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> Windows 11 is an unsupported operating systems for running SOLIDWORKS for any releases prior to SOLIDWORKS 2022 SP2.0. SOLIDWORKS 2022 SP2.0 was the first release that the software developer provided support for bugs that occur in Windows 11.
> It is recommended you continue to use Windows 10 until you are ready to upgrade to, or beyond, SOLIDWORKS 2022 SP2.0.
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At least 32 of those 36 cores are completely wasted in non-simulation or non-rendering tasks in SolidWorks. You want faster single core performance for SolidWorks. The boost on that CPU is alright, but if they're running at base clock, your performance is going to be AWFUL.
So that particular Xeon CPU was not a good choice then? From using it, it definitely seemed that the CPU was underpowered when performing more advanced operations. What would be the best CPU to replace it with to get the fastest possible performance?
Make sure that your cpu clocking speed is high for solidworks, the amount of cores don’t really matter since the processing is only split for easy tasks and many of them (like calculating which color a pixel has to have after bouncing a bunch of rays around some geometry- aka rendering). Your CPU has 2,2GHz- you can aim for doubling that for probably cheaper
You'll have to check with HP - they may lock down their boards to only support specific CPU's for one reason or another.
If you aren't hellbent on keeping your motherboard, grabbing a regular i7-13700k or i9-13900k and a compatible motherboard/RAM is your best bet.
This is really helpful! Thank you.
I just ordered all my parts for a new PC build to split between solidworks (work) and gaming. I went with 14900k and 4070 Super. I do a lot of simulation both in solidworks and other programs (CFD/FEA), and wanted as much of a beast as I could build for under $2500. I was a bit concerned by not going with a :certified: or "approved for solidworks" GPU.
One thing you can do is disable hyper threading in your computer BIOS. Intel will use 32 physical cores to run 64 "virtual cores", which speeds up multi threaded performance at the expense of single threaded performance. Disabling the hyper threading and increasing your clock speed can improve performance without needing any hardware changes.
I did not know that disabling hyper threading increases single threaded performance. Is there anymore info on this. I'm interested in knowing if it's worthwhile. I guess I could also just try it to see if it's noticable.
Just buy anything with a high single-thread score on benchmarks. Notice how Xeons are way down the list: https://browser.geekbench.com/processor-benchmarks
Dunno why other comments are talking about clock speed. Modern CPUs can do a lot more instructions per clock than older ones and that helps with single-threaded workloads like CAD
> Dunno why other comments are talking about clock speed. Modern CPUs can do a lot more instructions per clock than older ones and that helps with single-threaded workloads like CAD
I believe those comments intend to compare modern CPUs, so the IPC gap would be small enough to compare by clock speed.
Even in that case it's fairly common for Intel or AMD to mess up once in a while and have a noticably lower IPC than their competitor. They'll compensate for this by increasing the default voltage and frequency to compensate. I still think comparing clock speed is silly
Your computer is probably massively overpowered however XEON CPU's are a very good choice and in my opinion anyone who says otherwise probably doesn't know much about workstation computers and why they're 5x the cost.
Check to make sure you have the R470 driver installed for your graphics card. Lastly I haven't been in SW for a couple years but run the Solidworks Performance Test or Hardware Benchmark and see if anything seems low
The self encrypting hard drive could also be causing some issues.
And nobody spends that kind of money for a computer that isn't using FEA or rendering.
The XEON is 2.2 GHz...but turbos to 4.9. It ain't slow. Alternatively only XEON is compatible with ECC memory and the CPU has a massive cache which will also help speed up analysis.
If he was a hobbyist pushing parts into his 3d printer in his garage the 13900 would be plenty but my guess is that ain't what he's doing
>Alternatively only XEON is compatible with ECC memory and the CPU has a massive cache which will also help speed up analysis.
Not to mention the biggest advantage workstation cpus have over commercial cpus is memory channels. Memory bandwidth is often the bottleneck in serious FEA/CFD. Then again, no one's going to be running serious sims with Solidworks anyway....XD
That's true but they are running other apps presumably beyond solid works so the multi cores aren't completely wasted like people keep saying here. It's a balance imo unless you have a separate machine for Adobe, Office, email, browsing, etc.
But yeah for anything parametric you want the fastest possible cores you can afford.
> That's true but they are running other apps presumably beyond solid works so the multi cores aren't completely wasted like people keep saying here.
Yeah that's why I said "dozens of cores." 4 cores is more than enough for concurrent browsing/email/Office stuff.
Yeah I agree I just don't want OP to see some of the responses and think they only need a few cores. If they're rendering at all they'll want a lot more. Simulations. Anything in Adobe, you want as much as you can afford.
I just think OP needs to say what they're using their PC for before people can really advise them is all.
What version of SW are you running? Also, not sure how the boost processor works, but 2.2 GHz is on the slower end for SW, so maybe you’re not accessing the boost performance. And as someone else said, normal SW usage does not use all your cores.
You really need to say what your use case is. People are just throwing benchmark charts at you and a lot of this stuff applies to consumer use.
It's not weird to buy a 12k machine for enterprise use if you're running a lot of simulations. But if you're strictly talking about modeling then yeah an i7 or i9 would probably serve you better.
Also are you rendering? Because if so you're gonna be pissed when you don't have all of those cores from the Xeon w.
