Be careful with x64 on notebooks. The Dell M90 is one of the very few that supports it, but even then, support for add-on peripherals is severely lacking. Keep in mind, too, that x64 not only allows SolidWorks to address more RAM, it requires more RAM, too. 4GB on a 64-bit system is about the...
Go to the (highly censored) Inventor Discussion Group on at www.autodesk.com and really read what their *satisfied* customers write.
45 minutes to create a single drawing view,
NEVER use multi-sheet drawings,
"only" crashing five times a day
20 minutes to insert a fastener from...
Following on Scott's reply....
If the Enable Software OpenGL is grayed out AND checked, then it is already running in SW emulation mode. If it is grayed out and unchecked, it means you have SolidWorks files open.
You must close all SolidWorks files before changing this setting.
Rfus,
You can have multiple installs in the same machine. Counts as only one activation. Should work even with a dual-boot system. (Pls try it and let us know for sure.)
FYI, both SW2006 & 2007 are activation-aware. You can have both installed on the same machine and it still counts as one...
Enable "Use Software OpenGL"
You'll lose a little performance, but SolidWorks should work just fine.
Have SolidWorks open, but no documents loaded.
Select "Tools>Options>Performance" Check "Use Software OpenGL" at the bottom of the Performance page.
Otherwise, the nVidia Quadro FX 550 and...
A scam? I don't think so.
nVidia and ATI - as well as all the ISVs - invest million$$ to provide high-performance drivers for professional applications for a relatively small potential market. Using SoftQuadro is piracy, plain and simple and nVidia is right to protect their intellectual...
Check the Dell Outlet for Dimension and Inspiron systems with XP. They're refurbished systems, but you can get some great deals with full one year warranties.
Otherwise, Dell ONLY offers XP on business class systems sold to businesses. (Optiplex, Latitude and Precision)
Online resellers...
A Precision 390 with Core2 Extreme X6800, 4GB RAM, FX3450 graphics, dual 160GB 10k SATA drives and WinXP x64 would provide noticebly faster performance at a reasonable price.
You'd have ~40% faster raw CPU speed, plus the benefits of dual core processing which increase drawing speed by another...
I'd add the HP nw9440 to the short list. It is similar to the Dell M90, but a full pound lighter and it has a dedicated numeric keyboard.
A custom build will typically cost $200-300 more than a comparable Dell M90 config, but some one of the "Special Buys" (RB551UT) configs is a great value at...
IMO, the best sources for CAD workstation reviews are www.cadcamnet.com and www.mcadonline.com. The benchmarks that they use are much more indicative of "real-world" performance than others. (www.cadcamnet.com is a paid site - but you can sign up for a 30 day free trial. Their graphics card...
It depends on your application.
For most SolidWorks users, the Dell 390 (similar) with a Core2 Extreme X6800 CPU and Quadro FX3450 graphics will be the fastest system on the planet. If you do a moderate amount of rendering and/or linear FEA, the quad core QX6700 might be a better choice.
If...
There are several software packages that will convert MRI or CT Scan data in to STL files. The new ScanTo3D software included in SW Office Premium will convert those STL file (or other polygonal mesh files) into usable surface and solid models for use in SolidWorks.
Haven't tried to get...
Even if you can find a notebook that will support XP x64 (I'm not aware of any) it doesn't make sense unless you're willing to pay mondo bucks to go with 4GB RAM ($2,300 more than 2GB from Dell).
The primary benefit of 64-bit operation is the ability to address more than 3GB RAM. The catch...
