Solidworks: Which Workstation Config is right for you?
Since there are so many different brands, models, and revisions of hardware that choosing the right components for Solidworks software can be a huge challenge. This ensures that a system that has all the capabilities need, without spending money on components that will not be beneficial.
So to determine exactly what kind of hardware is needed for Solidworks, we have taken the time to perform in-depth analysis. Most "system requirements" lists tend to cover only the very basics of what hardware is needed to run the software, not what hardware will actually give the best performance.
Processor (CPU):
Which is important you want a high core count or higher operating frequency for Solidworks?
The answer is very straight-forward.
Simply put, most modeling tasks (including rotating and viewing models) are single threaded so core count is largely irrelevant.
The rendering is actually very efficient at using multiple CPUs. If you do very heavy rendering dedicated to rendering, you will get the best performance for your money with a dual Xeon system.
Also, we do not offer overclocking on our recommended systems for Solidworks.
For example, Render Time for setting 1920X1080, Best quality:
Intel Core i7 6700K 4.0Ghz Quad Core takes 197Seconds and
2 * Xeon E5-2699 V3 2.3Ghz Eighteen Core will complete in 53 seconds
Video Card (GPU):
Having the proper video card is critical to working efficiently in Solidworks. Using the correct card ensures that you are able to rotate and view models smoothly.
Solidworks only officially supports NVIDIA Quadro and AMD FirePro discrete video cards
GeForce cards give significantly lower performance in Solidworks when using "Shaded w/ Edges" which means that we highly recommend using only Nvidia Quadro video cards.
The choice here is going to be dictated by
- The resolution of your display,
- The complexity of models you work with, and
- Target FPS (typically either 30 or 60 FPS).
Quadro K620 2GB: For a 1080p display, >60 FPS for models, up to about 1-1.5 million triangles.
Quadro K2200 4GB/ Quadro M2000 4GB: For 4K display
Quadro M4000 8GB: 4K Display ~60 FPS on very complex models.
Memory (RAM):
For rotating models, simulations, and renders Task:
Solidworks generally needs 8GB of RAM Due to this, we recommend having 16GB in your system to give you plenty of free RAM for other programs you may have running.
For Simulation & Rendering:
A general rule of thumb is that you need about 5GB of RAM for Solidworks itself, then at least 20 times the largest assembly size you work with.
So if your assemblies are all about 200MB in size, you would need 5GB + 20 x .2GB which works out to 9GB of RAM. However, RAM comes in fixed amounts, so this would need to be rounded up to 16GB of RAM.
Also keep in mind that any additional software you are running even web browsing will require RAM as well so if it looks like you will be at all close we highly recommend upgrading to a larger capacity.
Storage (Hard Drives):
We almost always recommend using an SSD for the primary drive that will host your OS and the installation of Solidworks. The high speed of SSDs allows your system to boot and launch applications many times faster than any traditional hard drive.
For opening & saving files sees no difference in all drives.
The Intel 750 NVMe drive has more than 10x the read performance of the WD RD+ drive.
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