FreeForm Systems - System Requirements
Last Updated - March 2012

It is our policy to continually evaluate and qualify new computer systems and hardware subsystems as they become available. For the latest information about hardware compatibility and qualification notes, please revisit this page or contact your local SensAble reseller.

Product:
FreeForm and FreeForm Plus systems

Current Shipping Versions:
FreeForm v12, 32-bit
FreeForm Plus v12, 32-bit
FreeForm v12, 64-bit
FreeForm Plus v12, 64-bit

This page contains the following sections:

FreeForm and Plus - 32-bit Editions Minimum System Requirements
FreeForm and Plus - 64-bit Editions Minimum System Requirements

Qualified Configurations v12 - coming soon
Qualified Configurations v11
Qualified Configurations v10

Important Notes

FreeForm & Plus v12 - 32-bit Editions Minimum System Requirements

The 32-bit editions of the FreeForm software are designed to run on the Microsoft®
Windows® 7, XP Professional (32 bit edition), or Windows Vista (32 bit edition).
We do not recommend using the home editions of the operating systems.

Running the system requires the following:

  • At least 4GB of free hard disk space (1GB for application files and the rest for temporary and working files). Larger files may require more disk space to assure sufficient performance.
  • 1280 x 960 or higher display resolution
  • Either:
    > PHANTOM Desktop:
    > PHANTOM Omni: IEEE-1394A compatible FireWire Card*
  • PHANTOM Device Driver v5.1.2 or later

Additionally, your machine must meet the following requirements:

*The PHANTOM Omni device is IEEE 1394A compliant. However, SensAble is aware of customers that have experienced difficulties. See Important Notes below for more information.

FreeForm & Plus v12 - 64-bit Editions Minimum System Requirements

The 64-bit editions of the FreeForm software are designed to run on the Microsoft®
Windows® 7, XP Professional (64 bit edition), or Windows Vista (64 bit edition).
We do not recommend using the home editions of the operating systems.

Running the system requires the following:

  • At least 4GB of free hard disk space (1GB for application files and the rest for temporary and working files). Larger files may require more disk space to assure sufficient performance.
  • 1280 x 960 or higher display resolution
  • Either:
    > PHANTOM Desktop:
    > PHANTOM Omni: IEEE-1394A compatible FireWire Card*
  • PHANTOM Device Driver v5.1.2 or later

Additionally, your machine must meet the following requirements:

  • (2) Intel Dual-Core Xeon (Woodcrest) 5150/ 2.66 GHz, 4MB L2, 1333 MHz FSB or better
  • 4GB RAM (If you will be using Autosurfacer, 8GB RAM is required). Larger files may require more RAM to assure sufficient performance.
  • A SensAble-compatible graphics card with drivers supporting OpenGL version 2.1 or later.

* The PHANTOM Omni device is IEEE 1394A compliant. However, SensAble is aware of customers that have experienced difficulties. See Important Notes below for more information.

FreeForm Modeling and FreeForm Modeling Plus v11 Qualified Configurations

SensAble has tested and qualified the following specific configurations. Choosing one of these configurations will ensure the best possible experience when running the FreeForm system.

Important: Using the FreeForm system with one or more discrete components of a fully qualified configuration (graphics card, for example) as part of an a la carte configuration does not imply qualification of any kind, partial or otherwise.

Graphics Cards - Want information about compatible graphics cards? Visit Support > Graphics Cards.

PHANTOM Device Driver version 4.2.131 is required for Windows 7

Desktop Workstations

HP Z400, with single 6 core Intel® Xeon® W3680 @3.33GHz

  • Qualified for Windows7 32bit and 64bit
  • 12.0GB RAM
  • A SensAble-approved graphics card
  • BIOS Version: 3.07 or newer
  • Firewire driver: LSI 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller, version 6.1.7600.16385
  • Haptic Device Connectivity

Laptops

SensAble has qualified only the following laptops for use with FreeForm. These laptops are suitable for demonstrations and working at home, for optimum performance we recommend using one of the qualified desktop workstations.

HP 8740w Intel® Core® i7 Q820 @ 1.73GHz

  • Qualified for Windows7 32bit and 64bit
  • 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2D)
  • NVIDIA Quadro FX 3800M graphics with 1 GB dedicated GDDR3 video memory
  • 17.0-inch diagonal LED-backlit DreamColor® WUXGA WVA anti-glare (1920 x 1200)
  • NVIDIA graphics driver 259.74
  • BIOS Version: F.09 or newer
  • Firewire driver: RICOH 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller, version 6.1.7600.16440

FreeForm Modeling and FreeForm Modeling Plus v10 Qualified Configurations

SensAble has tested and qualified the following specific configurations. Choosing one of these configurations will ensure the best possible experience when running the FreeForm system.

The qualified systems can be configured for Windows XP Professional 32 or 64-bit or Windows Vista 32 or 64-bit. We do not recommend using the home editions of the operating systems.

The qualified systems are robust high performance workstations and can be downgraded for economic considerations by reducing the number of processors from two to one, reducing memory and selecting a mid-range graphics card from the FreeForm-compatible graphics cards. If the user changes the processor or component types then the system is no longer qualified.

Desktop Workstations

Dell Precision T7500 Mini-Tower with two Quad Core Xeon E5430 processors, 2.66GHz, 2X 6MB L2 Cache,1333MHz

  • 4GB, DDR2 ECC SDRAM Memory 667MHz, 4X1GB
  • nVidia Quadro FX1700 512MB dual DVI Graphics Card
  • 146GB 3Gbps SAS, 15K RPM Hard Drive, 3.5 Inch
  • Haptic device connectivity
    • PHANTOM Desktop connected to onboard parallel port
    • PHANTOM Desktop with PHANTOM Communication Converter connected to onboard Firewire port.
    • PHANTOM Omni connected to onboard Firewire 1394A port.

HP Z600 with dual quad-core XEON X5550 CPU (2.66 GHz)

  • 4GB RAM
  • SATA Hard Drive
  • A SensAble-approved graphics card
  • Haptic Device Connectivity

HP Z800 with dual quad-core XEON X5520 CPU (2.27 GHz)

  • 12GB RAM
  • SeaGate Hard Drive
  • A SensAble-approved graphics card
  • Haptic Device Connectivity

Important Notes

  • SensAble has tested a variety of hardware platforms in combination with the graphics subsystems listed above. While we make every attempt to be as thorough as possible, hardware manufacturers change their products frequently and may be shipping newer products or have discontinued active support for others.
  • If you run FreeForm on a non-qualified system that meets the system requirements described above and experience problems, SensAble support will make every effort to help solve the problems but cannot guarantee resolution.
  • Some SensAble FreeForm users have had success running system configurations that deviate from the above. In such cases, these configurations are not officially supported by SensAble Technologies, Inc.
  • The PHANTOM Omni device is IEEE 1394A compliant. However, Sensable is aware of customers that have experienced performance difficulties with their PHANTOM devices when using controller cards with certain IEEE 1394A chipset, such as NEC, or driver combinations. In these cases, it may be necessary to update or change the 1394 controller card driver or to try a separate add-on 1394 controller card.
  • Note: SensAble doesn't officially support Mac machines; however, some SensAble customers have had success in running FreeForm with Windows on Mac using Boot Camp.

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