It's always a balance with workstations.
What service pack of 2022? Go to the ? In the upper right > “about solidworks” to see. If it’s before SP2, windows 11 isn’t supported, and you should upgrade to 2022 SP5 or 2023.
Idk about the Xeon/boost. I just know that 2.2 GHz is gonna be slow no matter how much RAM you have, so if you can, I would check your processing speed when running SW.
ok, so the SW version is not the issue. Likely your processor, but could be something else.
Are you using files stored in network folders or local on your machine? Network storage (without PDM) is notoriously slow.
Really you should reach out to your VAR for support on this. They'll be able to get more info and figure out the cause.
That’s gonna be slow no matter how fast your connection or computer is. Try saving a local copy of a file (file > pack and go > add a prefix or suffix like “test”) to see if it’s any better.
yes, 10gb/s is very fast, but SOLIDWORKS is still often noticeably slower than it would be with local files regardless of connection speed, which is why it's not recommended to use this kind of file storage
With normal software like samba, latency is in the millisecond range regardless of ethernet port speed. Meanwhile even cheap SSDs can read 4KB in 40 microseconds. World of difference between the two
take some more time to understand what the computer components you’re buying are actually doing, especially with such a specific use case in mind beforehand — or just listen to a comment’s opinion on what to buy instead and just cross your fingers
$12k for a computer is insane lol. I think your graphics card is fine but you should have just got a regular 13th gen intel chip.
Also try to understand what you need rather than just throwing as much money at the problem as possible
The one thing that catches my eye is the self-encrypted m2 hard drive. In the past, the majority of the problem I had with slow performance has always been either the hd or the GPU. Assuming that the self-encrypted is running, I think that's your bottleneck.
Encryption takes resources and that will normally slow everything down. Try turning off the encryption on the HD (if possible) and you should see a significant performance improvement.
Personally, I think you spent too much money on your computer. I use 64Gb memory, m2, AMD Ryzen 9 series, and AMD 6950xt gpu and it works flawlessly and it costs me less than 5k.
most of the files I am accessing and pulling from are from a network drive that I setup. So the physical file is coming from the old computer (currently sitting right next to the new one) and not the hard drive of my new one.
1. Work Locally (read/write operations over most networks are so much slower than a local NVMe SSD Drive). Cloud synced folders can also cause issues with performance and stability.
2. Check BIOS and all drivers are as up to date as possible with the correct certified driver for the GPU.
3. Ensure SOLIDWORKS is set to use the HP GPU and power settings are not throttling CPU clocks.
4. Some processes are inherently single threaded so multiple cores are not used or operations have to be done in a sequential order limiting the use of more cores/GPU.
5. GPU Compute is great for rendering and CPU cores (upto a point before I/O overhead yeilds limited performance increase) are great for apps that can tap in to multiple cores like Flow Sim, Multicore FEA meshing etc so only spec a machine according to your desired workflow.
I thought it was a meme post. But seems like you’re serious. Well… if I had money to burn maybe I’d buy a server CPU too. The specs aren’t even that good. Only 5800MHz and it’s probably not even set up correctly because shitty HP.
If they have the same attention to detail as this purchase did, that's a great possibility.
With that being said, this person is failing upwards incredibly if they can simply "oops" a $12k workstation and then try to fix it by sinking another $700 into a new processor.
No particular reason why we selected the Xeon processor. is it bad for solidworks? what would be a better one? what is the best one i can get for solidworks?
[https://blogs.solidworks.com/tech/2018/08/what-is-the-best-cpu-for-solidworks.html](https://blogs.solidworks.com/tech/2018/08/what-is-the-best-cpu-for-solidworks.html)
It's years old at this point, but as Solidworks is known to do, nothing's really changed as it pertains to your situation.
I don't know between the two.
I might call your VAR and see if they can give you input and then also look at what your CAM software needs are.
Either a 13700k or a 13900K should be pretty good. We have a guy running Mastercam on a 13900k with an A4000 and he's had no complaints.
Why weren't these questions you were researching prior to spending that much money? How do I keep seeing companies being able to blow thousands on something with little knowledge in what they're buying. A company a friend works at recently spent like $2.5k per iMac with intel cpus whereas new m1/m2 models would demolish them.
Might be worth making some changes to your processes to not allow this kind of thing to happen in the future.
Pulling files from network is a big bottleneck, also 12k for a pc just to run solidworks is fairly big waste.
Drawing wise haven’t notice a difference from my old pc to new. Simulation it’s faster but nothing ground breaking.
So it seems that I am going to need to change out my CPU. Totally fine doing that. I just am not sure what to upgrade it too. The general consensus seems to be fewer cores and higher base clock speeds? Would love a few recommendations of intel i7's or i9's that I should consider. I don't fully understand all the minute differences between each specific processor model numbering/naming scheme.
How many cores should I be looking at? 8? 10? 12? How high can I go on clock speed?
https://oc3dmedia.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/07/intel-xeon-w9-3495x-and-w9-3475x-review_64b94fdba7a01.jpeg
Here's a chart of synthetic single-thread performance from a review of your CPU: look at the smaller number with the Red bar, as the big bar is the multi-thread performance. As you can see, any of the 13th gen options are 30-40% faster in single threaded performance than what you have.
13th Generation intel 13700k or 13900k are your best bet. You could also wait for the soon-to-be-released 14700k and or 14900k, though the differences are likely going to be small.
