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Comprehensive Hardware Guide
This document has been written to provide insight on the suggestions made in theHawk Ridge
Systems Hardware Recommendation document and to answer common hardware questions for
users building custom system configurations to run SolidWorks, SolidWorks Simulation and
SolidWorks Flow Simulation. Unlike the hardware guidelines that written for a specific version or
range of versions, this document applies to all versions of SolidWorks unless specifically noted.Guidelinesfor other products and previous versionsare linked at the end of this document.
This is not a troubleshooting guide. If you have any technical issues with SolidWorks please contact
Hawk Ridge Systems Technical Support.
Contents
Comprehensive Hardware Guide .................................................................................................... 1General Comments ........................................................................................................................ 2Unsupported & Not Recommended Platforms.................................................................................. 3Hawk Ridge Systems Computers .................................................................................................... 3Operating Systems ........................................................................................................................ 4Graphics Card ............................................................................................................................... 7Processors .................................................................................................................................... 9Memory (RAM) ........................................................................................................................... 10Storage (Hard Drive) ................................................................................................................... 10Other Required Components/Software ......................................................................................... 11
Display ................................................................................................................................. 11Network/Internet Connection ................................................................................................. 12Input Device ......................................................................................................................... 12Microsoft Excel ...................................................................................................................... 13Internet Explorer .................................................................................................................. 13
Adobe Acrobat Reader ........................................................................................................... 14
Other Optional Components/Software .......................................................................................... 14Benchmarks ................................................................................................................................ 14
SolidWorks Specific Benchmarks ............................................................................................ 15General Benchmarks ............................................................................................................. 15
Other Hardware Guides ............................................................................................................... 15Previous Comprehensive Hardware Guides ............................................................................. 15Other Product Hardware Guidelines ........................................................................................ 15
TITLE: Comprehensive Hardware Guide
DATE: 10/12/11
SUBJECT: Computer hardware guide, system requirements, 2012
ABSTRACT: Comprehensive computer hardware guide, including specific explanationfor all hardware components for building a custom computer
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General Comments
The Hawk Ridge Systems hardware documents combine all HRS knowledge regarding hardwareand are derived from multiple sources including but not limited to internal testing, customer
experiences, user forums, hardware reviews, system/component availability, direct discussions
with SolidWorks Corp. representatives, the SolidWorks Corp. System Requirements pageand the
SolidWorks Customer Portal Knowledgebase.
Hardware recommendations are based on currently available hardware because older hardware isnot readily available for purchase or testing. Unless explicitly defined as no longer supported or
confirmed by support as unsupported it is assumed that older hardware with similar specifications
should be able to run the current version of the software. It should be noted that while users
may stay on older hardware of equivalent specifications, there may be additional performance
benefits from newer technology and clean systems that have been reformatted or had system
maintenance performed on them recently.
Users that are concerned about whether their hardware meets the current specs should comparethe specs of their systems to the current specs using benchmarks, user reviews, internal testing
and if still concerned should contact Hawk Ridge Systems Technical Support. Unfortunately
because HRS does not have all types of hardware at their disposal, beyond general
recommendations and comparison to HRS systems, HRS may not be able to provide additional
information.
While this document does not include an exhaustive list of all hardware options or componentsavailable, resources such ashttp://www.tomshardware.comandhttp://www.3dprofessor.org/
can be consulted for more information. Some additional comments about benchmarks are
available at thebottom of this document.
While SolidWorks does not publish specific minimum recommendations, theHawk Ridge SystemsRecommended Hardware Guidelineshas been written under the assumption that most users are
looking for an optimal configuration rather than the bare minimum. For users looking for the
minimum system requirements a good rule of thumb is that any modern system (no more than 5
years old) will run the current version SolidWorks as long as no hardware components are listed
as unsupported. It should also be noted that systems with these specifications may not perform
optimally for all users.
Developers test and develop new versions primarily on new hardware, leveraging the latesttechnology. As such, it is not possible to guarantee that new hardware will support future
versions of the software. It is difficult to determine the future proof capabilities of a new
hardware configuration, but in general systems should be able to support at least 2 versions. As
such, HRS recommends upgrading computers every 2 years for maximum compatibility,
performance benefits and efficiency. When choosing between buying a new computer versus
upgraded, users should consider the cost of upgrade vs. the cost of a new system. In general,
replacing computers on a 2 year schedule will maintain optimal performance versus upgrading
and older computer or even buying an extremely high-end system from the beginning. For
example buying a system that costs $3000 in 2009 to run the 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 versions
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may not be as efficient as spending $1500 in 2009 and 2011 because the $3000 system will be
out-of-date by the time that 2011 is available.
