How to configure your workstation for Solidworks 2023
Solidworks is an intuitive CAD software designed for designers and engineers to streamline the product development process. By simplifying the work steps, innovative designs can be brought to market faster.
The right Processor power for Solidworks 2023
Solidworks use only 1-2 processor cores for construction and assemblies. CAD applications like Solidworks prefer a high clock frequency. We recommand a workstation with an Intel Xeon 4-(Quad)- or 6-(Six)-Core processor with a basic clock frequency up to 4.00 GHz. Intel Xeon processors offer you a whole range of advantages compared to the Intel Core series (i7 and i9). Xeon CPUs can manage significantly more memory than the Intel Core family. With the help of the larger cache memory, CPU accesses are accelerated. Xeon processors support Error Correction Code memory. Xeon CPUs are able to detect and report hardware errors to the operating system to prevent system crashes. Almost all tasks are done with the processor unit and the main memory. Solidworks use multiple CPU cores only for rendering and simulation to process and render the 3D CAD model. The more cores available, the faster the rendering process will be.
Memory Advantage for Solidworks 2023
Dassault Systems, the manufacturer of Solidworks, recommends at least 8GB RAM. This is maximum for elementary 3D part creation and smaller assemblies. The main memory is the linchpin of all Solidworks calculation tasks. The capacity of the RAM depends strongly on the number and size of the parts of their assemblies. We recommend to provide at least 32 GB RAM for Solidworks. For larger assemblies at least 64 GB RAM and for the use of Solidworks Simulation we recommend 64-128 GB RAM. The RAM of our business workstation can access the optimal performance for Solidworks in Quad-Channel Mode.
Optimal graphics performance for Solidworks 2023
The Solidworks modules Photoview, Photoworks and Visualize take advantage of NVIDIA´s CUDA core technology, which can process rendering in parallel and much faster than the workstation's CPU. The load is distributed to the graphics processor and the rendering time is significantly reduced by this process.The number of CUDA cores on your graphics card affects the time Solidworks takes to render your CAD models. The higher the number of CUDA cores on your graphics card, the shorter the render times for your CAD models will be. We recommend using a NVIDIA Quadro series graphics card certified for Solidworks. Certified graphics cards offer you the highest quality and detail for your CAD design to achieve 100 percent accurate calculations. Further advantages are the optimal driver support and the support of certain functions such as Realview and Ambient Occlusion. Solidworks works closely with NVIDIA developers to continuously improve and enhance the productivity, stability and reliability of 3D graphics for Solidworks users in combination with Quadro graphics cards. Depending on your budget and CAD requirements, we'll find the best graphics solution for you. As a basic graphics card, we recommend an NVIDIA Quadro A2000 with 6GB GDDR6 VRAM. For performance tasks, an NVIDIA Quadro RTX A2000 with 12GB VRAM or an NVIDIA Quadro RTX A4000 with 16GB GDDR6 VRAM is the better alternative. As a high-end option for complex 3D modeling, the NVIDIA Quadro RTX A45000 with 20 GB VRAM or the NVIDA Quadro RTX A5000 with 24 GB GDDR6 VRAM is convincing. A real alternative are the AMD graphics card models of the Radeon Pro W6600 series certified for Solidworks for simple tasks and the AMD Radeon Pro WX6800 for more complex 3D models. Starting with Solidworks version 2016, the free Radeon ProRender add-in is available. The Radeon Pro Renderer uses all the design features of Solidworks to give their projects the depth of field they need. If you use Vizualize, the CUDA cores of the GPU are used for rendering. This leads to a significant performance boost provided you have a powerful graphics card available. For Solidworks Visualize with NVIDIA iRay GPU support, we recommend a Quadro RTX A2000 with 6 or 12GB GDDR6 VRAM. For the AMD Pro renderer, a Radeon Pro is a good choice. If you turn on the denoiser in Solidworks Visualize (from version 2018, Serive Pack 3) with an NVIDIA Quadro with 4GB VRAM or more, you can reduce their rendering times considerably.
When is the use of a second GPU useful?
Do you use Solidworks Visualize and have to deal with large renderings? In this case a second GPU can make the difference. In Solidworks Visualize nVidia Quadro graphics cards are used for the rendering process. Your renderings are processed much faster. We recommend using one or two nVidia Quadro P5000 with full Pascal power, blazing 16GB of GDDR5X memory and 2560 CudaCores for large renderings.
Hard Disk Accelerator for Solidworks 2023
Choosing a hard drive has a significant impact on performance, especially if you don't have enough memory. With an SSD M2, the workstation boots and loads the program much faster. Depending on the requirements, we recommend a correspondingly large SSD and, if necessary, an additional hard disk as a storage medium. For optimal workflow in HP Workstation, we recommend the HP Z Turbo Drive, up to four times faster, with NVMe technology integrated into an M.2 PCIe SSD storage medium. The HP Z Turbo Drive offers extremely short loading times, fast access times and improves the editing of 4K videos. First, focus on an M.2 SSD with fast access times, an nVidia Quadro graphics card, and a high-frequency CPU.
We are happy to offer you our workstation with a pre-installed license for Solidworks 2023. Ask for an offer!
