your Impact toolbars and toolboxes for maximum productivity, and allow you to access greater screen real estate for the drawing canvas.
Impact supports multiple monitor arrangements, and will remember the position of any undocked or floating toolbars. It is recommended that each monitor has the same resolution or relative DPI configured, and also respect the same scaling options.