PC for SolidWorks use?

[coma13]

Hey guys,

I'm a long-time Mac user but I'm interested in running SolidWorks for some projects I'm working on and it seems that PC is the only way to go. If I was to build a computer solely for the purpose of running that software, what kind of money would I be looking at? I don't need bells and whistles, just enough oomf to run the software without trouble.

They post their recommended system specs here: http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support...uirements.html

Any suggestions on where to look? Pre-packaged systems? Building my own? Pros/Cons? Prices?

Thanks!

-Eric

[Unicorn food]

Im sure you already saw thing but just in case you haven't

http://www.macnn.com/articles/10/02/17/company.also.working.on.cloud.based.utility/

[JDay]

Get one of those new Intel i5-2500K processors, 8gb ram and a decent video card such as the GTX 460 and you should be fine. This combo deal should cover everything.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.575820

[Satex]

Video card and RAM are paramount.
Make sure the video card has a chipset supported by the application.

[Rivers]

I have a couple clients running SolidWorks on their Macs. They are both using OS X 10.5 or 10.6, Parallels and Win XP Pro. One guy was even doing it (a couple years ago) on his 2.0 GHz MacBook laptop with only 2GB RAM. Never a crash even although I'm sure with more recent hardware, the speed would improve. He's become pretty good with it, making parts for older race (F1) cars when replacement parts aren't available.

I'd feel fine using a current Mac, loaded it with RAM, use Parallels v6 and Win 7. That should do it.

[erik_26]

With computers I always suggest buying the most up to date platform.

Me personally, I would build my own.

I would get a nice case with lots of room for cooling.
Large power supply 850+ watt
Core i7 motherboard and CPU
8gb of ram or more
I would buy a couple of hard drives. One SSD and two traditional.
Install OS (Windows 7 64, Solidworks 2011 and other core applications on the SSD)
Install light programs on one of the others.
Save everything to both of the traditional drives.
Get an NVidia Quadra FX video card.
Make sure you have lots of cooling fans. If your home/office/apartment is warm look into liquid cooling.

You are looking at spending $3000 or more easily. If you do it right though, you will only buy a computer like this every 3-4 years.

If this is just a hobby then maybe you can skimp on a lot of things. But if you are doing it for work or trying to start a business, go all out.

Just my .02 cents…. Bill is in the mail.

[jimmykan]

Keep in mind that Solidworks supports 64-bit processing, but not multi-core processing.

This means that if you run Solidworks side-by-side on 2 GHz 32-bit and 2 GHz 64-bit processors, the Solidworks on the 64-bit machine will run faster.

But if you run Solidworks side-by-side on 2 GHz 64-bit single core and multi-core (2, 4, 8, etc.) processors, all machines will run Solidworks about the same, meaning Solidworks does not know how to utilize more than one processor core.

The exception is on multi-core processors that support single-core-turbo mode, like Intel Core i7. Solidworks will run faster on these processors, because they can detect that an application supports only one core, so then it essentially does a Star Trek style "Scotty! Redirect all power to that one core!" That one core gets a clock frequency boost (more processor calculations per second) and gets really hot, but since the other cores are pretty much idling, the processor as a whole is still operating within its thermal limits.

Desktop Core i7 processors usually have a big, beefy heatsink clamped to them, and a powerful cooling fan connected to a duct that vents directly to the outside of the computer case.

[xibunkrlilkidsx]

My buddy has a toshiba satelite that he bought with some upgrades tot he motherboard and video card. And solid works runs beatifully.


And i am gettign a new Sony computer to run soilid works since my desktop crapped out on me.

[paul0660]

You are looking at spending $3000 or more easily. If you do it right though, you will only buy a computer like this every 3-4 years.

I hope to shout!

[L4D]

HP Z400 with quadro FX380 ($1200-$1400)
upgrade to as much ram as you can (max 24G) with Kingston KTH-PL313E/4G. ($70 x 6 4GB dimms = $420)

you should have a PC under $2k that will run Solidworks flawlessly.

check CDW.com can't go wrong.

[Super Spy]

I use a Dell Workstation for Solidworks. If you go to Dell Outlet you can find a bump n dent or refurb for quite a bit less than $3K. You want at least 8GB of RAM and a good graphics card, preferably a proper CAD video card not a gaming card, the drivers are different and the CAD card is optimized for detail while a gaming card is optimized for frame rate. The size of the memory in the Video Card depends on how complicated the assemblies are that you will be building. Get the biggest monitor possible or better yet get two.

[JDay]

The size of the memory in the Video Card depends on how complicated the assemblies are that you will be building. Get the biggest monitor possible or better yet get two.

Modern discrete graphics cards will use system RAM if needed. For instance, my GTX 460 which only has 1GB of RAM will scale up to 4GB using system RAM if needed.