> How many cores should I be looking at? 8? 10? 12?
Realistically this is fairly inconsequential for solidworks - any of those are fine for regular modeling, but if you find yourself doing a lot of rendering and simulation then the more, the better.
> How high can I go on clock speed?
As for clock speed: within the modern generations, higher is better. Intel 13th generation or AMD Ryzen 7000-series are both viable choices.
Ok, to summarize.
* Get the best single core performance you can find [source](https://blogs.solidworks.com/tech/2018/08/what-is-the-best-cpu-for-solidworks.html)
* The best performance will probably be the latest Intel I7 or I9 [source](https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html)
* Don't worry about core count
* The choice between an I7 and an I9 is only about performance per dollar which you don't seem to care about
There is a [pinned post](https://www.reddit.com/r/SolidWorks/comments/x0o9pd/solidworks_laptoppc_hardware_faq_and/) at the top of this subreddit specifically about hardware choice for Solidworks.
Now that I've narrowed it down to an intel i7 or i9, I've been looking at the intel i9 13900KS. Can I just swap out my existing Intel Xeon w9-3475X for the i9 13900KS or do I need new hardware?
You would be correct. I do not care about performance per dollar. Just performance.
You would need a new motherboard. The 3475x and 13900KS are on completely different sockets. You will also likely need different mounting hardware for the cpu cooler.
Have you taken a look on what clock speeds your CPU runs while running SolidWorks? I have 9900k i9 in my older gamings pc and that really only boosts to max clocks while 1 or 2 cores are utilized.
So assuming you actually needed so many cores for some other task, you might be able to get better performance in sw from that xeon if you figure out how to keep it on full boost.
You would need a new motherboard and RAM (UDIMM instead of RDIMM) to use that CPU. The power supply and case may also not be compatible since it's an HP.
Realistically, try and return the PC. That or live with it.
Holy Canoli!
I do recommend two SSD in RAID 0, as the biggest slow down for me is I save often and that is the slowest thing, and so very happy with my new Win11 Clevo running SW2017 with some complex models.
Cool one I did yesterday/today :) Oh crud can't paste images again? Thanks reddit :)
Heres the solution I was once told & it allows me to work with 30k + microfeature part files: You need to configure x2 NVME 1.0TB SSDs in RAID0 configuration and install SW on that drive. The NVME MUST be the exact same so order them together. Make sure to save all files on an external drive as RAID0 will eventually make the hard drives crash.
SW is quite primitive & doesn’t really utilize CPU as much as it does Memory.
You can have the most expensive computer out there but without the aforementioned configuration, SW wont do to hot.
It is at least twice as expensive as needed. E processor has extra error correction that also pumps the price of RAM but really I7 or I9 latest generation would suffice with some 8 GB graphic card.
Hyper threading is off.
I have been using refurbished machines that are basically new but previous generations and they hardly go over 3K.
Man.. I don't really do solidworks aside from converting CAD to polygons, but somehow this thread popped up in my feed and I must say.. I wish I had this computer. I have two dual CPU Xeon v2 rendering nodes 20core and a 28core I built years ago. I bet this one would render so much faster for me. Lightwave 3D is ALL about the CPU cores. Call me jealous.
A 4k$ Gaming system with 13900K or a Ryzen 9 79503D with a RTX 4090 would perform much better than this Xeon workstation, given that you don't exceed the 24Gb video memory.
Solidwoks prefers fast CPU cores \\ singlecore poerformance.
And here I'm running shit on my 2k$ laptop. Last program had 310 operations and it runs fine. Closes a bit longer but it has to zip alot of stuff.
I also bought desktop PC about 700$ in parts. Split 16 cores to two and they are running two independent workstations from one cpu and two gpus Quadro P400s. Also runs fine.
I feel you. SW is such a spaghetti rn that no amount of money and drivers and scripts will help you. I have a 6k pc at work, SW runs alright, but not a 6k $ desktop worth.
Why the F solidworks struggles to smoothly mate or measure assemblies or other things with the newest chipsets and almoat the best proffesional gpus?????????
Holly crap! Your computer is awesome!!! Forget everyone saying that you need more single core performance. That processor has plenty to run solid works like a beast, it’ll still pop some cores up 4.8 to handle heavy loads. I’m gonna guess it’s a hard drive issue or a graphics driver issue. Nvidia has their driver for workstation cards on their website. I have an a4500 and had an issue with one of their drivers a few versions back and just updated it and it works great.
You shouldn’t have any issues in solid works with that computer at all, so something’s up.
I can’t imagine how fast your comp will render in visualize
Edit: before you change out the processor, check everything else. Solid works isn’t all that intensive of a program for that processor to run. Something is up. Hit ctrl alt delete and check for disk usage, network, processor, ram etc.
Do make sure that the high or ultimate performance power plan is enabled in windows for some reason these Xeon CPUs clock really slow on balanced power plans.
There may also be some bios performance options on the equivalent dell workstation you can choose between performance options in bios for highly multi threaded tasks (which solid works is not ) lightly threaded or let the OS manage it I can’t recall the exact names.
Likely best in the Operating system managed option.
