# Computer Hardware Requirements

When assembling PCs for your ViDi application, refer to the following general guidelines for either a deployment or training PC (see the separate topics for specific requirements applicable to those configurations):

- USB 2.0

  A USB port for a permanent connection to the Cognex Security Dongle via USB 2.0.

  Note:

  The VisionPro, Designer and ViDi software require that a valid Cognex Security Dongle be installed directly to PCs running the software during all phases of operation (programming, processing, training, testing, etc.). Any attempts to temporarily remove, substitute, or share a Cognex Security Dongle may cause your system to operate incorrectly, and may result in the loss of data.

  When ViDi is configured for the Client/Server functionality, and a computer has been configured as a server, the Cognex Security Dongle must be attached to the server, but the client(s) does not need a Cognex Security Dongle.

- System Memory (RAM)

  The minimum amount of RAM should be equal to the sum of all GPU memory. For example, if you have two NVIDIA GeForce® RTX™ 2080 Ti GPUs, which each have 11 GB of memory, the PC should have 22 GB of RAM.

- Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

  While technically a GPU is not required, it greatly improves the speed and performance while training ViDi tools. Therefore, Cognex highly recommends the use of a GPU.

  When selecting a GPU, Cognex only supports NVIDIA GPUs. Consider the following when choosing an NVIDIA GPU:

  At a minimum, an NVIDIA® CUDA® enabled GPU. When selecting an NVIDIA GPU, a unit with a higher core clock frequency, CUDA cores and Tensor cores will result in faster computational speeds. Due to this, Cognex strongly recommends the use of NVIDIA Quadro and Tesla GPUs for the following reasons:

  - These GPUs support the compute-optimized Tesla Compute Cluster (TCC) mode.
  - These GPUs are designed and tested for continuous duty-cycle operation.
  - These GPUs undergo rigorous testing and qualification by NVIDIA.

- Power Supply

  When selecting your power supply, include a 25% margin above the requirement to accommodate the system and GPU power requirements, i.e. select a power supply that is 1.25 times the system and GPU power requirements.