Solidworks is a cad design software that is largely used by engineering professionals and students, it’s a computer-aided design application that requires a strong processing system to run on pc or laptop.
As making designs on this application is power hungry and often many engineers make a big mistake while choosing a computer for Solidworks it’s quite complicated, especially GPU, the most commonly asked question Is graphics card necessary for Solidworks?
Solidworks is not only about designing mechanical equipment it also involves tasks like 3D modelling, simulation and rendering.
During this process from developing to creating your design, you have to use application tools that take a lot of resources from your computer.
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Is a graphics card necessary for Solidworks?
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Yes, SolidWorks requires a dedicated graphics card to run applications smoothly, any software that involves work such as 3D modelling, and rendering, and also most of the projects handles in the virtualized environment all this demands strong GPU support.
However, some of the other CAD applications work with gaming GPU but when it comes to Solidowoks it is not recommended to use GeForce GPU instead you must own a professional video card certified by Solidworks for more detail you can check on the official site.
Basically, Solidworks graphics card requirements are only workstation grade GPU like AMD Radeon Pro and NVIDIA Quadro, as rendering utilizes the CUDA cores to smoothen the process and make sure to assemble Nvidia Graphics driver 11.0 or higher.
Moreover, engineering drawing involves a lot of visualization where the user has to constantly rotate the object zooming in and out including refreshing at every stage of the work, this is not possible without good support from the graphics card.
Now do not put your all budget on a dedicated GPU, there is no doubt without a good GPU you won’t be able to work you notice constant crashes and lags but you also need an excellent processor and ram support read below for more detail.
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What is the minimum graphics card requirement for Solidworks?
This is depending on how intense your work is and which model you are using, additionally, screen resolution in design also needs to consider however overall 4GB video card is sufficient to run the latest to older models.
As the 4GB dedicated graphics card also supports your CPU to work smoothly without worrying about constant crashes, additionally before buying a graphics card also check if the GPU is compatible with OpenGL engine 4.
It’s necessary that your graphics card is able to work with the OpenGL engine platform, this actually enhances the quality of working on 3D designing and visualizing the drawing.
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Solidworks hardware requirements
Solidworks recommends you must have a workstation computing system however I never suggest considering minimum criteria for running any application instead you must consider recommended settings.
We have tested Solidworks on various laptops and as per our experience bare minimum, 4 cores CPU must, though highly recommended 6 cores as it can handle workload more efficiently as each core works as a respective computing system.
Additionally, do not ignore the importance of ram memory by just concerning about the video card and the processor you need plenty of memory as 3D cad applications use a lot of RAM.
We tested on 8GB first, and it worked decently with little difficulty so 16GB somewhere is a good option for running applications, moreover SSD drive is a must as it loads your system efficiently without much delay.
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System requirement for Solidworks.
- CPU- Intel CPU up to 4Ghz or above with minimum Quad core support.
- Video card size- 4GB
- GPU- AMD Radeon Pro W5500 to WX 9100.
- Preferable NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 to 8000 or Nvidia A2000 to A5000.
- Ram Memory- 16GB to 32GB or above
- Hard drive space- 20-30GB free space (SSD is a must)
- Operating system- Windows 10 64-Bit or higher
- Display size- 15” or above.
Can I run Solidworks on an integrated graphics card?
This is the very common question largely asked by the laptop’s users, every laptop does come with an integrated graphics card that heavily relies on its CPU as it is mostly soldered into the motherboard.
If you try to work on Solidworks on a laptop that has integrated GPU, all the workload shifts to its processor even though Solidworks is CPU extensive yet your machine won’t be able to tackle 3D modelling, drafting and designing work with i-GPU.
As discussed above d-GPU is not only important for rendering complex designs but also provides flexibility during zooming the view and adjusting the rotation this is where a dedicated GPU becomes very handy.
Is AMD or Nvidia better for Solidworks?
AMD and Nvidia are 2 options we have right now for dedicated GPU, be it for gaming or any other demanding work
Even though AMD Radeon pro works decently with Solidworks yet Nvidia is ahead and Nvidia Quadro GPUs fit the best for this CAD application.
Does SolidWorks simulation use GPU?
The Solidworks simulation requires more CPU strength especially its core, the GPU role is minimal but multiple cores and good frequency anything up to 4Ghz with a minimum of 16GB memory can benefit the SolidWorks simulation process.
Does Solidworks CPU or GPU extensive?
The Solidworks requires both CPU and GPU support you must have both combinations nicely set up inside the PC, however, applications use more processor power than graphics yet while designing 3D models, viewport and analysing your drawing you must need a dedicated GPU.
Additionally, during 3D rendering dedicated GPU takes off a lot of loads from your CPU that makes the whole process faster and more efficient.
The GPU is definitely adding value to your SolidWorks set-up, from efficient render timings to viewing the object from various angles, you cannot ignore the importance of CPU cores and their frequency.
Can RTX 3050 run Solidworks?
The RTX 3050 is a gaming graphics card that is not optimized for working on Solidworks as it is not certified as discussed you face frequent crashes and it might even result in loss of data.
Instead, you can use Nvidia Quadro P1000 or 2200 which has the capacity to provide much better performance on basic assemblies.
However, for large-scale and complex designs where you need to visualize the heavy 3D designs, you must consider Nvidia Quadro RTX 4000 to 8000 or AMD Radeon Pro W5000 to WX8000 series GPU.
Final words:
The graphics card is a complex topic when it comes to software like Solidworks as this is one of those rare applications that do not support gaming graphics cards and workstation GPU prices are higher making it an expensive affair while setting a desktop for Solidworks.
I am sure you have got all your answers to a query about whether Is graphics card necessary for SolidWorks if you have still any doubts do not hesitate to put your thoughts in the comment box also share the post if you like the information.
