Search 'Prerequisites and System Requirements' in the SOLIDWORKS Knowledge Base. Provide feedback on this topic SOLIDWORKS welcomes your feedback concerning the presentation, accuracy, and thoroughness of the documentation. Minimum hardware requirements for SOLIDWORKS 2020: The minimum requirements can be found on the SOLIDWORKS System Requirements website. Video: A recommended OpenGL workstation graphics card and driver. For a listing of recommended graphics cards and driver combinations visit the SOLIDWORKS System/Graphics Card Requirements Website. Oct 10, 2019 The minimum requirement of RAM indicated on the SOLIDWORKS System Requirements page is at least 16GB. However larger models and simulation studies may require more memory. However larger models and simulation studies may require more memory. Software Requirements for SOLIDWORKS 2016 SOLIDWORKS Operating Systems SOLIDWORKS 2014 (EDU 2014-2015) SOLIDWORKS 2015 (EDU 2015-2016) SOLIDWORKS 2016 (EDU 2016-2017) Windows 10, 64-bit.The minimum requirement is the recommended minimum to run the software. These recommendations will vary depending on implementation size.
- Requirements For Solidworks
- Solidworks Minimum Requirements Graphics Card
- Solidworks Minimum Requirements
Your desktop computer or laptop must meet recommended specification levels to run SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD software effectively. There are many variables to consider and choosing the right PC for the job can be a very confusing process.
This guide will show you what to look for whether you’re configuring a new Windows machine from scratch, or buying an off the shelf model from a retailer such as our preferred supplier, Dell. We’ll also recommended our favourite workstations for running SOLIDWORKS taking budget and performance into consideration, so, without further ado…
Memory/RAM
Complex models and drawings in SOLIDWORKS will require more RAM (Random Access Memory) in order to load effectively. This applies mainly to the size of datasets that need to be loaded when using the software. If a machine runs out of memory the load time for files can increase drastically, due to hard drive caching.
Ensuring the amount of RAM in a machine is sufficient for the typical size of datasets is important. Running regular,>Check out these Nvidia Quadro benchmarks for SOLIDWORKS for a performance comparison using SOLIDWORKS Visualize and SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD. Make sure you take a look at this Nvidia Quadro RTX for SOLIDWORKS Datasheet, too.
Requirements For Solidworks
As for onboard graphics card memory, we’d recommend a minimum of 4GB for general use.
Processor/CPU
Today’s processors comprise of multiple cores within a single chip. SOLIDWORKS, however, is predominantly a single core application – the rebuilding of models is alinear process, because of the design tree within a model. This is why most users will find that it’s more effective to buy faster processors with fewer cores.
Some processes in SOLIDWORKS do use multiple cores, such as opening and rebuilding drawings with multiple views. Rendering also utilises multiple cores and run effectively with eight or twelve. Simulations will also use more cores – mostefficiently with either two or four cores, but any benefits above this level diminish. If you’re running thesefeatures frequently we’d recommend that you consider getting a processor with more cores.
We generally try to recommend the latest Intel i7 or Xeon processors to our customers so they can handle a large range of features within SOLIDWORKS. Hyper threading can be turned off in the bios in accordance with the use of the software – this will reduce the number of cores. Turbo boost can also be turned on to improve the performance of one of the cores.
Storage (HDD/SSD)
When it comes to choosing the size of your Hard Disk Drive (HDD) for SOLIDWORKS, we recommend starting with at least 256GB and working your way up to the biggest size you can afford.
For maximum performance we recommend that you opt for a primary Solid State Drive (SSD) or M.2* drive to run SOLIDWORKS (and Windows) and a secondary SSD that’s used for storing everything else. This ensures models, assemblies etc load and save as quickly as possible.
If you can only afford one SSD or M.2 drive, make sure you use it for software installations as this will give you the best bang-for-buck. You can always buy a second mechanical HDD, spinning at 7200RPM (or above) to store your files.
*If you’ve already been doing some research, you may have noticed that some machines are supplied with “M.2” Storage. This is the very latest standard in data storage and the ones labelled NVMe (rather than SATA) use a different way of interfacing with the computer. These Storage devices are a step up again from SSD’s and typically much faster, if budget isn’t an issue and you’re looking for the very best possible performance, you may want to consider one of these.
Our recommended minimum spec for SOLIDWORKS users on a budget
These machines will perform well for general drawing and SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD use. We wouldn’t recommend this spec if you’re looking to work on more than 200 components, however.