Hawk Ridge Systems recommends pre-built computers from manufacturers like Dell, HP, andLenovo because these manufacturers develop drivers specifically for their hardware. It also puts
the burden of compatibility testing and hardware technical support on the manufacturer, saving
time for the end user.
Unsupported & Not Recommended Platforms
While it may be possible to install or run SolidWorks products on unsupported platforms, the extent
of support that can be provided is limited. There are 3 general categories of support issues: User
Related, Hardware/Network Related and Software Related. Customers using platforms described as
not supported by SolidWorks will be exposed to potential support limitations in the last two items
stated above. In order to properly troubleshoot many hardware and software related issues, support
representatives and developers need to be able to reproduce those issues. Hawk Ridge Systemspersonnel will attempt to reproduce issues that are submitted to them with the supported platforms.
However, if the issues are not reproducible or identifiable, Hawk Ridge Systems support personnel
will have to close any issues that reach this as they are not covered by SolidWorks development.
Similarly, customers using platforms described as not recommended may be exposed to similar issues
but generally less severe in nature such as inconsistent behavior or limited performance. While these
issues can be reported to development, a final resolution may not be obtainable or may result in an
enhancement request to improve the softwares functionality under these system configurations.
Predictions as to the nature and number of issues that may be encountered are also difficult as
unsupported and not recommended platforms are not tested.
Hawk Ridge Systems Computers
What is Hawk Ridge Systems using? The tables below show the systems currently in use at Hawk
Ridge Systems, the currently supported versions that they are capable of running and the versions
HRS recommends running on the systems. These systems are aligned with the recommended
hardware guidelines with some upgraded for analysis and/or large assembly support purposes with
more memory and 64-bit operating systems. Windows 7 is the primary operating system of our
computers, with some running Windows XP. Our desktops are a generation old due to the fact that
they are less frequently replaced and laptops are our primary computers.
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Notebooks Current
Generation
One
Generation Old
Two
Generations Old
Model HP 8560W Dell M4500
HP 8540W
Dell M4400
HP 8530W
Versions Capable Up To 2012
Versions Recommended Up To 2012
Desktops Current
Generation
One Generation
Old
Two Generations
Old
Model Dell T3500
HP Z400
Dell T3400 Dell P390
Versions Capable Up To 2012
Versions
Recommended
Up To 2012 Up To 2009
Operating Systems
All operating systems should be updated 100% on windows updates. Take note of Windows 7service pack specific support in the table below. It should also be noted that it is required that XP
users are running sp2.0 or higher.
SolidWorks Corp. Officially Supported Operating Systemso Supportedo X Supported with limitations. See notes below the table for more information. Outside
of the limitations, the software has not been tested and cannot be supported.
o Not Supported. Installation is not supported and while the software may install and runon these operating systems, these configurations have not been tested and cannot be
supported.
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2008 20092010 &
2011
2012 2013
XP Home
XP Professional 32-bit SP2+ 3 3
XP Professional 64-bit 3 3
Vista Starter, Home Basic or
Home Premium
Vista Business, Ultimate or
Enterprise 32-bit
Vista Business, Ultimate or
Enterprise 64-bit
1,6 6 6
Windows 7 Professional,
Ultimate or Enterprise 32-bit
5,7 5,7 4,5,8
Windows 7 Professional,
Ultimate or Enterprise 64-bit
5,6 5,6 4,5,6,8
Windows 7 Starter, Home, or
Home Premium
(Tablet PC, Media Center)
1. Cannot be installed with SP0.0 and upgraded. Must be installed using 2008 Sp3.1 (or higher) x64DVD or full installer download.
2. Only available SP4.0 onward. The x64 version does not support activation and will require registrationcodes and COSMOS license.dat files. Please contactHawk Ridge Systems Technical Support.
3. While Microsoft has officially retired Windows XP as of April 2009 and will no longer provide supportto software developers, SolidWorks will continue to support Windows XP Professional operating
systems excluding issues resulting from operating system issues or requiring operating system fixes.
