Hardware Considerations with SolidWorks CAD Software by Mike Bailey

We usually get customers and prospects asking us regularly what types of specifications they should be looking for in a CAD Workstation.  It seems that of late, we are getting this question even more often.  To help, we have put together the information in this article to be a ready reference when you are interested in acquiring that next CAD Workstation.  This article is NOT meant to be a guide for an FEA or Simulation Workstation as there are far different considerations to evaluate.  That will be another article to keep an eye out for.

 Operating System

Before we get into hardware specs, let’s take a moment to highlight Windows 7 64-bit OS as the unrivaled operating system of choice for all CAD Workstations at this point.  Window XP has been a great OS for nearly 8 years, but Microsoft has set an end of life for XP and SolidWorks, while supporting XP for 2011, has made no promises that 2012 will support anything but Windows 7 and Vista, so you may as well make the move sooner rather than later.  Beyond that, Windows 7 64-bit has a higher RAM limit, better resource management and far superior stability.  Take it from several of our technicians; Windows 7 is the fastest and easiest Operating System we have ever installed.  Windows 7 is everything that Windows Vista was supposed to be and more. One last point is that you want to select a 64-bit OS over a 32-bit version to avoid the 2GB RAM limit as well. Alright, moving on…

 Processor

From a strictly drafting and designing standpoint, you are better to look at a Core 2 Duo Intel Chipset at a higher speed than paying a higher price for the top end Core i7 with more CPUs, but at lower speeds.  For example, you will get better performance from a 3.7Ghz Core 2 Duo than you would from a 1.7Ghz Core i7, even with 4 processors.  Again, we are talking about drafting and designing.  If you have needs for rendering or simulation, more CPUs will be of benefit. A question we get asked alot is related to multi-threading.  SolidWorks, like most CAD applications, are not fully multi-threaded applications, meaning they do not take full advantage of dual or quad CPUs.  Again, from a strictly designing perspective, fewer CPUs running faster will be of greater benefit than more CPUs running slower.  If you have a limited budget, your money is better spent on an upgraded Graphics Card and RAM than it is a top-end CPU.

 RAM

As always, the more the better but if you get more than 3 GB, make sure you have a 64bit O.S to support that RAM.  Ideally, 6 to 8GB is plenty.  The primary consideration here is the size and complexity of the assemblies you plan to work with.  If you plan to work with top level assemblies of 10,000 parts, you will want to push for the 8GB range.  If all you plan to do is simple parts and assemblies, you can get by with far less.  You will also want more if you are doing simulation or analysis work, but again, that’s another article. 

 Graphics Card

The critical consideration here is to make sure you get a “Commercial” level card, not a “Consumer” or “Gaming” card.  The consumer level cards do not process CAD graphics the same way that is necessary for CAD.  The manufacturers to consider are NVIDIA and ATI (AMD). They both make commercial and consumer level cards.  For NVIDIA you want a Quadro series card, for ATI you want a FireGL series card.  From our experience, NVIDIA has had a better track record and updates their drivers on a more frequent basis.

Read the official NVIDIA Technical Brief on Quardo vs. GeForce CPUs in this linked PDF

Here is an independant article on NVIDIA Graphics Card Types - Performance Gaming Vs. Workstation: GeForce GTX 280 And Quadro FX 4800

Keep in mind that SolidWorks usually bumps up their graphics requirements from year to year so you are better off purchasing a card that will remain on the recommended list for several years vs. saving a few bucks today and having to upgrade in 1-2 years time.  A graphics card being supported by SolidWorks running the proper supported drivers means that SolidWorks Technical  Support will be able and willing to help you with graphical issues or errors.  Without SolidWorks supported hardware and software, SolidWorks will tell you that they are under no obligation to help with your potential issues.

We have listed the card models to look for currently, below. These models can change quickly, so if you're reading this article after summer 2011, use the link below for a better reference.

500 and 600 series - Entry level (i.e. Quadro 580)
1000 and 2000 series - Mid-Entry level (i.e. Quadro 1800)
3000 and 4000 series - High end
http://www.nvidia.com/page/quadrofx_family.html

Keep in mind if you are looking at a higher end graphics card, they require more power and cooling than the mid-range models.

 Hard Disk Drive

It used to be that SCSI drives were what you wanted for CAD.  Now Serial ATA drives are sufficient for speed.  Look for a minimum speed of (5,000) 7,200 RPM and unless you are going to be storing all of your files locally, 200 GB of Storage is more than enough.

Optical Drive

You will want a DVD/CD combo drive that can burn CDs at a minimum.  Upgrading to a DVD recorder won’t cost that much and can come in handy if you need to pack up a larger assembly or want to create 3DVIA Composer videos or Virtual Fly-Through videos.  The ability to read or write to Blu-Ray just isn’t necessary yet for “professional” purposes.   Of course with multi GB Flash Drives so cheap, some would ask why you would want to use disks to move temporary files anymore.

Monitor

Not everyone upgrades their monitor when they purchase a new Workstation, but prices have come way down recently for wide screen and standard sized LCD and even LED monitors.  These monitors use less energy than their CRT predecessors and are far easier on the eyes for long hours of use.  Beyond that, once you experience designing on a 24” wide screen or dual 19” standard monitors, you will never want to go back to a single 3x4 aspect ratio display. With dual monitors, SolidWorks even supports moving your toolbars to that second screen, so your workspace is completely focused on your design.

Miscellaneous Components and Peripherals

Other components like Power Supply, Cooling Fans, USB Ports, Mini Card Slots should be kept at whatever your PC manufacturer recommends.  If you plan to upgrade the Workstation in its lifetime, bumping up power and cooling may be beneficial because you don’t know what future specifications might become the new standard.  Other Peripherals like Keyboard, Mouse/Trackball/Pen Tablet, 3D Mouse, etc are all very personal to the user and so we won’t comment on them here.

For reference purposes, we have included a link to the “official” system requirements from SolidWorks here, http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/hardware.html.  We’ve also included a link to their video card testing results here, http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/videocardtesting.html.

Keep in mind, Alignex can custom configure any hardware you have need for and pre-load it with software so it’s ready to use immediately.  Give us a call or fill out a product info request form for more information.