This article details operating system requirements, hardware requirements and license compatibility for previous releases of Opticstudio back to 14.2.

Authored By Don Dickinson

Introduction

This article details system requirements and license compatibility for legacy releases of Opticstudio.

Note that not all releases mentioned here are available for download. Releases are phased out after 2 years per the legacy software policy. The legacy software policy and downloads are on the Opticstudio Downloads page.

If you are looking for system requirements of the latest Opticstudio releases or the Opticstudio Online edition, see System Requirements.

Release Notes are also available.

General Requirements for all OpticStudio releases.

• Windows Operating System. Windows 7 or higher (32 bit or 64 bit for OpticStudio 14.2-15.5 Service Pack 3. 64 bit required for 16 and up)
• Intel or AMD processor. Multiple core processors recommended for optimal performance. 
• 2GB system memory. 2GB per processor core recommended for optimal performance.
• Graphics card that supports DirectX 11.0 and 512MB Video RAM.
• Disk drive with 2.2GB space free for the initial download and installation. 100GB free recommended for working and temporary files.
• Minimum display resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels (Full HD 1920x1080 recommended)
• Internet and email access recommended for updates and support but not required. 
• Adobe® Reader or compatible application for program documentation
• Network licensed OpticStudio requires TCP/IP network
• Two-button mouse with the scroll wheel or equivalent trackpad

Operating System Requirements And Other Prerequisites

The below chart gives details of system requirements and prerequisites for OpticStudio. 

General notes

• OpticStudio 15.5 Sp3 was the last to offer both a 32 bit and 64-bit release. OpticStudio 16 and up requires a 64 bit CPU and OS.
• OpticStudio 16.5 Sp1 was the first release that no longer supports Windows 8.0 and requires 8.1 (due to the switch to .NET 4.6.2).
• The required .NET and Directx versions will be downloaded automatically when installing OpticStudio if not already on the machine. 
• Not all the listed releases are still available to download as Zemax phases out and removes releases older than 2 years from the website. 

License Type Compatibility Chart

OpticStudio has changed licensing methods since it was originally released. New licenses have limited backward compatibility. This chart gives a comprehensive list of what versions support each license type.

Mac OS, Linux, and Virtual Machines

Although OpticStudio is intended to run on the Windows platforms listed above, you can run OpticStudio on Linux, Unix, and BSD-based operating systems like Mac OS by using a virtual machine with a Windows environment. More information can be found in the KB article How to Run OpticStudio on an Intel-based Mac Computer.

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