These types of issues are very uncommon but should be taken into account when choosing an
operating system. At the minimum customers should have an upgrade plan if necessary.
4. 2010 Cannot be installed with SP0.0 and upgraded. Must be installed using 2010 sp1.0 (or higher)DVD or full installer download.
5. Pre 2009 SP5.0 and 2010 SP0.0 installers may install but are not tested or recommended orsupported. Users in this situation should downgrade to the operating system that supports all the
versions that are required. The reason these versions were not supported is because the operating
system was not available at the time of development and development closes when the new version
is available. For more information on SolidWorks 2009 running on Windows 7, see thisdocument.
6. 32-bit version is only supported on 32-bit operating systems and will be blocked from installation on a64-bit operating system. Windows XP is the only version that supports installing the 32-bit version on
a 64-bit operating system because it was required during the initial release of 64-bit operating
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systems when there was limited 64-bit adoption of other add-ins. It is no longer required and as such
is not supported on newer operating systems. If you need this capability please submit an
enhancement request through theSolidWorks Customer Portal.
7. Operating system compatibility modes are not supported.8.
SolidWorks 2010 will not be officially qualified for use with Windows 7 SP1, only Windows 7 SP0.2011 SP4 is the minimum requirement for Windows 7 SP1. Windows 7 SP1 may be installed for usewith SolidWorks 2010, however issues found can be reported, but these issues will likely be fixed onlyin SolidWorks 2012 SP1 or later.
Virtual machines are not supported. SolidWorks must be run on physical machines. Withactivation based standalone licenses, each virtual machine will count towards activation and may
potentially be lost resulting in the software being non-functional and will require Hawk Ridge
Systems Technical Support interaction to resolve.
Intel equipped Apple Macintosh systems with Microsoft Windows operating systems are notsupported hardware platforms for SolidWorks regardless of the emulation system used (VMWare,
Parallels, Bootcamp...etc). For more information, please see ourApple article on eSupport.
When changing operating systems, including operating system upgrades, SolidWorks must beuninstalled and then reinstalled under the correct operating system for optimal functionality.
Users considering operating system changes should confirm that their existing hardware cansupport the operating system if it is newer than what is currently installed. (I.E. upgrading to
Windows 7 from Windows XP) Systems may not functional optimally if they were not built to
support the operating system.
While Hawk Ridge Systems recommends 64-bit variants of current supported operation systems,they are not required.
o However, due to their greater versatility, Hawk Ridge Systems recommends that newsystems are purchased with 64-bit operating systems. In cases where 32-bit users would
be forced to switch operating systems, 64-bit users may simply only need to add RAM or
increase page file to resolve stability or memory issues.
o It should be noted that while the 64-bit version of SolidWorks running on a 64-bitoperating system with a 64-bit processor will not directly translate to faster processing
speed (Opening, Saving, Rebuildingetc), speed benefits usually come from newer
processing technology, clean systems or the ability to install more ram. Currently most
64-bit processors are using 32-bit processing algorithms and true 64-bit processing
architecture which would result in faster processing speed is available in only a few
processors such as SPARC6 and Intel Itanium processors.
Choosing an operating system and suggesting a recommended operating system has become adifficult task due to individual customer corporate requirements, availability of the operating
systems and the near equal performance of the operating systems. The following table outlines
the advantages and disadvantages of the currently supported operating systems. If users have a
choice of operating systems, Hawk Ridge Systems encourages testing the operating systems in
your environment to make sure that it matches your needs.
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Preference (Rank)
1 2 3
Windows 7 Windows Vista Windows XP
Advantages -In general can bedowngraded to Windows
XP or sometimes Windows
Vista and upgraded at a
later date. Please contact
your hardware
manufacturer for more
information.
-Decreased operating
system graphical and
processing overhead
compared to Vista resulting
in more resources available
for SolidWorks.
-Full Microsoft support for
software developers
-More bench time than Windows
7
-In general can be downgraded
to Windows XP and upgraded at
a later date. Please contact your
hardware manufacturer for more
information on eligibility.
-Full Microsoft support for
software developers
-Tried and tested operating
system
-Supported for majority legacy
hardware and software
Disadvantages -Requires carefulconsideration of legacy
software and hardware
which may not be
supported
-For most users it requires
learning a new operating
system interface and new
methods of performing day
to day functions.
-Increased operating
system graphical and
processing overhead
compared to XP resulting
in less resources available
for SolidWorks.
