System requirements
What hardware SimpliGen needs, what your GPU can run, and how long generations take.
The short version
- Windows 10/11 only. There is no macOS, Linux, or Android version today.
- Local generation needs an NVIDIA GPU, RTX 20-series or newer. AMD and Intel GPUs are not supported for local generation (the engine is CUDA-based).
- Cloud generation works on any PC. It runs on SimpliGen's GPUs, so your graphics card doesn't matter. If your GPU is below the requirements, Cloud is the intended path.
No supported GPU? You can still use everything
Every cloud-enabled preset runs on our GPUs with credits, and API presets (Google, OpenAI) run on the provider's servers. Only local generation needs an NVIDIA card.
What your GPU can run locally
| Your NVIDIA GPU | Images | Video |
|---|---|---|
| 4-6 GB VRAM | Most image presets work | Not realistic; use Cloud |
| 8 GB VRAM | Everything | Lightweight / low-VRAM video presets only, at lower resolutions |
| 12 GB VRAM | Everything | Most video presets at moderate settings |
| 16 GB+ VRAM | Everything | Everything, including the heavier video models |
Also plan for:
- RAM: 16 GB minimum, 32 GB recommended for video. Video models spill into system RAM heavily; more RAM genuinely helps.
- Disk: models are large (single video models can be 10-30 GB). Set your storage location in Settings -> Storage before installing big presets.
- Windows page file: heavy video generation can need a large page file. If generations crash near the end, see Out of memory.
Many presets ship several variants (for example fp8 and GGUF builds of the same model). The app picks a variant that fits your GPU, and the preset card lets you choose; a smaller variant trades some quality for fitting into less VRAM.
How long does a generation take?
Local generation takes minutes, not seconds. That is normal. Rough expectations:
- Images: seconds to a couple of minutes on most supported cards.
- Video on a 16 GB+ desktop card: a few minutes for a 5-second 480p clip; high resolutions take much longer.
- Video on an 8 GB card (especially laptops): 30-60 minutes for a 5-second clip on a lightweight preset is within normal range.
Start at 480p and 5 seconds to validate a prompt, then scale up. Every resolution tier and extra second multiplies VRAM use and time. Cloud generation is much faster because it runs on datacenter GPUs.
Cards and setups that do NOT work locally
- AMD and Intel GPUs: not supported. On the wishlist, but with no timeline.
- NVIDIA GTX 10-series and older (GTX 1080, 1060, 1050 Ti...): the PyTorch version the engine uses no longer supports these architectures. You may see
CUDA error: no kernel image is available for execution on the device. - Workstation cards from the same era (Quadro M6000, P5000...): same architecture limitation.
- Macs: the installer is a Windows
.exe; it will not run on macOS. - Phones / tablets: no.
If the installer or engine reports UNSUPPORTED_HARDWARE, your GPU falls into one of the groups above.
Virtual machines and rented GPUs
Running SimpliGen inside a VM or on a virtualized GPU (Azure, some rented cloud desktops) is hit-or-miss: virtual GPUs often lack memory-management features the engine uses. If the engine crashes on a vGPU, enable Virtual GPU compatibility in Settings. Renting a GPU server (RunPod and similar) to run SimpliGen remotely is not a supported setup; use built-in Cloud generation instead.
Multiple GPUs
SimpliGen uses one GPU. If you have several, the app picks the most capable one. Multi-GPU pooling is not supported.