To optimize performance, you can make adjustments within your environment to create the best possible chance for success in the operation of your AutoCAD product. The check list below is a general list that has shown success for users on a broad scale:

In the Windows environment:

  • Verify your hardware meets or exceeds the minimum system requirements (see System requirements for AutoCAD). Remember you will have other programs that may also take a great deal of RAM on your system. If you are planning on running them at the same time, you should have at least 2GB of RAM free available when all programs are active.
  • Verify you are using an approved/certified driver for your video card (see Autodesk Certified Hardware).
  • Download and install the latest service pack and hotfixes for your AutoCAD software (see Autodesk Downloads).
  • Set AutoCAD to run as administrator (see How to set a program to run as administrator).
  • Set User Account Control (UAC) to “Never notify” (see How to turn off User Account Control in Windows).
  • Change the desktop theme in Windows to Windows Basic.
  • Stop and disable the Windows Presentation Foundation Font Cache:
  1. Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.
  2. Scroll down to ‘Windows Presentation Foundation Font Cache 3.0.0.0’.
  3. Right-click it and go into Properties.
  4. Stop the service.

Within AutoCAD:

  • Toggle hardware acceleration on and off (see How to enable or disable hardware acceleration in AutoCAD). One way may work better than the other for your specific system and the types of drawings you work with.
  • Go to Options to the Display tab and turn off the “Show Tool Tips” and “Show rollover Tool tips” and then shut off “Quick properties.”
  • You may also try and do a cleanup on slow drawings that may have performance issues (see How to repair corrupt AutoCAD files)

Note:  You will want to test the steps above to find the best configured results in your specific environment.  Not all changes will have the same effect on all systems which is why it is important to test and compare results.

If you have any questions or comments, please reply to this post, or email me at [email protected]