What are the system requirements of Corona?

Basic Facts

• Corona is entirely CPU-based (with optional GPU AI denoising which requires a compatible GPU)
• Offers unbiased and biased rendering
• The two commercially available plugins work with 3ds Max and Cinema 4D
• Corona can be used on Windows and macOS

Hardware Requirements

• Corona requires a CPU that supports the SSE 4.2 instruction set. Only very old CPUs don't support it.
   
• To use our optional preview denoisers during interactive rendering, you need:
  • For the NVIDIA GPU AI denoiser: an NVIDIA GPU with Maxwell or newer architecture and the newest GPU driver. Not all mobile GPUs are supported.
  • For the Intel GPU AI denoiser: an NVIDIA GPU with Volta, Turing, Ampere, Ada Lovelace, Hopper, or newer architecture.  
    Note: these denoisers are optional, and Corona works fine even if they are not installed. We also offer a Corona denoiser, which utilizes purely the CPU, and this denoiser can be used on any computer which can run Corona.
     
• There are no other hardware requirements.

Software Requirements

3ds Max version

• Autodesk 3ds Max version 2018 or newer
  Note: older versions of Corona can be used with older 3ds Max versions
   
• 64-bit Microsoft Windows 10 or newer
  • Note: Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025. We recommend using Windows 11 for continued security updates and optimal performance.
• Installation requires administrator privileges
• Distributed rendering also requires Autodesk Backburner, available for free from Autodesk

Cinema 4D version

• MAXON Cinema 4D R17 or newer
  Note: older versions of Corona can be used with older Cinema 4D versions
   
• Windows
  • 64-bit Microsoft Windows 10 or newer
    • Note: Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025. We recommend using Windows 11 for continued security updates and optimal performance.
• macOS
  • Corona 14 and newer: macOS 11 (Big Sur) or newer
  • Corona 13 and older: macOS 10.14 (Mojave) or newer
• Installation requires administrator privileges

AI Denoisers

• To ensure smooth operation and best performance for interactive denoisers (NVIDIA OptiX and Intel OIDN), please make sure you are using the newest driver available for your graphics card. The drivers can be downloaded from nvidia.com.

AI Upscaling

• From Corona 12 Update 1, NVIDIA AI upscaling is available. This feature requires an NVIDIA GPU and automatically enables the NVIDIA AI Denoiser. Please ensure you have the latest drivers from nvidia.com for optimal performance.

What hardware do you recommend?

Corona is a CPU-only renderer, which means the faster your CPU, the faster your renders. If you want to compare different processors, check out the Corona benchmark scores here: Corona Benchmark. You can also look at cpubenchmark.net for general CPU comparisons.

In short: set your budget, and pick the CPU with the highest score you can afford—that will give you the best rendering performance.

You’ll also need a good graphics card, but only for smooth viewport performance in your 3D software (3ds Max or Cinema 4D). Corona itself doesn’t use the GPU for rendering—it’s purely CPU-based.

As for memory, RAM is crucial. These days, 32 GB is the minimum, 64 GB is the sweet spot, and more is always better if you’re working on heavy, complex scenes.

We don’t recommend specific hardware brands or models, but if you’d like personal advice from other artists, feel free to post in our Hardware Forum Section—our community is always happy to share what works best for them.