-Requires careful consideration
of legacy software and hardware
which may not be supported
-For most users it requires
learning a new operating system
interface and new methods of
performing day to day functions.
-Increased operating system
graphical and processing
overhead compared to XP
resulting in less resources
available for SolidWorks.
-Not available for purchase
-No operating system fixes
-Retired operating system,
limited support for much new
software.
-x64 variant requires careful
consideration of legacy software
and hardware which may not be
supported
-Not available for purchase
Graphics Card
Consumer graphics cards such as the ATI/AMD Radeon, NVIDIA Geforce, integrated graphics or2D cards such as the NVIDIA Quadro NVS or AMD FirePro Multi-View cards are not recommended
due to graphics related performance and stability limitations. Hawk Ridge Systems highly
recommends the use of 3D workstation graphics cards such as the ones in the table below:
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Entry Level Mid-Range High-End
Desktop PCs NVIDIA Quadro1 600 2000 4000/5000
AMD FirePro2 V4800 V5900 V7900
Notebook PCs NVIDIA Quadro Mobile 880M/1000M 2000M 3000/4000M
AMD FirePro Mobility M5950 M8900 N/A
1. Previous name was NVIDIA Quadro FX2. Previous name was ATI FireGL
SolidWorks maintains a list of certified graphics cards and the drivers recommended for them ondifferent operating systems and versions of SolidWorks at:
o http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/videocardtesting.html.o Recommended cards will show up with a green icon indicating they have passed all tests.
Yellow rated cards are not recommended due tolimitations observed during testing. Red
rated cards are not supported due to severe limitations observed during testing.
o When looking up graphics cards, be aware that notebook systems will only be foundunder the system manufacturer.
o New systems or graphics cards may take several weeks to be certified, so please checkback often to verify that it is certified before purchasing. In general, new cards which
already have certified cards of the same family (for example the NVIDIA Quadro FX
family) will also be certified and will perform well with the latest driver for the system or
card manufacturer until a certified/tested driver is available.
o If the card/system is listed for older versions of SolidWorks, but not for current versions,you can assume that your card is no longer be supported. See ourOpenGL document
for more information.
Along with benchmark results and availability of a recommended driver, the amount of memoryon board, memory bandwidth and number of processing cores are important values when
comparing graphics cards. As values increase, generally performance is better. Some sample
specification comparisons are included below:
o http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_11761.htmlo http://products.amd.com/en-us/WorkstationGraphicCardResult.aspx?f1=FireGL
When displaying greater amounts of graphical information (complex models, large monitors,multiple monitors or high resolutions) more powerful graphics cards should be chosen to improve
display performance.
When using graphics cards with large amounts of onboard memory (1GB+), users may see adecreased memory capacity in SolidWorks due to graphical memory mapping on system RAM.
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The memory mapping is not 1:1 but significantly decreases SolidWorks memory capacity as the
graphics card on board memory increases. When working near the threshold of a 32-bit
operating system this may result in out-of-memory errors which cannot be resolved through
operating system, hardware or SolidWorks software changes. If models cannot be modified to
decrease memory usage from the 32-bit operating system threshold, 64-bit operating systemsshould be considered. Similarly, graphics cards with shared memory will produce an additional
reduction in available memory to supplement on board graphics card memory.
NVIDIA SLI and ATI Crossfire technology are currently not supported and no benefits are gainedby having multiple graphics cards. Hawk Ridge Systems recommends substituting multiple
graphics cards by a more powerful single graphics card if necessary.
At this time SolidWorks does not leverage GPU processing. PhotoView 360 rendering capabilities are not improved by more powerful graphics cards. With Windows Vista and Windows 7, video cards with 256mb or less will experience reduced
performance due to architectural changes in the operating system.
Processors
SolidWorks does not state a minimum processor specification but any modern processor shouldbe sufficient. However for 2010 products and above, Pentium 3, older AMD Athlon and AMD XP
processors are no longer supported because these CPUs do not support SSE2 (Streaming SIMD
Extensions 2). Seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSE2for more details.
Floating point based (Xeon) vs. integer based processors do not matter. The software is notwritten to benefit one type of processor or another.
