Skip to main content
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Join us at FabCon Atlanta from March 16 - 20, 2026, for the ultimate Fabric, Power BI, AI and SQL community-led event. Save $200 with code FABCOMM. Register now.

Reply
RMV
Helper V
Helper V

computer specification

Hi, it's really slow when I'm using PBI Desktop to run query and refresh data.

I'm wondering is there any standard or minimum specification to have a smooth operation with PBI? My PBI file size is reaching 100 MB now.

 

Thanks

2 ACCEPTED SOLUTIONS
Greg_Deckler
Community Champion
Community Champion

Well, system requirements really don't call out how much memory, etc. 

  • Windows 10 , Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Microsoft Power BI Desktop requires Internet Explorer 9 or greater.
  • Microsoft Power BI Desktop is available for 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) platforms.

 

I run 64-bit Desktop (which I would recommend) on a Surface Pro 4 with 16GB of memory and it works fantastic. However, it may be your model and your visualizations that could be causing the issue. I've seen excessive slicers on a single page with a complex data model cause some amount of problems.



Follow on LinkedIn
@ me in replies or I'll lose your thread!!!
Instead of a Kudo, please vote for this idea
Become an expert!: Enterprise DNA
External Tools: MSHGQM
YouTube Channel!: Microsoft Hates Greg
Latest book!:
DAX For Humans

DAX is easy, CALCULATE makes DAX hard...

View solution in original post

I agree with @Greg_Deckler that ideally if you can get a laptop or desktop PC that has at least 8-16GB RAM, as well as an SSD Drive that will enable Power BI Desktop to work really well.


I have seen laptops with the older disk drives and at some points it causes Power BI Desktop to crash or become extremely slow at doing things. Which makes the development experience no fun at all. And Power BI is FUN!





Did I answer your question? Mark my post as a solution!

Proud to be a Super User!







Power BI Blog

View solution in original post

5 REPLIES 5
romgut
Advocate III
Advocate III

Is there an update for the year 2020?

 

I noticed that, especially working with data directly taken from Dynamics 365 CRM (online), it takes ages to modify table names and so on and my CPU is constantly running on 100% utilization. It helps to cut out the unused tables though.

The 16gb ram on my surface i7-1065G7  @1.50ghz are also not enough.

 

Would you recommend to use a powerful desktop pc or rather concentrate on slimming the tables to work with smaller amount of data?

 

Thanks, Roman

Greg_Deckler
Community Champion
Community Champion

Well, system requirements really don't call out how much memory, etc. 

  • Windows 10 , Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Microsoft Power BI Desktop requires Internet Explorer 9 or greater.
  • Microsoft Power BI Desktop is available for 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) platforms.

 

I run 64-bit Desktop (which I would recommend) on a Surface Pro 4 with 16GB of memory and it works fantastic. However, it may be your model and your visualizations that could be causing the issue. I've seen excessive slicers on a single page with a complex data model cause some amount of problems.



Follow on LinkedIn
@ me in replies or I'll lose your thread!!!
Instead of a Kudo, please vote for this idea
Become an expert!: Enterprise DNA
External Tools: MSHGQM
YouTube Channel!: Microsoft Hates Greg
Latest book!:
DAX For Humans

DAX is easy, CALCULATE makes DAX hard...
Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi Greg

 

Came across this reply/chat.  Would you say starting at 32GB RAM is extreme for Power BI?  And, have you have any experince with Excel's PowerQuery(I have used the 32bit version and had issues), would you have any recomendations on a reseanable spec to use Excel PowerQuery?

 

Thanks

Chris

@i @Greg_Deckler , will try to follow your advise on the spec and design i made

thanks a lot!

 

I agree with @Greg_Deckler that ideally if you can get a laptop or desktop PC that has at least 8-16GB RAM, as well as an SSD Drive that will enable Power BI Desktop to work really well.


I have seen laptops with the older disk drives and at some points it causes Power BI Desktop to crash or become extremely slow at doing things. Which makes the development experience no fun at all. And Power BI is FUN!





Did I answer your question? Mark my post as a solution!

Proud to be a Super User!







Power BI Blog

Helpful resources

Announcements
FabCon Global Hackathon Carousel

FabCon Global Hackathon

Join the Fabric FabCon Global Hackathon—running virtually through Nov 3. Open to all skill levels. $10,000 in prizes!

October Power BI Update Carousel

Power BI Monthly Update - October 2025

Check out the October 2025 Power BI update to learn about new features.

FabCon Atlanta 2026 carousel

FabCon Atlanta 2026

Join us at FabCon Atlanta, March 16-20, for the ultimate Fabric, Power BI, AI and SQL community-led event. Save $200 with code FABCOMM.