Created Date：2021.08.12
Updated Date：2025.10.02
When considering implementing IJCAD, one of the main points of concern is likely the system requirements. In fact, compared to AutoCAD, IJCAD is more lightweight and has lower minimum required specifications, making it a recommended CAD software for those who find that AutoCAD is too demanding and slows down their work.
In this article, we provide a detailed and easy-to-understand explanation for beginners installing CAD for the first time. We will cover IJCAD's system requirements, how to check your own machine's specs, the meaning of each system component, and what happens if your computer's specifications are insufficient.
The system requirements for IJCAD 2021 are publicly available on the official website and are as follows.
| System | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| CPU | Core i5 or higher recommended |
| RAM | Minimum: 2GB Recommended: 8GB or more ※Depending on the size of the drawing data, a higher RAM environment may be required. |
| HDD | 550MB or more |
| Supported OS | Windows® 8.1 / 10 Version 20H2 64-bit OS recommended |
| Display Card | Recommended: 2GB GPU (Has been confirmed to work with on-board graphics such as Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000) |
| Other | .NET Framework 4.8 |
Now, let's take a closer look.
The CPU, or Central Processing Unit, is the central part of a machine; it's like the brain of the computer. The performance of a machine depends on the processing speed of this CPU, so the lower the CPU's specs, the slower the CAD software will operate and process.
For IJCAD, a Core i5 or higher is recommended. The Core i5 is an intermediate-rank CPU called a mid-range model and is a model that is often installed in commonly used personal computers.
RAM, or Random Access Memory, is the main storage device, and it is the main memory used when the CPU performs processing. RAM is a place to temporarily store rewritable data, and it's like the size of your desk when you're working. A wider desk = larger RAM capacity, which means you can work with plenty of room even with multiple apps open.
A similar name is ROM, but this refers to a storage area. It stands for 「Read Only Memory」, which is read-only memory that cannot be written to. However, only on smartphones, ROM may sometimes refer to storage capacity.
For IJCAD, the minimum system requirement is 2GB, so in many cases, even laptops will meet the requirement. However, the smaller the RAM capacity, the less you can process at one time, so we recommend using a computer with 8GB or more, which is the recommended system environment.
An HDD, or Hard Disk Drive, is a type of auxiliary storage device that can write and read data. Photos and music on your computer are stored on this HDD, allowing you to add new ones, edit, or delete them. With RAM, which we just introduced, it's common for all data to be erased when the computer is turned off, but an HDD retains data without it being erased.
The 550MB listed in IJCAD's system requirements does not mean that the HDD itself only needs to be 550MB or larger. Here, it represents 「how much free space the HDD has」, so it means that while the total capacity of the HDD doesn't matter, you need at least 550MB of free space.
The supported OS (Operating System) is the most fundamental application that manages the entire computer system. You are probably familiar with terms like 「Windows 10」 or 「Windows 8.1」.
IJCAD 2021 only supports Windows 10 and Windows 8.1. Windows 7 was supported up to IJCAD 2019, but subsequent versions seem to only support Windows 8.1 or higher.
A display card, also called a graphics card or graphics board, is a type of expansion card for displaying images on a computer screen. It comes standard on PCs that require a screen display, but if advanced display processing like 3D is necessary, a display card with correspondingly high display capabilities is required.
As for other system requirements, there is a mention of 「.NET Framework 4.8」. This indicates that IJCAD can be launched with the support of the .NET Framework, and if .NET Framework 4.8 is not installed, IJCAD cannot be started.
.NET Framework is a runtime execution environment for running applications. It allows programs developed in various languages to be executed without depending on the computer's environment by converting them into a common intermediate language that the .NET Framework supports.
.NET Framework can be downloaded from the Microsoft website.
Now, we've explained the system requirements up to this point, but you can't make a comparison without checking your own machine's specs, can you? You can check your machine's specs using the following method.
To check your display card, you can type 'dxdiag' into the search bar next to the Start menu and launch the 'DirectX Diagnostic Tool'.