Laptop: Dell Precision 7530
Intel Core i5-8400H (Quad Core 2.50GHz, 4.20GHz Turbo, 8MB 45W)
Windows 10 Pro 64bit
NVIDIA Quadro P1000 w/4GB GDDR5
16GB, 2X8G, DDR4 2666MHz Non-ECC Memory
M.2 256GB PCIe NVMe Class 40 SSD
Intel Core i7-9700,(8 Core, 12MB Cache, 3.0Ghz, 4.7 Ghz Turbo w/UHD Graphics 630)
Windows 10 Pro 64bit
AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200, 4GB, 4 mDP (FWS)
16GB 2X8GB DDR4 2666MHz UDIMM Non-ECC Memory
M.2 256GB PCIe NVMe Class 40 Solid State Drive
AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200
These machines will perform well with medium-sized datasets with no more than 500 simple components. Perfect for general SOLIDWORKS use and some light rendering.
Intel Core i7-8850H (Six Core 2.60GHz, 4.30GHz Turbo, 9MB 45W)
Windows 10 Pro 64bit
NVIDIA Quadro P2000 w/4GB GDDR5
32GB, 2x16GB, DDR4 2666MHz Non-ECC Memory
M.2 256GB PCIe NVMe Class 40 SSD
Intel Xeon E-2274G, 4 Core, 8MB Cache, 4.0Ghz, 4.9Ghz Turbo w/UHD Graphics630
Windows 10 Pro for Workstation
Nvidia Quadro P2200, 5GB, 4 DP (3630)
16GB 2X8GB DDR4 2666MHz UDIMM Non-ECC Memory
M.2 256GB PCIe NVMe Class 40 Solid State Drive
Our recommended high end PCs for SOLIDWORKS power users
If money’s no object and/or you’re looking for maximum performance, these machines will do it all: Rendering, large SOLIDWORKS assemblies and complicated simulations will all be handled with ease.
Intel® Core™ Processor i7-9850H (6 Core, 12M Cache, 2.60GHz up to 4.6GHzTurbo, 45W, vPro)
Windows 10 Pro 64bit
Nvidia Quadro RTX 4000 w/8GB GDDR6
32GB, 2x16GB, DDR4 2666MHz Non-ECC Memory
M.2 512GB PCIe NVMe Class 40 Solid State Drive
Intel® Core™ i9-10900X 3.7GHz, 4.7GHz Turbo, 10C, 19.25MB Cache, HT, (165W), DDR4-2666 Non-ECC
Windows 10 Pro, 64bit
Nvidia Quadro RTX4000, 8GB
32GB 4x8GB DDR4 2666MHz UDIMM Non-ECC Memory
2.5” 512GB SATA Class 20 Solid State Drive
What about SOLIDWORKS for Apple Mac computers?
SOLIDWORKS isn’t officially supported on Apple Mac, but we’ve developed a robust solution for this, which is now being used by many of our customers. Read more about it here: How to run SOLIDWORKS on Apple Mac
Considering a new SOLIDWORKS Workstation?
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We hope you found our SOLIDWORKS system requirements article useful!
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MB-Editor
As you know Solidworks is frequently used 3D design software that you can do your 3D designs, assemblies and technical drawings of them. Solidworks releases a new product and the Solidworks 2021 will be the newest one. In this article we will show you what is newi what are the system requirements of Solidworks 2021 and how can we download and install the Solidworks 2021.
SolidWorks 2021 System Requirements
To run Solidworks 2021 properly in your computer, you need to have these kinds of system properties;
Graphics Requirements For Solidworks 2021; You need to have the minimum graphics requirements as stated below for Solidworks 2021.
For NVIDIA iRay GPU support:
NVIDIA® graphics card: NVIDIA Quadro®/NVIDIA GeForce®/Tesla™ with at least NVIDIA Kepler™ chip; Dual-GPU setup with at least NVIDIA Maxwell™ cards for the best experience to run Solidworks 2021.
NVIDIA driver support for CUDA® 10.1 or newer required to run Solidworks 2021.
Solidworks Minimum Requirements Graphics Card
Recommendation For Solidworks 2021: NVIDIA driver version 419.69 (or newer) to run Solidworks 2021.
For RTX enabled Turing cards (Turing™ TU10x), a driver version of 430.86 (or newer) to run Solidworks 2021.
For AMD ProRender GPU support:
Solidworks Minimum Requirements
Recommendation For Solidworks 2021: Radeon™ or FirePro™ series workstation cards to run Solidworks 2021.
Operational System Requirements Of Solidworks 2021; You need to have these operational system stated below to run Solidworks 2021
Operational System For Solidworks 2021: Windows® 7 or Windows® 10 (64-bit)
Minimum CPU For Solidworks 2021: Dual core CPU. Recommendation: Quad core to run Solidworks 2021.
Minimum Disk Space For Solidworks 2021: 2GB free disk space. Recommendation: 5GB to run Solidworks 2021.
Minimum GPU For Solidworks 2021: 2GB or more GPU RAM. Recommendation: 4GB to run Solidworks 2021..
HDR Light Studio connection For Solidworks 2021: HDR Light Studio v5.3.3 or newer, except v5.4 to run Solidworks 2021.
Minimum RAM Requirement For Solidworks 2021: 8GB RAM. Recommendation: 16GB to run Solidworks 2021.