A good graphics card can mean the difference between a so-so experience and a great experience in SOLIDWORKS. A SOLIDWORKS-certified graphics card helps keep your system running smoothly and your designs loading properly.
Why You Need a Good Graphics Card
It may seem like you can just grab any ol’ graphics card, but if you want your SOLIDWORKS drawings to render correctly, you’ll want to do some research.
Incorrect cards can affect your computer stability and make it prone to crashes. Gaming cards, for example, will not function properly with SOLIDWORKS. You need a card specifically made to handle engineering workflows.
>> Check out SOLIDWORKS’ recommended hardware for your system
Recommended Graphics Cards
First and foremost, be sure to invest in a good CPU with lots of memory. Without a good system, a high-end graphics card is useless. Once you’ve found the right one, then you can look for a corresponding graphics card.
There’s no “one size fits all” when it comes to graphic cards. It really depends on why you’re using SOLIDWORKS. Whether you do simple or complex modeling, the most important feature is a workstation-card that supports Open GL.
Here are two recommended product lines to get you started on your research:
Both of these product lines range from basic varieties all the way up to high-performance cards.
SOLIDWORKS Graphics Card Testing
If you don’t have the time to the research or a willing intern to pass it off on, try out SOLIDWORKS’ graphics card testing page.
Think of it as an eHarmony for graphics card but much more accurate. All you have to do is use the dropdown menu to find your computer model, card type and SOLIDWORKS version. It will let you know if it’s a match.
If you still aren’t sure what graphics card is right for your system, leave us a comment below.