Currently there are no specific benchmarks which compare single processors to multi-coreprocessors/multi-processor systems in SolidWorks, however users who multi-task and some
aspects of SolidWorks (Opening Drawings, Draw Compare, Boolean operations, Updating Views),
PhotoWorks(2010 and below), PhotoView 360, Simulation and Flow Simulation will benefit from
parallel processing (multi-core or multi-processors). For other functions, it should be noted that
the majority of parametric operations are required to be performed sequentially (like rebuilding
features in the feature tree) and by nature are single threaded.
Users should make decisions based on the capabilities of a single core rather than the processoras a whole. In general, if you use the clock speed of the processor as the measurement, higher
clock speed values and benchmark results will provide better performance. It should be noted
that AMD processors are rated differently than Intel processors and the manufacturer should be
contacted to ensure those differences are taken into account. These examples illustrate the
selection process between Intel processors:
o Example 1: Similarly priced 2.5Ghz dual core vs. 2.0Ghz quad core, the dual core wouldbe recommended because most operations would be done on a 2.5Ghz core instead of a
2.0Ghz core.
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o Example 2: 2.5Ghz dual core processor vs. a slightly more expensive 2.66ghz quad core,the quad core would be recommended because most operations would be done on a
2.66Ghz core instead of a 2.5Ghz core and multi-threaded processes would benefit from
the additional cores.
Disable hyper-threading for older P4 class processors. For modern generation processors (IntelCore CPUs) it should be enabled. Testing so far indicates substantial benefits with turbo boost
and hyper threading. However, we recommend doing individual benchmarks to see if its optimal
or not to leave hyper-threading enabled as results will vary depending on hardware setup.
When choosing a processor, the clock speed is important but you should also review the numberof cores, bus speed, amount of onboard cache, boost capabilities and also hyper-threading
capabilities. While they may not provide direct benefits in SolidWorks, they may provide
additional benefits in general processor capabilities.
Memory (RAM) It is recommended to install as much RAM as is feasible to improve performance and stability by:
o Increasing the opportunity for RAM to be allocated to applications instead of slower,more volatile hard drive based page file.
o Reduce the amount of memory swapping between programs when there isnt enoughRAM to satisfy the needs of all programs.
o Improve the memory threshold for computers running 32-bit operating systems.For more information on how RAM, and page file are related to virtual memory and
SolidWorks please see ourmemory document.
In most cases, more RAM is better. However, more RAM does not always equate to more speed.It is recommended to have enough RAM to handle the needs of your applications.
Faster RAM can also provide performance benefits but please verify with your hardwaremanufacturer that faster RAM is compatible with your system and that existing RAM is of equal
speed. Existing RAM which is slower, may reduce the performance of new, faster RAM.
For an in-depth explanation of SolidWorks and memory,see this document.
Storage (Hard Drive) Some performance benefits can be obtained by having separate drives (not separate partitions
on the same drive) for:
o Operating System/Programs and Current Fileso Page File
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o Data Archive (Can be much larger and slower for archive use only) While there are no specific benchmarks which compare performance in SolidWorks with different
RAID versions, (RAID0 (Data Spreading), RAID1 (Data Mirroring) and RAID5 (Data Mirroring and
Spreading)they can be used in a SolidWorks client system to add data redundancy and improve
hard disk access performance. It should be noted that page file should always be located on a
non-RAID hard drive. More information is available here:
http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/Tech_Tips/TT_RaidDrives.html.
The performance of a SSD is the fastest of all storage devices. As SSD technology matures, it willbecome easier to just buy any SSD and get a boost in performance without any side effects.
Please review the article below for more details and helping you decide which type of SSD is right
for you:http://www.tomsguide.com/us/ssd-value-performance,review-1455.html
o We only recommend using SSDs if they support TRIM and you are using Windows 7.More information is available here:http://www.bit-
tech.net/hardware/storage/2010/02/04/windows-7-ssd-performance-and-trim/1
Performance benefits will be seen from upgrading to a 10K or 15K RPM hard drive. As thesedrives have high data transfer rates and can access data very quickly.
Primary hard drives should have enough storage for the OS, other programs, virtual memory,temporary files, free space, file storage, SolidWorks installer and program files (Up to 12GB). The
minimum storage space we recommend is 80GB.
Other Required Components/Software
Display Widescreen monitors are recommended because of the widescreen nature of the SolidWorks
interface.
When displaying greater amounts of graphical information (complex models, large monitors,multiple monitors or high resolutions) more powerful graphics cards should be chosen to improve
performance.
