SOLIDWORKS has been known to run on “gaming” graphics cards which use DirectX (such as AMD Radeon and the Nvidia Geforce card ranges), however, users may experience frequent graphical glitches and features of the software like Realview Graphics won’t function correctly, if at all. SOLIDWORKS requires a professional, fully certified graphics card which runs the OpenGL engine in order to function correctly (e.g. If running Simulations or working with large datasets, we recommend at least You can go up to 64GB, but if you’re at a point where you need that much, you might want to consider simplifying the simulation study!.Minimum amount of RAM recommended by SOLIDWORKS: 16GB.Running regular, data-heavy Simulations, for example, increases the need for RAM, because large amounts of data typically needs to be loaded during calculations. If a machine runs out of memory the load time for files can increase drastically, due to hard drive caching.Įnsuring the amount of RAM in a machine is sufficient for the typical size of datasets is important. This applies mainly to the size of datasets that need to be loaded when using the software. We’ll also recommend our favourite workstations for running SOLIDWORKS taking budget and performance into consideration, so, without further ado… Memory/RAMĬomplex models and drawings in SOLIDWORKS will require more RAM (Random Access Memory) in order to load effectively. 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. There are many variables to consider and choosing the right PC for the job can be a very confusing process. Your desktop computer or laptop must meet recommended specification levels to run SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD software effectively.