What video hardware are you using for Solidworks?

[pete]

Solidworks still hasn't arrived, I have a DT dept that's supposed to be teaching it this September who have no idea how they're going to be using it and so I have no real idea what videocards to spec (Quadro/FireGL/Decent OpenGL card - 8800?)

I've found the testing results from solidworks: Hardware & Graphics Cards

and I've also found real-world testing info: Anna's SolidMuse: SolidWorks Sheet Metal Benchmark File, which links to a google spreadsheet with real-world benchmarks Google Docs - solidworks benchmark, punch holder

and this here: SPECapc for SolidWorks 2007™

But I don't have a copy of Solidworks, so I turn the edugeeks. What are you using? What are you doing with it? How well does it handle it?

[john]

I believe, and this is more what I can gather from the website and the rep that came to visit last year, if your PCs are not on the approved list you won't get any "real" support on problems from SolidWorks. They will "support" you but if they can find a way of saying its due to your hardware they will do from what I can gather so its down to anything on that list I'd say.

We have the student design kit running on on-board intel and Via graphics chips which are set to put 64mb to VGA and it seems to work fine I believe, although no-one probably used it knowing our place.

[pete]

IIRC, doesn't Solidworks die horribly if it runs out of memory?

[john]

The tiny use I gave it, it seemed ok but does like memory, the SDK took about 300mb just to open so I can only imagine the full thing being much worse.