When using multiple monitors, the best compatibility is with monitors with thesame resolution and color settings. This is the configuration that is used during
SolidWorks graphics card driver testing.
SolidWorks 2010, 2011, and 2012 includes limited functionality for multi-touchmonitors. Clickherefor SolidWorks help for functionality that is supported.
Minimum 1024x768 not required but some menus might be cut off at that resolution. This is notan intended functionality and should be reported to Hawk Ridge Systems Technical Support.
http://www.hawkridgesys.com/http://www.hawkridgesys.com/http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/Tech_Tips/TT_RaidDrives.htmlhttp://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/Tech_Tips/TT_RaidDrives.htmlhttp://www.tomsguide.com/us/ssd-value-performance,review-1455.htmlhttp://www.tomsguide.com/us/ssd-value-performance,review-1455.htmlhttp://www.tomsguide.com/us/ssd-value-performance,review-1455.htmlhttp://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2010/02/04/windows-7-ssd-performance-and-trim/1http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2010/02/04/windows-7-ssd-performance-and-trim/1http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2010/02/04/windows-7-ssd-performance-and-trim/1http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2010/02/04/windows-7-ssd-performance-and-trim/1http://help.solidworks.com/2012/english/solidworks/sldworks/c_touch_and_multi-touch_support.htmhttp://help.solidworks.com/2012/english/solidworks/sldworks/c_touch_and_multi-touch_support.htmhttp://help.solidworks.com/2012/english/solidworks/sldworks/c_touch_and_multi-touch_support.htmhttp://www.hawkridgesys.com/support/http://www.hawkridgesys.com/support/http://help.solidworks.com/2012/english/solidworks/sldworks/c_touch_and_multi-touch_support.htmhttp://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2010/02/04/windows-7-ssd-performance-and-trim/1http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2010/02/04/windows-7-ssd-performance-and-trim/1http://www.tomsguide.com/us/ssd-value-performance,review-1455.htmlhttp://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/Tech_Tips/TT_RaidDrives.htmlhttp://www.hawkridgesys.com/ -
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Network/Internet Connection
An internet connection is required to:o Access tohttp://customerportal.solidworks.comfor
SolidWorks knowledgebase, technical articles, SPR tracking,
etc.
o Accessing Hawk Ridge SystemseSupporto Downloading software updates (Depending on installed
software the download required averages around 1GB but can range from a few MB to
4.5GB. High-speed internet connection recommended.)
o Standalone license activation and obtaining SolidWorks network licenses. (At minimumthe activation process requires access to e-mail on at least one company computer)
o Remote support sessions and HRS Webinars. (High-speed internet connectionrecommended)
Wired network connections are recommended for SNL and accessing files over a network foroptimal performance and least chance of latency or data loss. Users working with wireless
connections or VPN connections should borrow licenses or move files locally. It should be noted
that Hawk Ridge Systems does not recommend working with files over a network and users that
need this capability should consider a data management solution such as SolidWorks Workgroup
PDM or SolidWorks Enterprise PDM.
Remote desktop connections or VPN connections to SolidWorks clients are not supported. Network components should be speed compatible or adjusted to be speed compatible. If gigabit
Ethernet cards are being used with gigabit routers/switches, it is highly recommended that CAT6
cable is used between them as CAT5 and CAT5e may not provide sufficient bandwidth.
(http://www.edn.com/article/CA46370.html) It should be noted that Hawk Ridge Systems highly
discourages the use of network opening and saving for performance, crashing and file corruption
reasons. PDM systems are recommended for network saving because they provide the best
balance of performance and file backup in addition to revision control and change accountability.
SolidWorks is tested only with Microsoft's Windows Networking and Active Directory networkenvironments. Novell networks and non-Windows based network storage devices are not
supported.
Input Device
A 3-Button mouse with a scroll wheel is required. Hawk Ridge Systemsexperience shows the best compatibility is with Microsoft products with
the most current drivers.
http://www.hawkridgesys.com/http://www.hawkridgesys.com/http://customerportal.solidworks.com/http://customerportal.solidworks.com/http://customerportal.solidworks.com/http://www.hawksupport.com/http://www.hawksupport.com/http://www.hawksupport.com/http://www.edn.com/article/CA46370.htmlhttp://www.edn.com/article/CA46370.htmlhttp://www.edn.com/article/CA46370.htmlhttp://www.edn.com/article/CA46370.htmlhttp://www.hawksupport.com/http://customerportal.solidworks.com/http://www.hawkridgesys.com/ -
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3D Controllerscan be used but please check with the manufacturer to ensure that they arecompatible with the version of SolidWorks that you are using.
