Skip to content

Main Navigation

Puget Systems Logo
  • Solutions
    • Recommended Systems For:
    • Content Creation
      • Photo Editing
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Adobe Lightroom Classic
        • Adobe Photoshop
      • Video Editing
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Adobe After Effects
        • Adobe Premiere Pro
        • DaVinci Resolve
        • Foundry Nuke
      • 3D Design and Animation
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Autodesk 3ds Max
        • Autodesk Maya
        • Blender
        • Cinema 4D
        • Houdini
        • ZBrush
      • Real-Time Engines
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Game Development
        • Unity
        • Unreal Engine
        • Virtual Production
      • Rendering
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • OctaneRender
        • Redshift
        • V-Ray
      • Digital Audio
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Ableton Live
        • FL Studio
        • Pro Tools
    • Engineering
      • CAD
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Autodesk AutoCAD
        • Autodesk Inventor
        • Autodesk Revit
        • SOLIDWORKS
      • Photogrammetry
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • ArcGIS Pro
        • Agisoft Metashape
        • Pix4D
        • RealityCapture
    • Scientific Computing
      • Recommended Systems For:
      • Data Science
      • Machine Learning / AI
      • Scientific Computing
    • More
      • Recommended Systems For:
      • Compact Size
      • Live Streaming
      • NVIDIA RTX Studio
      • Quiet Operation
      • Virtual Reality
  • Products
    • Intel Core i7 & i9
      Workstations with 13th Gen Intel Core i7 & i9 processors on Z690 and Z790 chipsets
    • AMD Ryzen 7 & 9
      Workstations with AMD Ryzen 7000 Series processors on B650 and X670 chipsets
    • AMD Threadripper PRO
      Workstations with AMD Threadripper PRO 5000 WX processors on the WRX80 chipset
    • Intel Xeon W
      Workstations with Intel Xeon W 3300 processors on the C621E chipset
    • Rackmount & Server
      Servers and workstations in rackmount chassis
    • Custom Computers
      Customize a desktop workstation from scratch
    • Custom Servers
      Customize a rackmount server from scratch
    • QNAP Network Attached Storage
      Check out our external storage options as an authorized reseller for QNAP
    • Recommended Third Party Peripherals
      View our list of recommended peripherals to use with your new PC
  • Publications
    • Articles
    • HPC Blog
    • Blog Posts
    • Case Studies
    • Podcasts
    • Press
  • Support
    • Contact Support
    • Support Articles
    • Warranty Details
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Press Kit
    • Testimonials
    • Careers
  • Talk to an Expert
  • My Account
  1. Home
  2. /
  3. Hardware Articles
  4. /
  5. Best Workstation PC for SOLIDWORKS (Summer 2020)

Best Workstation PC for SOLIDWORKS (Summer 2020)

Posted on July 17, 2020 by William George
Always look at the date when you read an article. Some of the content in this article is most likely out of date, as it was written on July 17, 2020. For newer information, see our more recent articles.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • Good PC Configuration for SOLIDWORKS
  • Best PC Configuration for SOLIDWORKS Modeling
  • Best PC Configuration for SOLIDWORKS Simulation
  • Additional Resources

Introduction

Here at Puget Systems, specifically in the Labs department, most of the content that we write falls into one of two categories: either long, fairly in-depth articles looking at the performance of various PC components in a given application or recommended system pages, with multiple configuration options aimed at different budgets and lots of supporting data drawn from the aforementioned articles. For some readers, all of that is information overload, though, and they just want a quick question answered: what is the best computer for my needs? We’re going to try answering that question more directly in a new series of short articles, like this one.

Today we are looking at SOLIDWORKS, a multi-function engineering program from Dassault Systemes. It uses the CPU for most of the heavy lifting, with general modeling benefiting primarily from clock speed while rendering and some types of simulation can utilize multiple cores effectively. The video card is also critical, as it impacts the smoothness of manipulating parts and assemblies.

Because of the variance in CPU usage depending on workload, this article will start with a general-usage SOLIDWORKS configuration but then split up and offer separate recommendations for the best modeling and simulation workstations.

Screenshot of SOLIDWORKS 2020

Screenshot of SOLIDWORKS 2020

Image
Screenshot of SOLIDWORKS 2020

Good PC Configuration for SOLIDWORKS

We'll start off with a good, solid workstation design for SOLIDWORKS – without too high of a price tag. This application performs best with a CPU that has a high clock speed, with little regard to core count, which means that Intel's latest Core 10th Generation processors do very well here. The Core i7 10700K is a solid choice, and pairing it with 32GB of memory will exceed the recommendation for this program. Likewise, a Quadro RTX 4000 is more than fast enough for most workloads while sticking with a certified video card from NVIDIA's professional-grade line. A fast 1TB SSD will ensure that the system is responsive and offers a solid amount of storage space.

