Exocharts Desktop renders charts with a 3D engine and processes trade data locally, so it leans on your graphics card and memory more than a typical charting application. The requirements below are the floor for a working setup; what you actually need scales with how many charts you run and how much history you load into them.
Windows
| Operating system | Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit |
| Processor | Intel 4th generation or newer, or an equivalent AMD processor, 2.4 GHz or faster |
| Memory | 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended |
| Graphics | A discrete AMD or Nvidia card with 4 GB of VRAM. Integrated Intel graphics will run the application but limit how many charts you can keep open |
| Storage | SSD or NVMe. Exocharts caches chart data to disk, and a mechanical drive slows every load |
| Graphics API | OpenGL or DirectX support |
macOS
| Operating system | macOS Monterey 12.1 or later |
| Processor | Apple Silicon (M1 or newer). Intel-based Macs are not supported |
| Memory | 8 GB on M1 and M1X, 16 GB recommended on all other configurations |
| Graphics | The integrated Apple GPU. Metal is used for rendering |
| Storage | SSD or NVMe |
Graphics
Chart rendering runs on the GPU through Metal, OpenGL or DirectX, whichever your machine reports as fastest. On Windows, an out-of-date driver is the most common cause of slow rendering, flickering and crashes on startup, so install the current driver from AMD's or Nvidia's own site rather than relying on Windows Update.
If the application will not start or the chart area renders blank, the graphics driver is the first thing to check.
Memory and Performance
Memory use is driven by how much history you load, not by the application itself. Each chart holds its look-back period in memory, and a workspace with several charts on long look-backs will use far more than one chart on a short one.
If loading is slow or the application feels heavy:
- Reduce the look-back period. This is the single most effective change.
- Close charts you are not reading rather than leaving them loaded in background tabs.
- Increase the tick size on charts you only glance at, so fewer price levels are aggregated.
Exocharts places no limit on the number of tabs, windows or sessions you open. Your hardware does.
Software Conflicts
Antivirus and VPN security suites. Some security software flags the installer or the application as a false positive and quarantines it mid-download or mid-run. If the installer disappears after downloading, or the application fails to start after an update, check your security software's quarantine before reinstalling.
Grammarly on macOS. Running Grammarly Pro alongside Exocharts can freeze the application. If you have it installed, disable the Grammarly tab from its Dock icon.