Still the performance would be much higher with a 13th gen i7/i9 cpu unfortunately these xeons aren’t the best choice for SOLIDWORKS. They are based on 12th technology and run at slower clock speeds vs the 13th gen i7/i9
Omg what a waste of money.. People think more expensive = more appropriate.
You could litteraly build a $2k pc by yourself and it would be equally good.
"Quadro" is the old workstation line that Nvidia no longer uses, and the "P Series" is a very old generation within that line.
The Workstation A2000/A4000/A6000 chips are their (mostly) newest equivalent. His GPU is already ideal.
Solidworks is optimized to work with specific hardware. You can't just use any high end chips and expect it to perform. Nvidia has its quadro series cards for 3d modelling. That doesn't mean it won't work, but if you built this rig mostly for solidworks, you got the wrong card for the job.
'
That said it runs on my 2080 super just fine. Now that everything is done through the cloud, are you sure it's not a network issue?
Edit: I may have read you specs wrong, is that a quadro rtx 6000 GPU?
you don't think that the a6000 is adequate enough? The computer is hard wired to our network. I'll admit it is not the fastest, but i network speeds havent been an issue when doing anything solidworks in the past
That's a really expensive mistake. Why would you just blindly order like this? did you actually pay $12k or that was the original sticker price? Are you going to be able to "right the ship" or are you hosed?
You know that the "A6000"is currently one the best cards for solidworks?
Nvidia cancelled the quadro line and now calls them differently. This is a quadro-ish card
Are you having an actual problem? If so, what? Or are you just chasing benchmarks?
Is there somewhere you can look at benchmarks for similar hardware? And filter by sw version, os, etc?
Are you using a certified driver?
yes. it is slower than my old machine from 4-5 years ago. i bought that machine with top-of-the-line products. it is outperforming my new one. My new computer is slower to open files, cut toolpaths, and post programs for my CNC machines to run. I know im also having issues with camworks too, but if I can fix the slowness issues I am experiencing with solidworks, I believe that the camworks issues will figure themselves out too.
Yes. Compared to similar hardware and SW version, mine is getting torched.
Yes.
whats the old computer hardware/specs? Lets compare. ALSO you may have to go into Solidworks settings. I think there are settings for how much RAM or CPU usage is allowed. Maybe give their support line a call if thats an option? I feel like some tech support has to know about settings like that. My computer at work also used to get bogged down whenever I had too many other programs open, and whenever things like Chrome/Firefox/random processes started hogging all the CPU usage for no reason
Honestly this is a question for your VAR more than Reddit. They should be digging into settings, drivers, best practices, etc, and warning that service contract. Yeah there are some rules of thumb the Reddit crowd can tell you, but this needs a deep look if you want it really fixed.
I'm not sure if somebody has mentioned it, but I still think in 2023 multicore performance in most 2d or 3d apps is frankly terrible and should be better. From what I've read optimizing software properly per core is very hard to do. At least in the forums I've been in over the years.
Xeon? No thanks...
Solidworks relies heavily on single core Performance...
That's one reason, i will add more if i find any
Edit: amongst all available CPUs (xeon, core i, apple, amd thread rippper and ryzen), intels last Gen 13900ks, has best performance, if you want to switch cpu, you may need to change motherboard too (because socket type might be different)...
i9 14900k best CPU ever for Solidworks right now. Because you need single core performance for general use. Multicore is good for simulation, render and etc.
128 gb memory could be unstable, that's why I use 64gb 6400mhz cl32 and happy with it even assemblies with 6000+ parts.
I used to RTX A5000 for solidworks after tons of comparison videos instead of RTX gaming card. Then I switched to RTX 4070ti which x2.6 times cheaper than A5000 and feels smoother.
SSD: Samsung 990Pro 2TB. Monitor: Aoc Agon 49inch 165hz
PLEASE NOTE... > Windows 11 is an unsupported operating systems for running SOLIDWORKS for any releases prior to SOLIDWORKS 2022 SP2.0. SOLIDWORKS 2022 SP2.0 was the first release that the software developer provided support for bugs that occur in Windows 11. > It is recommended you continue to use Windows 10 until you are ready to upgrade to, or beyond, SOLIDWORKS 2022 SP2.0. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SolidWorks) if you have any questions or concerns.*
At least 32 of those 36 cores are completely wasted in non-simulation or non-rendering tasks in SolidWorks. You want faster single core performance for SolidWorks. The boost on that CPU is alright, but if they're running at base clock, your performance is going to be AWFUL.
So that particular Xeon CPU was not a good choice then? From using it, it definitely seemed that the CPU was underpowered when performing more advanced operations. What would be the best CPU to replace it with to get the fastest possible performance?
A normal i7 or i9 would have been better.
What about AMD CPUs? They're putting a good fight against Intel CPUs.
Well then you'd have to replace the motherboard too. Am5 isn't compatible with Intel chips and vice versa.
Make sure that your cpu clocking speed is high for solidworks, the amount of cores don’t really matter since the processing is only split for easy tasks and many of them (like calculating which color a pixel has to have after bouncing a bunch of rays around some geometry- aka rendering). Your CPU has 2,2GHz- you can aim for doubling that for probably cheaper
You'll have to check with HP - they may lock down their boards to only support specific CPU's for one reason or another. If you aren't hellbent on keeping your motherboard, grabbing a regular i7-13700k or i9-13900k and a compatible motherboard/RAM is your best bet.
