Google SketchUp is a 3-D modeling tool available under the name SketchUp in a more consumer-friendly format and as SketchUp Pro for professionals. Although SketchUp is free to download and use, it does not have some of the advanced features of SketchUp Pro. The system requirements for both versions are the same. Learn more about the minimum and suggested system specifications for SketchUp to ensure optimum compatibility with your computer. Windows users need Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 or later and Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 to use SketchUp. Make sure you have Service Pack 2 or higher if you wish to use SketchUp Pro 8 on Windows XP. Mac users should have QuickTime 5.0 and the Safari web browser. SketchUp does not support Boot Camp or Parallels. Windows XP requires at least 512MB RAM, but Windows 7, Vista and Mac users need a minimum of 1GB. Use a computer with at least 2GB RAM for best results. Your video card must also support OpenGL 1.5. According to Google, SketchUp does not work well on Intel graphics card. Make sure you update your video card with the latest drivers from your manufacturer. The ATI Rage Pro and Matrox G400 video cards may not display projected textures properly unless you disable hardware acceleration. You cannot license SketchUp over a Wide Area Network (WAN). Also note that licenses are not interchangeable between platforms. A Windows license will not work on a Mac computer and vice versa.
