SOLIDWORKS Hardware Advice

CPU is measured in GHz, so look for this number as an indicator of processing power. Turbo Boost is also a winning feature when it comes to SOLIDWORKS.

CPU is generally split over a number of cores. Don’t get caught up on this though, SOLIDWORKS parts and assemblies can only make use of 1-2 cores at a time, due to the sequential rebuild nature for models.

Some assembly rebuilds, drawings with multiple views and simulations can take advantage of more cores at a time. CPU's such as Intel Xeons with more slower cores can cause a performance regression.

32GB is typically sufficient for working with CAD datasets with hundreds to low thousands of components

If you are working with more complex designs or carrying out simulations or rendering, then 64GB or more may be required for these activities particularly if multitasking.

Error Code Correcting (ECC) RAM is beneficial to reduce the chance of crashes or errors when performing long running tasks.

Avoid on-board Intel HD cards, consumer level or gaming cards such as GeForce. These are all unsupported and not designed for the output of a CAD system and would ultimately impact your experience and productivity.

SOLIDWORKS work with graphics card manufacturers to ensure reliable performance for professional cards, view a list of certified SOLIDWORKS graphics cards.

If you want to store your SOLIDWORKS data in the cloud or on a network is important to use CAD intelligent data management solution. Saving over a network without one, or uploading to cloud solutions such as dropbox or onedrive, risks your files becoming corrupted or losing references.

We offer a number of data management solutions and are happy to provide advice depending on your requirements. For entry level cloud data management we typically recommend SOLIDWORKS Cloud Services. For an on-premise network solution we find that SOLIDWORKS PDM is an effetive and popular choice for our customers.

If looking to buy a 4K resolution monitor, then 27 inches is the minimum size you should consider. 4K is not recommended for laptop displays currently with SOLIDWORKS.

Please do check compatibility with other applications, as many enterprise level software lack full support for 4K.