We often get asked about the specifications for our software and most are easy to look at the recommended and find a machine that hits those specs.
As Solidworks has a lot more going on inside of it with the 3D Experience portal, the vast array of tools and the simulation capability it can be tricky to know what you need, what to focus on and how to keep it on a tight budget.
Here we will go over the core components to focus on and mention where you can afford to take a downgrade and where to upgrade if the budget allows.
We will start with the CPU/Processor.
The recommendation asks for a 64 bit processor with a clock speed of at least 3GHz.
A CPU being 64-bit is standard for modern computers and is normally checked with a quick google search.
The clock speed means Solidworks will often run at at least 3GHz meaning your CPU must reach a maximum of over 3. On computer specs they often say the name of the CPU followed by "(up to X.X GHz)".
Otherwise Solidworks itself runs better on CPUs with higher single core performance, simulation and rendering will benefit from multicore performance. Intel CPUs often have better single core performance with a total of only 8-24 depending on the version, AMD often prefer to have more cores with their top spec one having 96 cores. For the average user something around the Intel i7 is often recommended and then you can move to the i5 or i9 depending on budget and how complex you expect your models/simulations to get.
Next is RAM. The recommendation is at least 16GB however for most people 32GB is going to be better off, this will keep rendering, simulations, modelling, assembles all going smooth in the long run. There is no need for 64GB RAM as for most users across industries 64GB is often overkill.
We could go more in depth for RAM like one 32GB stick vs two 16GB sticks but to keep things short and simple aim for 32GB and either way you will be fine.
GPU/Graphics Card
We don't have any specifics for this one due to the amount of graphics cards that would work, however there are still a few things to look out for and check.
The first is that if you are going for a laptop ensure that the GPU is discrete. A discrete GPU is one what is separate from a motherboard, in traditional tower PCs these often come as discrete but in Laptops you get an integrated GPU and then the possibility of a discrete GPU, so essentially for a laptop you are looking for two GPUs.
If you are planning on doing some modelling and simple simulation then going for a low end GPU is perfectly fine, for a laptop specifically the RTX A500 from NVIDIA is enough even though it is less powerful than what
Solidworks may recommend. For those looking to do rendering and animations then going up to something like the RTX 2000 would be better.
If you are unsure on the power of your GPU then a benchmark site can help compare the options.
See here for a comparison between the two mentioned and then add the one you are looking to get to see how it shapes up.
The only other specification to mention is storage. This can come as SSD or HDD, SSD is faster but often smaller compared to the HDD. Having your files, application and materials on the SSD will mean better loading time. However, Solidworks can quickly eat up that storage so the more the merrier here but keeping things on a HDD isn't the end of the world so if budget is tight, having a good overall storage space is more important that whether it's SSD or HDD.
That is the basics of what you need to think about when finding a machine to Solidworks, although the information could be put to any software. If you have further questions regarding machine specifications for Solidworks or any of the software on offer please reach out to the team where we can answer any questions you may have.