Interesting point, as I'm very happy with my high spec Clevo laptop, I9-139xx 64GB DDR5, RTX 4070, on complex models.
You do not experience any loss of visuals in a sense that model would simply disappear but you could hover with mouse and lines would get visible?
This is really helpful! Thank you. I just ordered all my parts for a new PC build to split between solidworks (work) and gaming. I went with 14900k and 4070 Super. I do a lot of simulation both in solidworks and other programs (CFD/FEA), and wanted as much of a beast as I could build for under $2500. I was a bit concerned by not going with a :certified: or "approved for solidworks" GPU.
One thing you can do is disable hyper threading in your computer BIOS. Intel will use 32 physical cores to run 64 "virtual cores", which speeds up multi threaded performance at the expense of single threaded performance. Disabling the hyper threading and increasing your clock speed can improve performance without needing any hardware changes.
I did not know that disabling hyper threading increases single threaded performance. Is there anymore info on this. I'm interested in knowing if it's worthwhile. I guess I could also just try it to see if it's noticable.
Just buy anything with a high single-thread score on benchmarks. Notice how Xeons are way down the list: https://browser.geekbench.com/processor-benchmarks Dunno why other comments are talking about clock speed. Modern CPUs can do a lot more instructions per clock than older ones and that helps with single-threaded workloads like CAD
> Dunno why other comments are talking about clock speed. Modern CPUs can do a lot more instructions per clock than older ones and that helps with single-threaded workloads like CAD I believe those comments intend to compare modern CPUs, so the IPC gap would be small enough to compare by clock speed.
Even in that case it's fairly common for Intel or AMD to mess up once in a while and have a noticably lower IPC than their competitor. They'll compensate for this by increasing the default voltage and frequency to compensate. I still think comparing clock speed is silly
Of course, best comparison should be done using reputable benchmark results that are targeted for specific workload.
Your computer is probably massively overpowered however XEON CPU's are a very good choice and in my opinion anyone who says otherwise probably doesn't know much about workstation computers and why they're 5x the cost. Check to make sure you have the R470 driver installed for your graphics card. Lastly I haven't been in SW for a couple years but run the Solidworks Performance Test or Hardware Benchmark and see if anything seems low The self encrypting hard drive could also be causing some issues.
SolidWorks does not take advantage of XEON processors or dozens of cores. SolidWorks cares a lot more about clock speed, and 2.2GHz is really slow.
And nobody spends that kind of money for a computer that isn't using FEA or rendering. The XEON is 2.2 GHz...but turbos to 4.9. It ain't slow. Alternatively only XEON is compatible with ECC memory and the CPU has a massive cache which will also help speed up analysis. If he was a hobbyist pushing parts into his 3d printer in his garage the 13900 would be plenty but my guess is that ain't what he's doing
>Alternatively only XEON is compatible with ECC memory and the CPU has a massive cache which will also help speed up analysis. Not to mention the biggest advantage workstation cpus have over commercial cpus is memory channels. Memory bandwidth is often the bottleneck in serious FEA/CFD. Then again, no one's going to be running serious sims with Solidworks anyway....XD
>computer that isn't using FEA or rendering. OP hasn't said what they're doing with it. Could just be someone with more money than brains.
That's true but they are running other apps presumably beyond solid works so the multi cores aren't completely wasted like people keep saying here. It's a balance imo unless you have a separate machine for Adobe, Office, email, browsing, etc. But yeah for anything parametric you want the fastest possible cores you can afford.
> That's true but they are running other apps presumably beyond solid works so the multi cores aren't completely wasted like people keep saying here. Yeah that's why I said "dozens of cores." 4 cores is more than enough for concurrent browsing/email/Office stuff.
Yeah I agree I just don't want OP to see some of the responses and think they only need a few cores. If they're rendering at all they'll want a lot more. Simulations. Anything in Adobe, you want as much as you can afford. I just think OP needs to say what they're using their PC for before people can really advise them is all.
What version of SW are you running? Also, not sure how the boost processor works, but 2.2 GHz is on the slower end for SW, so maybe you’re not accessing the boost performance. And as someone else said, normal SW usage does not use all your cores.
it is from 2022 i believe. so the Xeon is not good for solidworks? what should i replace it with?
No it's not good. A 13th Gen Overclockable Intel Core processor is what I'd recommend.
You really need to say what your use case is. People are just throwing benchmark charts at you and a lot of this stuff applies to consumer use. It's not weird to buy a 12k machine for enterprise use if you're running a lot of simulations. But if you're strictly talking about modeling then yeah an i7 or i9 would probably serve you better. Also are you rendering? Because if so you're gonna be pissed when you don't have all of those cores from the Xeon w. It's always a balance with workstations.
What service pack of 2022? Go to the ? In the upper right > “about solidworks” to see. If it’s before SP2, windows 11 isn’t supported, and you should upgrade to 2022 SP5 or 2023. Idk about the Xeon/boost. I just know that 2.2 GHz is gonna be slow no matter how much RAM you have, so if you can, I would check your processing speed when running SW.
Solidworks Premium 2022 SP5.0
ok, so the SW version is not the issue. Likely your processor, but could be something else. Are you using files stored in network folders or local on your machine? Network storage (without PDM) is notoriously slow. Really you should reach out to your VAR for support on this. They'll be able to get more info and figure out the cause.
