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System Requirements for Graphics

Minimum System Requirements

All systems support most of the common MATLAB® graphics features.

Recommended System Requirements

For the best results with graphics, your system must have:

  • At least 1 GB of GPU memory.

  • Graphics hardware that supports a hardware-accelerated implementation of OpenGL® 2.1 or later. Most graphics hardware released since 2006 has OpenGL 2.1 or later. If you have an earlier version of OpenGL, most graphics features still work, but some advanced graphics features are unavailable. For more information, see Graphics Features That Have Specific Requirements. For the best performance, OpenGL 4.0 or later is recommended.

  • The latest versions of graphics drivers available from your computer manufacturer or graphics hardware vendor.

For more information on determining your graphics hardware, see rendererinfo.

Starting in R2015b, MATLAB is a DPI-aware application that takes advantage of your full system resolution. MATLAB graphics look sharp and properly scaled on all systems, including Macintosh systems connected to Apple Retina® displays and high-DPI Windows® systems.

Upgrade Your Graphics Drivers

Graphics hardware vendors frequently provide updated graphics drivers that improve hardware performance. To help ensure that your graphics hardware works with MATLAB, upgrade your graphics drivers to the latest versions available.

  • On Windows systems, check your computer manufacturer website for driver updates, such as Lenovo®, HP®, or Dell®. If no updates are provided, then check your graphics hardware vendor website, such as the AMD® website, NVIDIA® website, or Intel® website.

  • On Linux® systems, use proprietary vendor drivers instead of open-source replacements.

  • On Macintosh systems, the graphics drivers are part of the operating system. Use the latest updates provided.

Graphics Features That Have Specific Requirements

Most graphics features work on all systems. However, support for some graphics features depends on:

  • Whether you are using a hardware, basic hardware, or software implementation of the graphics renderer. By default, MATLAB uses hardware-accelerated graphics if your graphics hardware supports it. Basic hardware and software OpenGL are alternate options that you can use to work around low-level graphics issues. In some cases, MATLAB automatically switches to software OpenGL. For more information, see rendererinfo.

  • The version of the renderer implementation, for example, OpenGL 2.1.

This table lists the advanced graphics features and the circumstances under which they are supported. For more information on the features, see rendererinfo.

Graphics Feature Hardware OpenGL Basic Hardware OpenGL Software OpenGL on WindowsSoftware OpenGL on Linux WebGL™
Graphics SmoothingSupported for OpenGL 2.1 or higherSupported for OpenGL 2.1 or higherNot supportedNot supportedSupported
Depth Peel TransparencySupported for OpenGL 2.1 or higherDisabledNot supportedSupportedSupported
Align Vertex CentersSupported for OpenGL 2.1 or higherDisabledNot supportedNot supportedSupported
Hardware-accelerated markersSupported for OpenGL 4.0 or higherDisabledNot supportedNot supportedSupported

See Also

Functions

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