Your laptop or desktop should meet the specifications required for running SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD program successfully. There are a lot of factors to take into account and choosing the best computer for SolidWorks could be an extremely difficult process.
This guide will help you understand what to look out for when you’re setting up a brand new Windows machine by hand, or purchasing an off-the-shelf model from a retail store such as Dell, our favorite supplier. Dell. We’ll also suggest our top workstations to run SOLIDWORKS, with budget and performance in consideration. Without more ado…
Memory/RAM
Drawings and models that are complex that are complex in SOLIDWORKS need more RAM (Random Access Memory) in order to load efficiently. This is particularly true of the size of the datasets that must be loaded making use of the program. When a machine is running out of memory, the load time for files may be drastically increased because of caching on hard drives.
ensuring that the RAM on a machine is sufficient to handle the typical size of data sets is essential. The use of regular, large-scale data Simulations like this can increase the requirement for RAM due to the fact that large amounts of data are required to be loaded in order to run computations.
Minimum recommended amount of RAM by SOLIDWORKS 16GB is the minimum recommended RAM by SOLIDWORKS.
Our suggestion to run SOLIDWORKS easily 32GB
If you are running Simulations or working with large data sets We recommend at minimum 64GB
Graphics Card/GPU
SOLIDWORKS requires an experienced, fully-certified graphics card that can run the OpenGL engine to function properly (e.g. Nvidia Quadro/RTX as well as AMD RadeonPro). AMD RadeonPro). SOLIDWORKS has been reported to work in conjunction with “gaming” GPUs that make use of DirectX (such such as AMD Radeon and the Nvidia Geforce range of cards) However users might be prone to frequent glitches with graphics, and the features of the software such as Realview Graphics won’t function correctly or any.
If you are working with visually intricate designs (such as models that have large patterns or a lot of texture) SOLIDWORKS will require a graphics card that has a significant amount of memory available on-board. A high-quality graphics card is among the most essential elements to running SOLIDWORKS efficiently, but it’s essential to ensure there’s a balanced equilibrium between Graphics Card and the CPU. A premium graphics card won’t be able to perform efficiently in conjunction with a lower-end CPU.
It’s also crucial to verify that it’s a must to ensure that the Graphics driver program is compatible to work with SOLIDWORKS. It is possible to check this using the launcher of SOLIDWORKS RX from the menu bar at the top, then clicking the Diagnostics Tab. The Diagnostics results will reveal that the driver is not up to date. of current. The button will enable the downloading of a supported driver, if it is available. SOLIDWORKS does its own tests for graphics cards and using a non-certified driver can cause graphical glitches in the program.
If you’re using Visualize with SOLIDWORKS frequently, you might want to look into an Nvidia “Pascal” Series graphic card, or a newer model (look for models that begin with the letters P/T/RTX). It is possible to make use of Visualize’s Visualize Denoiser, which can offer up to 10X speedier performance.
If you’re working using Large Assemblies, SOLIDWORKS can utilize your graphics card to greater extent. Through Enhanced Graphics Performance, more than half of the graphics calculations are now performed on the graphics card, which means that view manipulations are faster. However, this depends on having an SOLIDWORKS approved graphics card and driver.
Processor/CPU
The modern processors are comprised of several cores in the same chip. SOLIDWORKS however, is primarily an application with a single core rebuilding model is an asynchronous procedure due to the design tree inside models. This is the reason why many users find it better to purchase faster processors , but with smaller cores.
Certain processes in SOLIDWORKS make use of multiple cores. For instance, building and opening drawing that have multiple views. The rendering process also uses multiple cores, and is able to run with either eight or twelve. Simulations also require more cores. They work best using one or two cores however, any advantages above this amount diminish. If you’re running these functions often, you should look into a processor that has more cores.
We typically strive to recommend the most recent Intel i7 or Xeon processors to our customers to ensure they are able to handle a wide number of features that are available in SOLIDWORKS. Hyper threading can be disabled in the bios , in line to the usage of software. This will decrease the amount of processors. Turbo boost can be enabled to enhance the performance of one core.
Storage (HDD/SSD)
When you are deciding on what size to use for the Hard Disk Drive (HDD) for SolidWorks, we suggest starting with at minimum 128GB and moving to the largest amount you’re able.
For the best performance, we suggest that you choose the primary Solid State Drive (SSD) or M.2* drive for running SolidWorks (and Windows) and a second SSD that is used to store all other data. This will ensure that models are loaded, assemblies, etc. and save as fast as is possible.
If you’re able to only afford the one SSD or M.2 drive, ensure that you use it for installing software as it gives you the most value. You can always purchase another mechanical HDD that spins at 7200RPM (or more than) to save your files.
If you’ve already done some investigation, you may be aware that some computers come by “M.2” storage. It is the most current standard for data storage. And those marked”NVMe (rather as SATA) employ an entirely different method of communicating with computers. These storage devices are a step forward from SSD’s, and generally quicker, you’ll notice that many of the modern workstations come with NVMe as common.
Operating system
With the launch of Windows 11, you may be tempted to try the Windows 11 operating system for the SOLIDWORKS PC. At the time when this article was written (8th march 2022), SOLIDWORKS is not currently supported by Microsoft. SOLIDWORKS supports Windows 11 will likely be added along with SOLIDWORKS 2022’s SP2. It is expected to be released in April. If you’re thinking of installing Windows 11, we would advise waiting for a while until the time of release.