Tablets are currently not supported but should work in sketch mode. Please contact the hardwaremanufacturer for any compatibility concerns or for information on configuring the tablet for use
in SolidWorks
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel version should be an equivalent or older version than thatof SolidWorks for full functionality and compatibility.
2007 and
below
2008 and
2009
2010 2011 2012
Excel
2002
Excel
2003
Excel
2007
1
Excel
2010
2
1. .xlsx is not supported, must use .xls files2. Only with 2010 SP5.0
Internet Explorer
Used for Installation manager, help files, admin image (one step installer), Workgroup PDMViewer, Enterprise PDM and Hawk Ridge Systems eSupport.
2008 and
below
2009 2010 2011 2012
IE6 IE7 IE8 1 IE9 2
1. 2009 sp5 required.2. 2011 sp4 required.
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Adobe Acrobat Reader
Latest version is recommended but version 7.0.7 or higher will work for reading the Whats NewPDF
Other Optional Components/Software DVD-R/DVD-RW with software for archiving and file transfer. Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware tools: SolidWorks has published a list of compatible Anti-Virus tools:
http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/AntiVirus_SW.html
Additional Cooling: Extra case fans or notebook cooler. System/Disk Imaging Software: Should not be used as it is not supported by SolidWorks. If used,
SolidWorks should be installed after systems have been imaged or should be used with a network
license.
Benchmarks
Unfortunately the number of SolidWorks specific benchmarks and their results are limited. However,
in general, benchmarks which evaluate overall component or system performance can be used when
making component or system selections because the principal functions in SolidWorks are
comparable to functions in other programs and the measurements made in benchmark programs.
Examples of items tested in a benchmark:
Hard drive performance benchmarks apply to SolidWorks for opening and saving functions. Graphics cards that perform well in OpenGL tests or in benchmarks for other 3D CAD applications
based on OpenGL apply to SolidWorks
Single-threaded application performance benchmarks apply to the majority of SolidWorksfunctions such as rebuilding
Multi-threaded application performance benchmarks apply to multi-threaded functions inSolidWorks such as photo rendering and analysis. For more information about what processes are
multi-threaded, pleasequery the SolidWorks Customer Portal Knowledgebase using the search
term multi or review the comments above in the Processor section.
Overall processor benchmarks will still give a decent idea of the performance of a processor aslong as equal core processors are being compared. For example the results of a quad core vs.
dual core should not be compared. If compared, it should be kept in mind that most processor
benchmarks take into account multi-threaded applications which may skew the results towards
the processor with more cores.
http://www.hawkridgesys.com/http://www.hawkridgesys.com/http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/AntiVirus_SW.htmlhttp://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/AntiVirus_SW.htmlhttp://customerportal.solidworks.com/http://customerportal.solidworks.com/http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/AntiVirus_SW.htmlhttp://www.hawkridgesys.com/ -
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Some of the most common benchmarks used for evaluating existing systems or for choosing new
ones are listed below. These benchmarks have been performed by third parties not associated with
Hawk Ridge Systems and the publishers should be contacted directly with any questions you might
have.
An additional note of caution: The results of benchmarks are subjective. High scores may provide
adequate performance for one user but may be insufficient for another user due their unique use of
the software. Hawk Ridge Systems recommends working with hardware manufacturers to
demo/evaluate systems before purchase whenever possible or make sure there is an acceptable
return policy if the system does not meet your needs.
SolidWorks Specific Benchmarks
SolidWorks RX Benchmark:o See the Add-in tab in the SolidWorks RX utility(start menu>all programs>SolidWorks
2012>SolidWorks tools>SolidWorks RX)
Toms Hardware workstation graphics card testing with SPECapc in SolidWorks 2007:o http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/workstation-graphics-charts/SPECapc-Solidworks-
2007-Overall-Score,123.html
SolidMuses SolidWorks rebuild tests:o http://www.solidmuse.com/benchmarks/
ATIs FirePro and NVidia Quadro FX graphics card testing with SPECapc Viewperf 10:o http://ati.amd.com/products/firepro/firepro_3D_benchmarks.htmlo http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/quadrofx-firepro.html
General Benchmarks
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/has general benchmarks for CPUs, graphics cards, hard drivesand systems. These benchmarks are usually based on multithreaded applications and consumer
graphics applications (Video games and multimedia) and should be evaluated with caution based
on the benchmark comments made above.