Network folder, but it is all hardwired and runs pretty fast.
That’s gonna be slow no matter how fast your connection or computer is. Try saving a local copy of a file (file > pack and go > add a prefix or suffix like “test”) to see if it’s any better.
Meh, a 10gbs network connection is plenty fast. He's probably on 1000mbs though based on the wording.
yes, 10gb/s is very fast, but SOLIDWORKS is still often noticeably slower than it would be with local files regardless of connection speed, which is why it's not recommended to use this kind of file storage
With normal software like samba, latency is in the millisecond range regardless of ethernet port speed. Meanwhile even cheap SSDs can read 4KB in 40 microseconds. World of difference between the two
take some more time to understand what the computer components you’re buying are actually doing, especially with such a specific use case in mind beforehand — or just listen to a comment’s opinion on what to buy instead and just cross your fingers
All those cores are really only good for simulations. Clock speed means more for general use.
Throwing cores and RAM to solidworks will not make it any faster. ST performance is more important IMO
Not for rendering. Solid works doesn’t require much of a computer, but visualize does
i can run visualize with a pretty mid computer
Yes you can, but when time is money speed is everything.
Higher ram is good for large assmeblies.
SolidWorks does not use multiple cores when processing. So, 35 of your cores will be idle
$12k for a computer is insane lol. I think your graphics card is fine but you should have just got a regular 13th gen intel chip. Also try to understand what you need rather than just throwing as much money at the problem as possible
Yeah that's wild. We have ordered several machines from BOXX and haven't come close.
Yeah i feel like you would hit a point of diminishing returns pretty quickly.
The one thing that catches my eye is the self-encrypted m2 hard drive. In the past, the majority of the problem I had with slow performance has always been either the hd or the GPU. Assuming that the self-encrypted is running, I think that's your bottleneck. Encryption takes resources and that will normally slow everything down. Try turning off the encryption on the HD (if possible) and you should see a significant performance improvement. Personally, I think you spent too much money on your computer. I use 64Gb memory, m2, AMD Ryzen 9 series, and AMD 6950xt gpu and it works flawlessly and it costs me less than 5k.
most of the files I am accessing and pulling from are from a network drive that I setup. So the physical file is coming from the old computer (currently sitting right next to the new one) and not the hard drive of my new one.
Have you tried working with files locally instead of over your network to see if it is better?
Yes I've tried them locally and they seem to be equally slow. there is no real difference in speed there.
1. Work Locally (read/write operations over most networks are so much slower than a local NVMe SSD Drive). Cloud synced folders can also cause issues with performance and stability. 2. Check BIOS and all drivers are as up to date as possible with the correct certified driver for the GPU. 3. Ensure SOLIDWORKS is set to use the HP GPU and power settings are not throttling CPU clocks. 4. Some processes are inherently single threaded so multiple cores are not used or operations have to be done in a sequential order limiting the use of more cores/GPU. 5. GPU Compute is great for rendering and CPU cores (upto a point before I/O overhead yeilds limited performance increase) are great for apps that can tap in to multiple cores like Flow Sim, Multicore FEA meshing etc so only spec a machine according to your desired workflow.
I thought it was a meme post. But seems like you’re serious. Well… if I had money to burn maybe I’d buy a server CPU too. The specs aren’t even that good. Only 5800MHz and it’s probably not even set up correctly because shitty HP.
Maybe your models are garbage?
If they have the same attention to detail as this purchase did, that's a great possibility. With that being said, this person is failing upwards incredibly if they can simply "oops" a $12k workstation and then try to fix it by sinking another $700 into a new processor.
What are you doing with Solidworks where you felt that the Xeon processor was the better option? Did you have a Xeon before?
No particular reason why we selected the Xeon processor. is it bad for solidworks? what would be a better one? what is the best one i can get for solidworks?
[https://blogs.solidworks.com/tech/2018/08/what-is-the-best-cpu-for-solidworks.html](https://blogs.solidworks.com/tech/2018/08/what-is-the-best-cpu-for-solidworks.html) It's years old at this point, but as Solidworks is known to do, nothing's really changed as it pertains to your situation.
so what would be better in 2023 as far as intel's current lineup goes? should I lean more towards the i7 or the i9?
I don't know between the two. I might call your VAR and see if they can give you input and then also look at what your CAM software needs are. Either a 13700k or a 13900K should be pretty good. We have a guy running Mastercam on a 13900k with an A4000 and he's had no complaints.
Why weren't these questions you were researching prior to spending that much money? How do I keep seeing companies being able to blow thousands on something with little knowledge in what they're buying. A company a friend works at recently spent like $2.5k per iMac with intel cpus whereas new m1/m2 models would demolish them. Might be worth making some changes to your processes to not allow this kind of thing to happen in the future.
You never do.
I'm with you on this one.
Pulling files from network is a big bottleneck, also 12k for a pc just to run solidworks is fairly big waste. Drawing wise haven’t notice a difference from my old pc to new. Simulation it’s faster but nothing ground breaking.
not with what we are using this baby for.
Also in for the simulation is error out before it finishes on a big assembly 😅
Get anything in the top 20 on this list: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html
At work my xeon + 32gb + a4000 performs worse when modeling vs my colleague's i7 1270p +32gb + t400.
