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This article summarizes the system requirements of nTop. For details on specific topics, browse the knowledge base or contact nTop support.
System Requirements:
Component Minimum Recommended High-Performance System Type Laptop or Desktop Workstation Desktop Workstation Desktop Workstation CPU Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7
(8+ cores, AVX compatible)Intel Core i9 or AMD Ryzen 9
(12+ cores, high clock speed)Intel Core i9 or AMD Ryzen 9
(16+ cores, latest gen)Memory (RAM) 64 GB 128 GB 256 GB or more Storage 500 GB SSD
(20% free space)1 TB NVMe M.2 SSD
(20% free space)2 TB NVMe M.2 SSD
(20% free space)Graphics Card NVIDIA GPU (Volta architecture or newer 2018+)
(8 GB VRAM min)NVIDIA RTX 4070 or equiv.
(12 GB VRAM)Latest NVIDIA RTX (e.g. 4090, 5000 Ada)
(24 GB VRAM)Drivers Latest NVIDIA drivers Performance Guidelines
CPU Performance: nTop performance is most significantly impacted by CPU core count and clock speed. High-end Intel or AMD processors with multiple cores will provide the best computational performance for meshing and optimization operations.
Memory Requirements: RAM is critical when working with large models, particularly for meshing and optimization applications. While 64 GB is the minimum, larger models (5M+ elements) can consume 128 GB or more during processing.
Graphics Performance: The GPU primarily affects rendering speed and real-time visualization. Larger models require more VRAM and a more powerful GPU to maintain responsive real-time rendering and smooth user interaction.
Storage Considerations:
- File Size: Meshing and optimization applications can generate files exceeding several gigabytes. Ensure adequate free space for both your project files and temporary system files.
- Speed: Fast NVMe M.2 SSDs significantly improve file loading times and overall system responsiveness.
System Compatibility Notes
Supported Configurations
- Operating System: Windows only (see What operating systems does nTop support?)
- Virtual Machines: Supported if GPU passthrough is enabled and minimum GPU requirements are met
- CPU Architecture: x86-64 processors only
Unsupported Configurations
- macOS or Linux: Not compatible, including virtualization via Parallels or Wine
- ARM CPUs: Not supported (including Apple Silicon Macs)
- AMD GPUs: nTop only officially supports NVIDIA GPUs
- Integrated Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics and similar integrated solutions are not supported
- Older NVIDIA GPUs: Pre-Volta architecture cards (before 2017) are not supported
- Multiple GPUs: nTop utilizes only one GPU; multiple GPU configurations offer no performance benefit
Hardware Requirements
- GPU: NVIDIA GPU with Volta architecture or newer (2018+) required with current drivers
- CPU Age: Processors must be newer than 10 years old to ensure AVX compatibility
- System Stability: Minimum specifications are required for functionality and stability
Important Notes
- nTop cannot provide technical assistance for systems that don't meet minimum requirements
- For optimal performance, consider specifications above minimum requirements
- Regular driver updates are essential for system stability and performance
Need Help? Get answers anytime by searching the knowledge base or contact support! We're always happy to help!
System Requirements Guide
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If you’re here, you’re probably trying to figure out how to get started with nTop. After reading this tutorial, you should be able to:
- Set up your nTop account
- Download the latest release of nTop
- Install, Open, and Update the Software
- View Help and Documentation
- Get Support
Before beginning, ensure that your workstation satisfies the minimum system requirements (nTop System and Licensing Requirements Guide).
1. Account Set-Up
After you reach out about nTop or talk to our Sales team, you will receive an email from no-reply@ntop.com. If you can't find it, it may be in your spam folder. If it isn't there, check out these tips and contact support if you still have issues.
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Open the email.
- Select Activate My Account.
- This takes you to app.ntop.com, where you can set up a new password. Your username will be the email address you used to sign up.
- If you have received nTop Licenses mail, it means that you have been issued nTop Licenses. Sometimes, the above email from Activate My Account can be seen as spam.
- If your link to set up your new account has expired, you can generate a new link by selecting Request. A new email will be sent to your email address. You can also use the Forgot Password option to reset your account.
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Set up a new password and click Save.
- Once you set up a new password, you will be taken to the login screen.
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Login using your email address and new password.
- You are now logged in to the nTop User Dashboard.
2. Download the Software
Upon logging in to the nTop User Dashboard, you will see a button on the home page to download the latest version of nTop.
- Select Download nTop and save the file to your desktop
While nTop is downloading, check out the resources available in the User Dashboard.
- nTop Learn- Our learning site has a wide variety of courses for users to enroll in
- nTop Support- Our support site contains a knowledge base of nTop-focused articles, access and installation information, release notes, and a link to contact our support team.
