×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

solidworks doesn't seem to use enough RAM

solidworks doesn't seem to use enough RAM

solidworks doesn't seem to use enough RAM

(OP)
I'm running solidworks 64bit in windows 7 64bit on a macbook pro with a core i7 processor and 8gb RAM.

I've been having trouble with two projects recently;

1.  Is an assembly involving around 170 parts and the computer really slows down.  When rotating the view around the assembly it jumps alot & projecting vies in a drawing of the assembly takes around 10 minutes per projection (eg. elevation, plan orthographic etc.)

2.  Is a Miura-Ori Map fold assembly which consists of lots of surface parts and LOTS of mates.  I can currently only get to around 36 parts before the computer seizes up.

In both cases I have gone into the task manager and checked the CPU and RAM usage which don't go above 25% and 2.3GB respectively.

I'm wondering if anyone has an answer for why solidworks wouldn't use more hardware to run properly?  and if anybody know's how to solve this problem?

Thanks!!

RE: solidworks doesn't seem to use enough RAM

For one, SWX cannot take advantage of multiple cores directly.  It will work on one core and the other cores can be doing something else.  Look at your Task Manager again.  Where you are reporting 25% CPU usage is that the net usage?  Look at the charts for the separate cores; chances are one of them is maxed and it will be runnig SWX.

In order to reduce a lot of mates you should try to use patterns and subassemblies.  You should also load your parts/assemblies Lightweight for reducing the load on the system.

Just a few tips to consider.

- - -Updraft

RE: solidworks doesn't seem to use enough RAM

The i7 you have is probably a quad core, so the 25% means that one core is being fully used. For the most part, SW is single-threaded, meaning it can only use one core at a time.

What graphics card is installed?

What type of features have been used in the parts and assys?
Large patterns or helices will slow the best of computers.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources