Choosing a computer for ANY-maze

Section 1

Recommended specifications

*Processor note: The PassMark CPU Mark is a widely used score of a processor’s overall power. To find a processor’s score, search for its model name at cpubenchmark.net/cpu-list. The higher the score, the more powerful the processor.

Section 2

Operating system

ANY-maze runs on Windows 11 or Windows 10 (64-bit). For a new computer, choose Windows 11. Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 in October 2025, so Windows 10 computers no longer receive regular security updates.

ANY-maze does not run on:

• Windows computers with ARM processors, such as laptops with Qualcomm Snapdragon chips (often sold as “Copilot+ PCs”). Check that the processor is made by Intel or AMD.
• macOS (see Is ANY-maze available for the Apple Mac? to learn about running ANY-maze on a Mac with Parallels)
• Chromebooks or Linux

Section 3

Processor

ANY-maze will run on Intel and AMD processors, and the processor’s overall power is quite important in ANY-maze. Processor names change every year or two, so we give our recommendations as a PassMark CPU Mark — a free and widely used benchmark score for assessing a processor’s overall power. The higher the score, the more powerful the processor.

Scores as of October 2026. These are guides, not hard cutoffs: a processor scoring slightly below a figure will still work well.

How to check a processor’s PassMark CPU Mark

1. Find the processor’s model name that you wish to use. It’s listed in the computer’s specifications, or on an existing Windows computer under Settings > System > About.
2. Search for that model name at cpubenchmark.net/cpu-list/.
3. Compare its CPU Mark with the table above.

Tracking in many apparatus

When you track in multiple apparatus at once, the processor matters more, and the simplest rule is to buy the most powerful one you can reasonably afford. Besides the CPU Mark, the number of cores matters, because ANY-maze spreads the work of tracking multiple apparatus across them.

Many current processors combine high-performance cores with smaller efficiency cores, so the total core count can overstate their power. That’s why we use the CPU Mark as the main guide and core count as a secondary check.

The third characteristic to pay attention to is speed. Simply put, faster is better and speeds above 2.5GHz are recommended.

Section 4

Memory (RAM)

We recommend 16GB of RAM for tracking in 1–4 apparatus and 32GB for 5 or more. 16GB is now standard on most new computers, and Windows 11 itself uses a good share of it.

Section 5

Connecting your camera

If you’ll be doing live tracking in ANY-maze, we recommend USB 3.0 cameras. Before you buy a computer, make sure it has a USB 3.0 port. If you’ll be connecting multiple USB 3.0 cameras to the computer, they can share a USB 3.0 port with the help of a USB 3.0 self-powered hub.

ANY-maze will work with USB 2.0 cameras, but there are some potential issues you should be aware of:

• If you’ll be using more than three USB 2.0 cameras, please see Connecting multiple USB cameras to a computer.
• On some computers, USB 2.0 cameras can show horizontal streaks or torn-looking images because the Intel processor’s power-saving modes briefly interrupt the image data mid-frame. This is not a problem with USB 3.0 cameras on USB 3.0 controllers. For more information, see Why do I see horizontal lines or streaks in my live video feed?

Section 6

Disk drive

We recommend a larger drive for your ANY-maze experiment files and videos. It can be a traditional hard disk or an SSD.

An SSD makes the biggest difference when you track for long periods (>24 hours) or run large experiments (>500 trials). The difference in time to analyze test results will be noticeable.

Video files take up the most space, so if you record video, size the data drive generously.

Section 7

Monitor and graphics card

ANY-maze needs a screen resolution of at least 1366 x 768, and works best at 1600 x 900 or above. If you track in many apparatus, a 27-inch or larger monitor at 2560 x 1440 or above lets you see them all clearly at once.

ANY-maze supports touch screens and has a touch-friendly interface mode, so it also works on Windows tablets such as Microsoft Surface (models with Intel processors).

A high-end graphics card won’t help ANY-maze. The graphics built into the computer’s processor work fine.

Section 8

Network and internet connections

ANY-maze works fully without a network or internet connection. However, an internet connection does let ANY-maze update itself automatically and lets you contact our support team directly from the program. A network connection lets you share files with other computers in your lab, back up data centrally, and use network printers.