- Account Settings- View license information, change your password, or enable two-factor authentication
3. Install the Software
- Double-click on the nTop-X.X.X.msi to run the installer.
- Read and accept the EULA to continue with the installation.
- Choose the file location to save the program.
- Choose which Toolkits you want to install.
- Select Install.
4. Open the Software
- Double-click on the nTop icon (or search in the Windows search bar) to open the program.
- Enter your email address and password to log in.
- The Home page opens up, allowing you to start a new file, Open a new file, or open an existing example file.
5. Software Updates
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A green arrow appears in the upper right-hand corner when a new update is available. By selecting the button, you can view the Release Notes and download the latest updates.
- You will need to close nTop to install the latest version.
6. View Documentation and get Help
In the upper right-hand corner, select the '?' icon to open a sub-menu.
- About—It shows you your current nTop version and your license expiration date and has links to our EULA, Acknowledgments, and website.
- Documentation - This opens our nTop internal documentation. It contains information on navigating nTop's UI, shortcuts, block information, and more.
- What's New- Brings you to the Release Notes section of our internal documentation
- Support- This brings you to our support site, which contains a knowledge base of nTop-focused articles, access and installation information, release notes, and a link to contact our support team.
7. Get Support
Read about our support resources here: How do I get technical support?
And there you go! Following the instructions above, you should have nTop downloaded and ready to go. Now, you’ll be able to start using the program.
If you still have questions, our support team would be happy to help you.
More on this topic:
Getting Started with nTop
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Experiencing a recurring nTop support issue? Here are some recommended steps to troubleshoot the problem:
- Restart your computer to verify optimal system health. A simple restart solves many computer troubles. Keep in mind that Restart is not the same as Shut down. Restarting reinitializes Windows 10 and mitigates memory leaks.
- Are you using the latest version of nTop? We release updates with performance improvements and error fixes frequently.
- Is this issue specific to particular files? Can you reproduce the issue with the same files on a different system? These steps help determine if the problem is file-specific or a system problem.
- If the issue generates an error message, search our Knowledge Base for known solutions.
- Check that your system specifications are compatible with nTop.
- If your graphics card meets the nTop system requirements, we recommend using the latest driver. If your driver is outdated, download and install the newest release from the manufacturer’s website.
- Make sure your computer is configured to use the high-performance graphics card settings.
- Check for pending Windows updates. Installing missing updates may correct system troubles.
If none of these actions resolve the issue, contact nTop Support for assistance. To get you the fastest help, be sure to send your:
- System specifications (CPU, RAM, Memory, GPU, Windows version)
- Relevant screenshots
- nTop files
- Reference files
- Steps to reproduce
- Crash reports and Log files
nTop Troubleshooting Guide
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Objective:
Learn how to create a custom lattice unit cell.
Procedure:
There are two overloads on the Custom Unit Cell block. One with an Implicit Body input and the other with a Graph input and a Bounding Box for both.
To create a Custom Unit Cell, insert a Body or Graph and define the domain with a Bounding Box. The Unit Cell Domain defines the boundary of the Unit Cell and its spatial information within that boundary.
1. Unit Cell Domain
Let's take a closer look at the Unit Cell Domain before looking at the Body or Graph. One method for defining the domain is using the Bounding Box Chip, a Property of the Implicit Body or Graph. This Bounding Box matches the input boundary and will fit the Unit Cell perfectly.
Another method is to define the Bounding Box separately using the block. In the example below, the implicit is floating in the Unit Cell and is cut off by the Bounding Box. The space below it will be a part of the Unit Cell.
The two images below use the Bounding Box chip from the Implicit Body and also using a custom Bounding Box.
2. Unit Cell
i. Body
The Body input can be any Implicit Body or Lattice Type. It can be created in nTop or imported and converted into an Implicit Body.
An example of using a Body input is when creating a Custom Unit Cell from fields or equations (How to create a TPMS from an equation).
Tip: When creating your custom unit cell, it is ideal to have it be of equal size in X, Y, and Z directions to be easily scalable.
ii. Graph
Graph from Line Segments
The Graph from Line Segments block converts line segments to a Graph type. The block is a utility block for creating a Custom Graph Unit Cell and is also used for support structure generation.
Face-Based Unit Cells
Using the Graph from Mesh Faces block, you can create custom face-based unit cells, sometimes called Honeycomb. This block generates a Graph from an input mesh. The mesh can be imported or created within nTop.
The image below demonstrates creating a custom face-based unit cell within nTop. First, create a mesh using the Mesh Face from Points and Merge Faces blocks. Then pass the mesh into the Graph from Mesh Faces (Beta) block, input your Graph into the Customer Unit Cell block, and provide a Bounding Box.
