Hardware spec for Solidworks 2

[woolly]

We are currently using workstations supplied by CAD2 (very good). We have expanded our SW use from a single seat to 4 seats, and are going to add another 7 over the next year.

The machine spec is as follows:-

3.6Ghz intel processor
2Gb RAM
128Mb ATI Fire GL V5100
Windows XP Pro
Solidworks 2006 SP3.4

Now there are four of us working on SW, we are tackling larger projects with it. At the moment we are working on an assembly of 25,000 parts, it will end up around 30,000 parts.

The problem we are now starting to notice is a lack of memory, on opening the full assembly (lightweight & large assembly on). Runs out of memory on opening & trying to print an A1 colour iso of the whole layout just seems to fail every time (about 1.5Gb of RAM used at this time).

Would the 3Gb switch help us at the moment?
Does anyone know when SW x64 will be available on full release? And how much difference will it make?

Also what spec machine should we be looking at buying for the new workstations?

4gb RAM, 256Mb graphics (ATI Fire GL V7100) - Recommended by CAD2 at the moment, more if budget allows.

Any thoughts would be helpful, before we go & buy 4 more machines of the same spec, and regret it later.

 

[Theophilus]

You can jump into Windows x64 now and make use of plenty of RAM that way--then SW will follow soon with their x64 full version. I know some analysis people who have been using some very heavy hardware and switching to Windows x64 was key in making use of the hardware resources.

Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe trumps reason.

 

[ctopher]

I would go with the latter (4gb, 256mb...).
The more RAM and video menory the better, especially with very large assy's.
I think x64 is due this year.

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 05
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

 

[dezignstuff]

Personally, I would skip the ATI in favor of an nVidia Quadro FX 1400 or higher. The FireGL isn't a bad card, but the Quadros are better. Make sure not to get a Quadro NVS, which is not a CAD card.

I would also suggest going AMD instead of Intel. AMD definitely has the momentum and benchmark scores to back it up.

As far as the large assembly stuff goes, you've got to trim things down. If you're running out of memory with LAM turned on, and you're using reasonable settings, you've got a problem. 64 bit is still a good ways off as far as using it for production goes. Neither the OS nor the SW software is really ready for 64 bit yet.

There are some user group presentations which have a lot of good information about things you can do to make very large assemblies almost workable:

http://mysite.verizon.net/mjlombard/

in the User Groups area

http://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/documents/AssemblyPerformance.zip

I'm sure there are several others as well.

Good luck.

 

[ctopher]

Agree.
I forgot to mention I also prefer nVidia.
Woolly, are the assy's created with all parts, or do you use subassy's? I suggest using subassy's and loading lightweight.

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 05
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

 

[woolly]

ctopter,

We are using lots of sub-assemblies & lightweight all the time. The way we work means we have lots of full models in a complete layout to give us the customers line.

Woolly

 

[PDMAdmin]

If you get a 32-bit machine, don't go above 2 GB RAM. Anything more than that, you're wasting your money because Windows will never be able to use it. The 3GB switch will absolutely help you; also, make sure your swapfile is set to at least 1.5 times your RAM.

My experience tells me that the nVidia Quadro cards are less problematic than the ATI cards.

If you go with a 64-bit machine, get at least 4 GB RAM for it. Also, you should not need to wait for the x64 version of SolidWorks. I am running 32-bit SolidWorks on a 64-bit machine with 64-bit Windows, and there is a huge improvement, not so much in speed, but in my ability to work with large assemblies without crashing.

 

[Standing]

PDMAdmin,
A Star for you. I just used your comment to justify purchasing Windows XP Professional x64.


Bradley

 

[woolly]

It's looking good on the spec of the new hardware, just one question does anyone know what is the minimum version req'd for MS Office when running on Windows x64? I've heard of a windows utility called WOW (windows on windows), it enables 32 bit applications to run on 64 bit, does anyone know anyhing about it?

Woolly

 

[Standing]

Woolly’s comment brings up a very important question. Will the Visual Basic 6.0 executables that we currently run, still run on Windows XP Professional x64?

Bradley

 

[PDMAdmin]

I'm running Micro$oft Office Pro 2003 on 64-bit XP, SP1. If a particular application is available in 64-bit, I'll use it; otherwise I'll run the 32-bit app. I haven't observed any problems so far.

Not sure about VB executables, but my macros run fine in 32-bit SW under a 64-bit OS.

 

[woolly]

Thanks for that PDMAdmin, so I assume from that there is no special way in running the 32bit apps in 64 bit, you just run them as you would before & windows decides whether it is 32 or 64 bit.
One thing that was brought to my attention yesterday regarding plotter drivers, we have a large format HP & OCE, the HP has a 64 bit driver but not the OCE, just something to be aware of before changing over to 64.

Thanks

Woolly

http://www.rjherbert.co.uk

 

[PDMAdmin]

woolly,

What happens on my machine is that there are two directories for installs. One is called "Program Files" and the other is called "Program Files (x86)." The 32-bit apps go under the x86 directory, while the 64-bit apps go under the "Program Files" directory. I run them like I normally would in a 32-bit OS. Just after I made my last post, I noticed a little flaky behavior from 32-bit SolidWorks; I need to do a little more experimenting to see if it was caused by my 64-bit OS or just happenstance.

I haven't tried printing from my 64-bit machine, but you make a good point about the 64-bit drivers. I don't think it should be a problem for Postscript printing, but for non-PS printing, such as a large-format plotter, that could be an issue. I'll check that out with our IT dept. In the meantime, you get a star for making me aware of that.

 

[woolly]

A gold star lol!!!