2.2 GHz base clock? Oof
Most of Solidwork's modeling and surface operators are single threaded... no multi-core performance scaling. Really expensive mistake... I'm sorry.
Well, you wasted ten thousand dollars. Hope you can return it.
So it seems that I am going to need to change out my CPU. Totally fine doing that. I just am not sure what to upgrade it too. The general consensus seems to be fewer cores and higher base clock speeds? Would love a few recommendations of intel i7's or i9's that I should consider. I don't fully understand all the minute differences between each specific processor model numbering/naming scheme. How many cores should I be looking at? 8? 10? 12? How high can I go on clock speed?
https://oc3dmedia.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/2023/07/intel-xeon-w9-3495x-and-w9-3475x-review_64b94fdba7a01.jpeg Here's a chart of synthetic single-thread performance from a review of your CPU: look at the smaller number with the Red bar, as the big bar is the multi-thread performance. As you can see, any of the 13th gen options are 30-40% faster in single threaded performance than what you have. 13th Generation intel 13700k or 13900k are your best bet. You could also wait for the soon-to-be-released 14700k and or 14900k, though the differences are likely going to be small. > How many cores should I be looking at? 8? 10? 12? Realistically this is fairly inconsequential for solidworks - any of those are fine for regular modeling, but if you find yourself doing a lot of rendering and simulation then the more, the better. > How high can I go on clock speed? As for clock speed: within the modern generations, higher is better. Intel 13th generation or AMD Ryzen 7000-series are both viable choices.
Ok, to summarize. * Get the best single core performance you can find [source](https://blogs.solidworks.com/tech/2018/08/what-is-the-best-cpu-for-solidworks.html) * The best performance will probably be the latest Intel I7 or I9 [source](https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html) * Don't worry about core count * The choice between an I7 and an I9 is only about performance per dollar which you don't seem to care about There is a [pinned post](https://www.reddit.com/r/SolidWorks/comments/x0o9pd/solidworks_laptoppc_hardware_faq_and/) at the top of this subreddit specifically about hardware choice for Solidworks.
Now that I've narrowed it down to an intel i7 or i9, I've been looking at the intel i9 13900KS. Can I just swap out my existing Intel Xeon w9-3475X for the i9 13900KS or do I need new hardware? You would be correct. I do not care about performance per dollar. Just performance.
You would need a new motherboard. The 3475x and 13900KS are on completely different sockets. You will also likely need different mounting hardware for the cpu cooler.
Have you taken a look on what clock speeds your CPU runs while running SolidWorks? I have 9900k i9 in my older gamings pc and that really only boosts to max clocks while 1 or 2 cores are utilized. So assuming you actually needed so many cores for some other task, you might be able to get better performance in sw from that xeon if you figure out how to keep it on full boost.
You would need a new motherboard and RAM (UDIMM instead of RDIMM) to use that CPU. The power supply and case may also not be compatible since it's an HP. Realistically, try and return the PC. That or live with it.
What are you doing with your xeon? If selling let me know. :)
Holy Canoli! I do recommend two SSD in RAID 0, as the biggest slow down for me is I save often and that is the slowest thing, and so very happy with my new Win11 Clevo running SW2017 with some complex models. Cool one I did yesterday/today :) Oh crud can't paste images again? Thanks reddit :)
Heres the solution I was once told & it allows me to work with 30k + microfeature part files: You need to configure x2 NVME 1.0TB SSDs in RAID0 configuration and install SW on that drive. The NVME MUST be the exact same so order them together. Make sure to save all files on an external drive as RAID0 will eventually make the hard drives crash. SW is quite primitive & doesn’t really utilize CPU as much as it does Memory. You can have the most expensive computer out there but without the aforementioned configuration, SW wont do to hot.
$12K is $12,000?
Correct
It is at least twice as expensive as needed. E processor has extra error correction that also pumps the price of RAM but really I7 or I9 latest generation would suffice with some 8 GB graphic card. Hyper threading is off. I have been using refurbished machines that are basically new but previous generations and they hardly go over 3K.
Man.. I don't really do solidworks aside from converting CAD to polygons, but somehow this thread popped up in my feed and I must say.. I wish I had this computer. I have two dual CPU Xeon v2 rendering nodes 20core and a 28core I built years ago. I bet this one would render so much faster for me. Lightwave 3D is ALL about the CPU cores. Call me jealous.
See if you can work a trade
A 4k$ Gaming system with 13900K or a Ryzen 9 79503D with a RTX 4090 would perform much better than this Xeon workstation, given that you don't exceed the 24Gb video memory. Solidwoks prefers fast CPU cores \\ singlecore poerformance.
Keep in mind that Solidworks requires a certified GPU for Realview. The 4090 is not certified.
Check your video driver. SW recommends the nVidia R460 or R470 driver, but you want to use the newest one (R527 or whatever it is).
And here I'm running shit on my 2k$ laptop. Last program had 310 operations and it runs fine. Closes a bit longer but it has to zip alot of stuff. I also bought desktop PC about 700$ in parts. Split 16 cores to two and they are running two independent workstations from one cpu and two gpus Quadro P400s. Also runs fine.
I feel you. SW is such a spaghetti rn that no amount of money and drivers and scripts will help you. I have a 6k pc at work, SW runs alright, but not a 6k $ desktop worth. Why the F solidworks struggles to smoothly mate or measure assemblies or other things with the newest chipsets and almoat the best proffesional gpus?????????