CAD Sketch to Unit Cell (How to convert a CAD sketch into a Custom Unit Cell)
You can import a CAD sketch and extract the curves from the properties panel and use it with our Line block to generate a custom beam-based graph unit cell from the CAD sketch.
Hybrid Face-Beam
You can create a Hybrid Face-Beam lattice using the Merge Graphs block to combine a Face and a Beam lattice.
What is the difference between Graph overload and Implicit overload? When should one be used vs. the other?
- When you construct a lattice using the Graph Unit Cell data type, the result will contain explicit geometry, and you’ll have access to the underlying beams, thick graph, and graph property chips. If your unit cell is beam-based, you can apply any beam-filtering utility functions to filter by angle, length, etc. For face-based, you can access the faces as mesh property, which can be used for simulation. The thick graph and graph properties can also be used as input to the Export Lattice block to export *.LTCX or *.3MF
- Any Implicit Body can be provided as the input to the implicit overload. For example, constructing your field via an equation. However, I'd like to point out that the beams, thick graph, and graph properties are unavailable.
Are you still having issues? Contact the support team, and we’ll be happy to help!
Download the Example file:
More on this topic:
How to build a custom lattice unit cell
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Question:
How do you loft an airfoil from root chord to tip chord?
Answer:
To create a tapered loft, in this case for an airplane wing, we'll use the Remap Field block to scale the airfoil's profile along a path. The Remap Field block transforms geometry; for every point in 3D space, it provides a new coordinate location. This allows you to scale, stretch, twist, or otherwise warp a part's geometry (How to use Remap Field to scale or translate an object).
To further understand fields and remapping in nTop, look at this Field-Driven Design White Paper by George Allen, an nTop Fellow.
Example of Scaling with a Rectangle:
Before applying this to an airfoil, let's look at a simple example: tapering a rectangle along the Y-axis.
We begin with a Rectangle on the XZ plane. To create a loft, we first must define a Ramp along the Y-axis from Y=0 to Y=20mm, which applies the scaling factor for the rectangle.
We can set the Ramp to have an output value of x (the initial scale) at Y=0 and an x/2 (200% scale) at Y=20mm.
We then use the X Field we created using the Ramp block as an input to the Remap Field block, which creates a tapered loft.
Note: The Remap Field block generates an infinite field. You must use a Boolean Intersect block to combine the remapped field with a bounding box to define your part's final geometry.
Applying the Concept to an Airfoil
Here’s the step-by-step process for lofting an airfoil from a root profile to a smaller tip profile.
1. Set up the Airfoil Profile and Guide Curves
First, we'll import the root airfoil profile and create the guide curves that define the wing's shape.
- Import your airfoil coordinates using the Import Points block, and then create a 2D profile using the Profile from Points block.
- Use the Rotate Object and Scale Object blocks to set the final size and orientation for the airfoil. For this guide, we'll assume the profile lies on the YZ plane, centered at the origin. The Y-axis represents the chord direction, and the Z-axis represents the airfoil's height.
- Next, use the Line by Direction block or other line-creation methods to create the wing's Leading Edge and Trailing Edge guide curves. These curves define the wing's span, sweep, and taper.
At the end of this step, you will have a 2D airfoil profile and the guide curves for the wing's edges.
2. We now need to create the Y Field and the Z Field to vary the airfoil size across the wing.
X Field (Chord Field)
- We must create an X field that ensures that the chord length varies from Root Chord Length to Tip Chord Length in the same taper ratio as the wing.
We create Distance to LE and Distance to TE using Distance to Curve from Axis blocks.
Tip: Use the Implicit view to see the distances to visualise inside (+) and outside (-)
This gives us the distance, but we need the leading edge and trailing edge to follow the guide curves, so we will add -x, which provides us with the field that follows the guide curves. Rename these variables as A and B.
We will now use the fields created in the above step to create a Two-Body field (The Two-Body Field) by dividing the clearance field (A-B) with the midsurface field (A+B). In our case, this results in a field whose value varies from -1 to 1 edge to edge.
Use the newly generated Y field in the Remap Field block. You can see the ratio is not maintained for the Z height, leading to a different profile in the end.
Z Field (Height Scaling Field)
Similar to the Y field, we will generate a Z field, which will be used to remap the airfoil's Z value to maintain the ratio. We need to define a field, which is the ratio of chord length divided by root chord length, to keep the taper ratio.
Once done, use the new Z field in the Remap Field block, and you should have a variable lofted wing.
We will then use Mirror Body Symetrically and Boolean Intersect blocks to trim our final wing. We highly recommend completing the Parametric Aircraft Modeling course to learn how to build a parametric aircraft model in nTop.
