Recommended workstations for SOLIDWORKS
Hardware Recommendations for SOLIDWORKS

SOLIDWORKS System Requirements

This document covers SOLIDWORKS system requirements and current recommendations for hardware to run SOLIDWORKS products.

SOLIDWORKS
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Computer Workstation Setups that run SOLIDWORKS Simulation
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SOLIDWORKS System Requirements

Basic System

  • Processor: 3.3 GHz or faster, Intel® Core i5, i7 or equivalent AMD®
  • Operating System: Windows® 11
  • Memory: 16GB or more is required
  • Hard Drive: Standard or Solid State Drive (SSD) > 250GB, keeping 10% drive capacity free space
  • Graphics Cards: NVIDIA® RTX PRO 3000
  • System for simple parts, small assemblies (200 or fewer components), and drawings.
  • This system will support part and assembly simulations including linear statics, thermal, frequency, fatigue, and optimization. Gap and contact simulations will run on small assemblies that contain simple components.
  • This system will also support simple flow simulations.

Intermediate System

  • Processor: 3.3 GHz or faster, Intel® Core i7, Xeon or equivalent AMD®
  • Operating System: Windows® 11
  • Memory: 32GB or more as required
  • Hard Drive: Solid State Drive (SSD) > 250GB, keeping 10% drive capacity free space
  • Graphics Cards: NVIDIA® RTX PRO 4000
  • System for complex parts with advanced shapes, large patterns, shells, 200+ features.
  • This system is also for assemblies containing 200-1000 components and drawings.
  • This system will support part and assembly simulations including non-linear, dynamics, random vibrations along with moderate gaps and contacts.
  • This system will also support moderate flow simulations.

Advanced System

  • Processor: 3.3GHz or faster, Intel® Core i7, Xeon or equivalent AMD®
  • Operating System: Windows® 11
  • Memory: 64GB or more as required
  • Hard Drive: Solid State Drive (SSD) > 250GB, keeping 10% drive capacity free space
  • Graphics Cards: NVIDIA® RTX PRO 5000, RTX PRO 6000
  • System for very complex parts with advanced surfacing features or hybrid modeling.
  • This system is also for assemblies containing 1000 – 200,000 components.
  • This system will support large complex analysis and large flow simulations.

SOLIDWORKS PDM System Requirements

SOLIDWORKS PDM 2025

SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional will utilize up to 3 primary components: A Microsoft SQL Server (SQL) database server, an Archive Server for files, and an optional Web Server.

  • For PDM systems with under 20 concurrent users, the components can typically be combined on one machine. For PDM systems with 20 or more concurrent users, the system load may require those components to be separated onto individual machines.
  • Customers are required to secure proper Microsoft SQL Server Standard licenses for their system. Contact your Microsoft reseller for specific details.
  • For a geographically distributed, multi-facility environment, it is often desirable to have replicated Archive (file) Server machines at each replicated site.
  • For optional replicated SQL database servers (must be read-only secondary) Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise licenses are required; limited support is available from SOLIDWORKS/GoEngineer for these types of configurations, and each must be installed on standalone server machines.
  • Specifications also apply for SOLIDWORKS Manage, which utilizes similar resources to PDM Professional.
  • For PDM systems with over 100 concurrent users, environment-specific resource utilization information should be considered.
  • The installation of SOLIDWORKS PDM on a Windows domain controller is NOT supported by SOLIDWORKS and GoEngineer. Microsoft recommends against installing SQL Server on a domain controller for security reasons.

Standalone database server

CPU and RAM are important considerations

CategoryRecommended ConfigurationComments
Operating SystemWindows Server 2019 or 2022 (64-bit only)Windows Server 2025 is supported for PDM 2025 SP3.0 or newer.
ProcessorIntel or AMD
At least four processor cores (minimum two)***
At least 2.0 GHz base clock speed
The fastest possible clock speed should be provisioned.
MemoryBaseline: 16 GB
If (file count > 100,000) or (user count > 20): 16-32 GB
SQL should have enough RAM to load the entire database into RAM.
Disk for DatabaseHigh-speed PCIe SSD for physical servers
100 GB of storage space
SATA drives are also supported, but a 100 GB partition on an M.2 PCIe NVMe drive may be the fastest option.
SQL Server PlatformSQL Standard Edition 2022 or SQL 2019 with Cumulative Update 4 or greater