Other Hardware Guides
Previous Comprehensive Hardware Guides
2010 2011Other Product Hardware Guidelines
SolidWorks Authored
http://www.hawkridgesys.com/http://www.hawkridgesys.com/http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/workstation-graphics-charts/SPECapc-Solidworks-2007-Overall-Score,123.htmlhttp://www.tomshardware.com/charts/workstation-graphics-charts/SPECapc-Solidworks-2007-Overall-Score,123.htmlhttp://www.tomshardware.com/charts/workstation-graphics-charts/SPECapc-Solidworks-2007-Overall-Score,123.htmlhttp://www.tomshardware.com/charts/workstation-graphics-charts/SPECapc-Solidworks-2007-Overall-Score,123.htmlhttp://www.tomshardware.com/charts/workstation-graphics-charts/SPECapc-Solidworks-2007-Overall-Score,123.htmlhttp://www.solidmuse.com/benchmarks/http://www.solidmuse.com/benchmarks/http://ati.amd.com/products/firepro/firepro_3D_benchmarks.htmlhttp://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/quadrofx-firepro.htmlhttp://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/quadrofx-firepro.htmlhttp://www.cpubenchmark.net/http://www.cpubenchmark.net/http://www.hawksupport.com/downloads/2010_HRS_HardwareGuide.pdfhttp://www.hawksupport.com/downloads/2010_HRS_HardwareGuide.pdfhttp://www.hawksupport.com/downloads/2011_HRS_HardwareGuide.pdfhttp://www.hawksupport.com/downloads/2011_HRS_HardwareGuide.pdfhttp://www.hawksupport.com/downloads/2011_HRS_HardwareGuide.pdfhttp://www.hawksupport.com/downloads/2010_HRS_HardwareGuide.pdfhttp://www.cpubenchmark.net/http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/quadrofx-firepro.htmlhttp://ati.amd.com/products/firepro/firepro_3D_benchmarks.htmlhttp://www.solidmuse.com/benchmarks/http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/workstation-graphics-charts/SPECapc-Solidworks-2007-Overall-Score,123.htmlhttp://www.tomshardware.com/charts/workstation-graphics-charts/SPECapc-Solidworks-2007-Overall-Score,123.htmlhttp://www.hawkridgesys.com/ -
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o SolidWorks Network License Managero SolidWorks Workgroup PDM Server and Viewer (Scroll to the Bottom)o 3DVIA Composero eDrawings
Hawk Ridge Systems Authoredo Recommended hardware guideo SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Clients and Server
This information is subject to change without notification. Please make sure you are usingthe most
current version of the document.If you have any questions or find that there are discrepanciesbetween this document and the SolidWorks website or documentation, please contactHawk Ridge
Systems Technical Support.
http://www.hawkridgesys.com/http://www.hawkridgesys.com/http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/SystemRequirements.htmlhttp://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/PDMSystemRequirements.htmlhttp://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/9251_ENU_HTML.htmhttp://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/9251_ENU_HTML.htmhttp://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/SystemRequirements.htmlhttp://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/SystemRequirements.htmlhttp://www.hawksupport.com/downloads/EPDM_Hardware_Guidelines.pdfhttp://www.hawksupport.com/downloads/EPDM_Hardware_Guidelines.pdfhttp://www.hawksupport.com/esupport/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=497http://www.hawksupport.com/esupport/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=497http://www.hawksupport.com/esupport/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=497http://www.hawksupport.com/esupport/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=497http://www.hawkridgesys.com/support/http://www.hawkridgesys.com/support/http://www.hawkridgesys.com/support/http://www.hawkridgesys.com/support/http://www.hawkridgesys.com/support/http://www.hawkridgesys.com/support/http://www.hawksupport.com/esupport/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=497http://www.hawksupport.com/esupport/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=497http://www.hawksupport.com/downloads/EPDM_Hardware_Guidelines.pdfhttp://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/SystemRequirements.htmlhttp://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/9251_ENU_HTML.htmhttp://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/PDMSystemRequirements.htmlhttp://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/SystemRequirements.htmlhttp://www.hawkridgesys.com/