Example File
How to variable loft?
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Objective:
If you are new to nTop or looking to solidify the basics, this article is the place to start. Follow along to go through a series of recommended articles and tutorials to get up and running at your own pace. Select the heading to jump to that section if you want to skip ahead.
Set-Up
Basics
Meshing
Lattices
Field-Driven Design
Automation
Simulation
Topology Optimization
Texturing
1. Get set up and download the program
Before downloading nTop take a look at the System Requirements to make sure your machine can run the program.
Read this tutorial (Getting Started with nTop) to learn how to set up your nTop account, download the latest release of the program, and install the software.
If you are having issues with this step, check out the Account Guide and the Account Troubleshooting Guide. If problems persist, submit a Support Ticket using the Contact Support button, and our Product Support Team will help you get it sorted out.
Quick Resources:
2. Learn the Basics
nTop Essentials is the first available course in a learning series designed to teach users the fundamentals of nTop. This first lesson covers the basics including:
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- Defining Implicit Modeling and Field Driven Design
- nTop User Interface
- Controls and Keyboard Shortcuts
- Notebook and Blocks
- Basic Operations
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Quick Resources:
3. Learn how to Mesh
Guide to Meshing is the next course in the learning series. Meshing is an essential step in just about every workflow, so it's important to learn both basic and advanced meshing capabilities. This course covers:
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- Meshing Properties and Terminology
- Converting CAD bodies to Mesh
- Exporting Mesh
- Refining/Cleaning Meshes
- FE and Volume Meshes
- Selecting Sections of Meshes
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Quick Resources:
4. Introduction to Lattices
nTop's lattice features are another key aspect of the software. Intro to Lattices gives a thorough insight into:
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- Lattice Properties and Terminology
- Periodic Latticing
- Unit Cells and Cell Maps
- Non-Periodic Latticing
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Quick Resources:
5. Introduction to Field Driven Design
Field Driven Design is a powerful method for creating complex part designs by overlaying fields. Our course, Intro to Field Driven Design, teaches you how to use fields to get the most out of your designs. This lesson covers:
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- What are Fields
- Different Types of Fields
- Creating Fields
- How to Apply Fields to Designs
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Quick Resources:
6. Introduction to Automation
Custom blocks allow users to create repeatable workflows to use across multiple designs. Intro to Automation teaches how to create/use custom blocks to save time and effort. Using lists also helps create a more efficient workflow. Lists allow you to input multiple items in place of a singular item. Topics covered in this course include:
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- Overview of Automation and Custom Blocks
- Creating Inputs and Outputs
- Importing Custom Blocks
- Creating Lists
- List Processing
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Quick Resources:
7. Simulation
Dive into simulation with the Intro to Simulation course. nTop has powerful simulation tools for analyzing the effects of forces on designs. Whether importing simulation results or using nTop to create them, these tools will allow you to gather valuable information about your designs. Some key topics of this course are:
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- FE Components
- FE Models
- Boundary Conditions
- Forces
- Static Analysis
- Modal and Buckling Analysis
- Importing and Exporting Simulation Data
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Quick Resources:
8. Topology Optimization
Topology Optimization (TopOpt) is a numerical design operation that determines the optimal shape of a part based on a set of objectives and constraints. TopOpt allows the user to design geometries that best achieve the desired objective while considering complex and multivariate design constraints. Learn how to run a TopOpt in this course Topology Optimization
Quick Resources:
9. Introduction to texturing
nTop has an unprecedented range of tools to produce unique, field-driven surface textures. Learn all about adding texture to your part with the following articles:
Quick Resources:
Thank you for following along with our Self-Training Guide! Now that you've gotten a taste for what nTop offers, we hope you feel confident to move to the next level in your learning. Check out the Knowledge Base, the Learning Center, and nTopLives for further resources.
Self-Training Guide
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Access and Installation
Get help with account issues, software setup, and system requirements.
See AllSystem requirements
Accounts and Licensing
Setup and Install Troubleshooting
Fluids
Lattices
Meshing Workflows
Structures
Implicit Modeling
Rib Design
Optimization
Textures
User Interface
nTop Connect
Interop
nTop Automate
Additive Manufacturing Preparation
FDM Fixture Generator
Explore other nTop resources
Discover upcoming events, webinars, training opportunities, and other nTopology content on advanced manufacturing & engineering design.
Learn
Master the foundations through a combination of hands-on exercises, video tutorials and written guides.
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Full nTop product documentation, with a built-in AI assistant that answers questions in plain language.
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Discover, fork, and publish notebooks, blocks, connectors, and learning bundles built by other nTop users.
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