Standalone web server

CPU, RAM, and Network Speeds are important considerations

CategoryRecommended ConfigurationComments
Operating SystemWindows Server 2019 and 2022 (64-bit only)Windows Server 2025 is supported for PDM 2025 SP3.0 or newer.
ProcessorIntel or AMD
At least 2.0 GHz base clock speed
Multiple cores allow the server to handle multiple Web 2 requests simultaneously
Memory32 GB

Standalone archive server

Input/output speed and storage are important considerations

CategoryRecommended ConfigurationComments
Operating SystemWindows Server 2019 and 2022 (64-bit only)Windows Server 2025 is supported for PDM 2025 SP3.0 or newer.
ProcessorIntel or AMD
Memory8-16 GB
Disk for File Storage**For a new system: 500 GB (200 GB minimum)

* Each PDM Professional implementation is unique, please consult a GoEngineer PDM Strategist for additional details.

** Disk space estimates are provided to cover 3 years of storage growth. Storage requirements typically grow faster in a vault system than over a normal network. If installing in a replicated environment, each additional archive server will be sized based on the total % of the vault archived to that server. For example, if Site A is configured to replicate 50% of the files to site B, then Site B may need 50% of the disk space.

*** The two most common Microsoft SQL licensing models are Core and Server+Client Access License (CAL).

  • The SQL Core license model allows unlimited client device access to the database and is sold in 2-core packs. To fully utilize a quadcore processor, two SQL 2-core pack licenses are needed.
  • The Server+CAL model allows unlimited cores. To fully utilize a quad-core processor, one Server license is needed, but additional CAL licenses must be purchased for each user or device utilizing the SQL database. For example, PDM licenses are floating and may be shared among many users, however, CALs are not shared, so additional (i.e., more than the total number of PDM licenses) may need to be purchased for each machine/user to be compliant with Microsoft’s Licensing Model. Please contact a GoEngineer PDM Strategist for SQL licensing requirements and recommendations.”

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Award-Winning Technical Support

GoEngineer's extensive SOLIDWORKS technical knowledge and world class support can help you succeed with SOLIDWORKS. Our award-winning team is ready to help you with any task you may have. Using state-of-art remote assistant technology software allows our team to solve most issues within one session. Reach out and see why GoEngineer is the #1 reseller of SOLIDWORKS and Stratasys systems in the world!

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Professional Online SOLIDWORKS Training available from GoEngineer
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Professional SOLIDWORKS Training

GoEngineer offers online and classroom professional SOLIDWORKS training for organizations and individuals. All our instructors are SOLIDWORKS certified and teach thousands of students each year world wide. The curriculum is very diverse with numerous certified SOLIDWORKS courses to choose from. Each student will receive a Course Completion Certificate and preparation materials for SOLIDWORKS certification.

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Why GoEngineer

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Professional CATIA training course
Stage 01 / 08

Design & Engineering

CAD, EDA, systems engineering

Take products from first concept to detailed design with SOLIDWORKS, CATIA, Cadence, and CATIA Magic MBSE, backed by certified application engineers.

SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation of a jet engine
Stage 02 / 08

Simulation

Analysis, validation, optimization

Predict structural, thermal, and flow behavior before physical testing with SIMULIA, SOLIDWORKS Simulation, and SimScale, cutting prototype cycles and building certification evidence early.

SOLIDWORKS PDM automation services
Stage 03 / 08

Data & Lifecycle Management

PDM, PLM, SLM, single source of truth

Keep every revision, BOM, and change order in one controlled environment, scaling from SOLIDWORKS PDM to enterprise ENOVIA with ITAR/CMMC-ready configuration.

Shop floor manufacturing operations with MRP and MES
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Manufacturing Operations

MRP, MES, planning, scheduling

Connect the shop floor to the controlled design baseline with DELMIA Apriso and DELMIAWorks, from quoting and scheduling through execution and quality.

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Additive, CAM, robotics, factory planning

Validate manufacturing processes digitally before committing hardware, spanning additive production, CAM programming, robotics simulation, and factory planning.

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