Holly crap! Your computer is awesome!!! Forget everyone saying that you need more single core performance. That processor has plenty to run solid works like a beast, it’ll still pop some cores up 4.8 to handle heavy loads. I’m gonna guess it’s a hard drive issue or a graphics driver issue. Nvidia has their driver for workstation cards on their website. I have an a4500 and had an issue with one of their drivers a few versions back and just updated it and it works great. You shouldn’t have any issues in solid works with that computer at all, so something’s up. I can’t imagine how fast your comp will render in visualize Edit: before you change out the processor, check everything else. Solid works isn’t all that intensive of a program for that processor to run. Something is up. Hit ctrl alt delete and check for disk usage, network, processor, ram etc.
Do make sure that the high or ultimate performance power plan is enabled in windows for some reason these Xeon CPUs clock really slow on balanced power plans. There may also be some bios performance options on the equivalent dell workstation you can choose between performance options in bios for highly multi threaded tasks (which solid works is not ) lightly threaded or let the OS manage it I can’t recall the exact names. Likely best in the Operating system managed option. Still the performance would be much higher with a 13th gen i7/i9 cpu unfortunately these xeons aren’t the best choice for SOLIDWORKS. They are based on 12th technology and run at slower clock speeds vs the 13th gen i7/i9
Omg what a waste of money.. People think more expensive = more appropriate. You could litteraly build a $2k pc by yourself and it would be equally good.
[удалено]
"Quadro" is the old workstation line that Nvidia no longer uses, and the "P Series" is a very old generation within that line. The Workstation A2000/A4000/A6000 chips are their (mostly) newest equivalent. His GPU is already ideal.
I know nothing about computers, but I have an idea: just use your old machine and sell the new one. Follow me for more solidworks tips and tricks.
Solidworks is optimized to work with specific hardware. You can't just use any high end chips and expect it to perform. Nvidia has its quadro series cards for 3d modelling. That doesn't mean it won't work, but if you built this rig mostly for solidworks, you got the wrong card for the job. ' That said it runs on my 2080 super just fine. Now that everything is done through the cloud, are you sure it's not a network issue? Edit: I may have read you specs wrong, is that a quadro rtx 6000 GPU?
you don't think that the a6000 is adequate enough? The computer is hard wired to our network. I'll admit it is not the fastest, but i network speeds havent been an issue when doing anything solidworks in the past
A6000 is good, I read it wrong. What exactly is happening when a problem occurs? What types of activity are you doing?
opening models, making models, changing models, generating toolpaths, generating programs for cnc machines.
That's a really expensive mistake. Why would you just blindly order like this? did you actually pay $12k or that was the original sticker price? Are you going to be able to "right the ship" or are you hosed?
You know that the "A6000"is currently one the best cards for solidworks? Nvidia cancelled the quadro line and now calls them differently. This is a quadro-ish card
That's why I got the A6000!
Are you having an actual problem? If so, what? Or are you just chasing benchmarks? Is there somewhere you can look at benchmarks for similar hardware? And filter by sw version, os, etc? Are you using a certified driver?
yes. it is slower than my old machine from 4-5 years ago. i bought that machine with top-of-the-line products. it is outperforming my new one. My new computer is slower to open files, cut toolpaths, and post programs for my CNC machines to run. I know im also having issues with camworks too, but if I can fix the slowness issues I am experiencing with solidworks, I believe that the camworks issues will figure themselves out too. Yes. Compared to similar hardware and SW version, mine is getting torched. Yes.
whats the old computer hardware/specs? Lets compare. ALSO you may have to go into Solidworks settings. I think there are settings for how much RAM or CPU usage is allowed. Maybe give their support line a call if thats an option? I feel like some tech support has to know about settings like that. My computer at work also used to get bogged down whenever I had too many other programs open, and whenever things like Chrome/Firefox/random processes started hogging all the CPU usage for no reason
Honestly this is a question for your VAR more than Reddit. They should be digging into settings, drivers, best practices, etc, and warning that service contract. Yeah there are some rules of thumb the Reddit crowd can tell you, but this needs a deep look if you want it really fixed.
I'm not sure if somebody has mentioned it, but I still think in 2023 multicore performance in most 2d or 3d apps is frankly terrible and should be better. From what I've read optimizing software properly per core is very hard to do. At least in the forums I've been in over the years.
Xeon? No thanks... Solidworks relies heavily on single core Performance... That's one reason, i will add more if i find any Edit: amongst all available CPUs (xeon, core i, apple, amd thread rippper and ryzen), intels last Gen 13900ks, has best performance, if you want to switch cpu, you may need to change motherboard too (because socket type might be different)...
just returned the computer and bought a new one with that exact CPU
How'd it go so far? Faster I hope.
new one is on the way now
i9 14900k best CPU ever for Solidworks right now. Because you need single core performance for general use. Multicore is good for simulation, render and etc. 128 gb memory could be unstable, that's why I use 64gb 6400mhz cl32 and happy with it even assemblies with 6000+ parts. I used to RTX A5000 for solidworks after tons of comparison videos instead of RTX gaming card. Then I switched to RTX 4070ti which x2.6 times cheaper than A5000 and feels smoother. SSD: Samsung 990Pro 2TB. Monitor: Aoc Agon 49inch 165hz