CPU Intel Core i7 10700K 8-core
Video Cards NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 8GB
RAM 32GB DDR4
Drives 1TB NVMe SSD

Configure System With These Specs

Best PC Configuration for SOLIDWORKS Modeling

Stepping up from there, for the modeling-focused engineer, we can move up to the Intel Core i9 10900K with a slightly higher clock speed and a couple of additional cores. Upgrading to the more powerful Quadro RTX 6000 while doubling the RAM and storage capacity are all solid upgrades as well. To protect this investment, increasing the parts warranty length is a good idea too.

CPU Intel Core i9 10900K 10-core
Video Cards NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 24GB
RAM 64GB DDR4
Drives 2 x 1TB NVMe SSDs

Configure System With These Specs

Best PC Configuration for SOLIDWORKS Simulation

For those working more on the simulation side of things, a different approach is best. Clock speed still matters a lot here, but so does thread count – so we move up to Intel's Core i9 10980XE with 18 cores. RAM and storage capacity are both increased relative to the modeling system as well, but the video card is kept the same (and is likely even overkill in this role for most users). All of this requires a larger, tower-style chassis as well.

CPU Intel Core i9 10980XE 18-core
Video Cards NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 24GB
RAM 256GB DDR4
Drives 1TB & 2TB NVMe SSDs

Configure System With These Specs

Please note that none of these designs are specifically tailored for rendering – either with Photoview 360 or Visualize. If your workflow involves a lot of that, consider one of our rendering-optimized systems instead.

Additional Resources

If you want to know more about SOLIDWORKS performance, we have published several articles over the years looking at how various CPUs and video cards compare in a wide range of professional programs. And if you aren’t sure what you need, or if your workflow includes multiple applications, please feel free to call or email our consultants to get a more personalized configuration.

CTA Image
SOLIDWORKS Workstations

Puget Systems offers a range of powerful and reliable systems that are tailor-made for your unique workflow.

Configure a System!
CTA Image
Labs Consultation Service

Our Labs team is available to provide in-depth hardware recommendations based on your workflow.

Find Out More!

Related Content

  • SOLIDWORKS 2020 SP5 AMD Ryzen 5000 Series CPU Performance
  • Best Workstation PC for SOLIDWORKS (Summer 2020)
  • SOLIDWORKS 2020 SP1 Intel Core 10th Gen CPU Performance
  • SOLIDWORKS 2020 SP1 CPU Performance
View All Related Content

Latest Content

  • Puget Systems Hardware Trends of 2022
  • Guide To Removing Instapak Foam
  • Basic Guide to Identify and Remove Malware
  • Should I Upgrade My Gpu
View All
Tags: Modeling, PC, PC Workstation, SOLIDWORKS, Workstation

Who is Puget Systems?

Puget Systems builds custom PCs tailored for your workflow

Extensive in-house testing
making you more productive and giving you more performance for your dollar

Reliable workstations
with fewer crashes and blue screens means more time working, less time waiting on your computer

Support that understands
your complex workflows and can get you back up and running ASAP

Proven track record
check out our customer testimonials and Reseller Ratings

Get Started

Browse Our Workstations

Fractal Design Define 7 Chassis with Puget Systems Logo

Select your workflow:

Content Creation
Engineering
Scientific Computing
More

Latest Articles

  • Puget Systems Hardware Trends of 2022
  • Guide To Removing Instapak Foam
  • Basic Guide to Identify and Remove Malware
  • Should I Upgrade My Gpu
  • Case Study with Lost Boys Interactive
View All

Post navigation

 Best Workstation PC for Adobe After Effects (Summer 2020)Best Workstation PC for Adobe Photoshop 
Puget Systems Logo
Build Your Own PC Site Map FAQ
facebook instagram linkedin rss twitter youtube

Optimized Solutions

  • Adobe Premiere
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Solidworks
  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Machine Learning

Workstations

  • Content Creation
  • Engineering
  • Scientific PCs
  • More

Support

  • Online Guides
  • Request Support
  • Remote Help

Publications

  • All News
  • Puget Blog
  • HPC Blog
  • Hardware Articles
  • Case Studies

Policies

  • Warranty & Return
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Delivery Times
  • Accessibility

About Us

  • Testimonials
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

© Copyright 2023 - Puget Systems, All Rights Reserved.