It used to be that CAD-capable hardware was stationery—the workstation plugged into the wall. However, as computers get more capable, IT departments and business owners/operators are increasingly asking what trade offs there are with mobile computing—if any. While a true mobile, or “full-figure,” workstation, featuring a 17-inch screen and brimming with RAM, storage and ports is a known desktop workstation killer, how do the latest ultramobile computers, ranging from tablets to super-thin and -light laptops, compare? With this article, we will attempt to see how close to real portability the new generation of mobile devices has come for the CAD user.

We will examine several different form factors of computers, using a representative computer in each form factor.

1. Tablet device—Apple iPad Pro 12.9 inch
2. Tablet/keyboard system—Microsoft Surface Pro 3 and 4
3. Lean mobile workstation—HP EliteBook Folio G1
4. For comparison, a “full-figure” mobile workstation—BOXX GoBOXX 17 MXL

Tradition

Traditionally, CAD workstations have been big black boxes that sit on a desk or floor, able to warm your feet during cold months or your coffee. They would vacuum up dust bunnies, dirt and shop residue into the filter, vents and fans. These devices were loaded with RAM, one to two hard drives, a professional grade graphics card powering two or more monitors, a slew of USB ports for all the connected devices and the fastest CPU we could afford. If that wasn’t enough, some users over-clocked and water-cooled their CPUs. A massive power supply was required. We would spare no costs to get the high-quality components, shunning the “consumer” grade.

Some users went as far as to create custom workstations, building the fastest, hottest, power-hungry workstation. We understood that time was money. We were far too important to have to wait for computers to calculate.

Freed from the Office

With the traditional workstation, we were bound to the office. Some with a cooperative IT department, or for those who took matters into their own hands, a VPN access let us use our workstation from home, but that was the extent of portability.

However, these days, real portability is in high demand. Our connections are being made wirelessly. We are more accustomed to tools that allow us to do whatever we need to do in the coverage of a radio tower. Computers have shrunk down to pocket size, and are more likely to be called “devices.” CPU and GPU power has increased. Input devices disappear as we interface with our devices using touch. The cloud brings a new level in portability as we can shift the hard work of CPU and GPU to a bank of servers in the cloud.

Engineers are being freed from the office.

Mobile versus Portable?

What type of computer—or device—can be used for CAD and engineering? What types of devices are cost effective? With the traditional view of CAD workstations undergoing a change, now including much smaller, portable devices, let’s take some time and go over how these changes may affect your next investment in a mobile CAD workstation.

We will first define mobile as the ability to move from place to place. That definition doesn’t mean that the movement should be simple and easy—just that it needs to be movable. Mobile doesn’t provide a good enough definition. I’d like to recommend that we use the term “portable.” Portable, per Merriam-Webster, is the capability “of being carried or moved about.” A portable CAD workstation, by this definition, is one you can pick up and carry with you onboard a flight.

Requirements

Here’s my quick list of requirements for a portable CAD workstation. The device must:

1. Be portable
2. Have a screen for viewing
3. Have an input device for navigation and precise input
4. Be able to support external monitors

Software Requirements

We can take a quick look at some of the software requirements. These may be different than you are expecting, but keep in mind that software is being delivered to the end user differently these days.

In today’s CAD market, you will find that most of the main software players are providing customers with several ways to access and license their products. Companies like Onshape, a relative newcomer to the CAD market, has developed a complete CAD-in-the-cloud solution that uses a subscription-based licensing and has all data stored in the cloud. Autodesk, as of earlier this year, has moved to a subscription-only model (for new purchases). It too, offers a CAD-in-the-cloud option with Fusion360. PTC, Siemens PLM and Dassault Systèmes are now offering subscriptions along with perpetual licensing, giving customers an option as to how they want to purchase their software.

All CAD vendors are now offering, or have in beta, some form of “CAD in the cloud” and local software installation (perpetual licensing).

Siemens PLM offers a variation on the theme with a “roaming” profile for its Solid Edge product. This roaming profile allows your CAD license to be used across many different devices and have your personal settings follow you from device to device using a cloud-based profile.

Define Terms

With these different options, hardware requirements can range from a $300 tablet for CAD in the cloud to upwards of $4,500 for a “full-figure” standalone portable workstation. But let us first narrow down our choices.

While one might wonder if the many different tablet devices running on Android, Linux, etc. would be useful for CAD, they are, by and large, devices on which to consume content rather than create it. Very little authoring or creation is done on these devices.

Notice the use of “standalone.”Here we are talking about a single device doing all the CAD, GPU and simulation processes on a single device.

Now let the fun begin.

Tablet Device Representative: Apple iPad Pro

The Apple iPadPro 12.9-inch model by itself does meet our minimum requirements for a portable CAD workstation—but just barely.Despite the commercial success of the iPad, it is foremost a consumer’s device. The iPad Pro 12.9-inch model fares a little better when configured with a stylus and keyboard. Still, its primary use is to consume and run lightweight applications. It is not a true creator tool like the Surface line of products.

iPad Pro 12.9 inch shown with optional pen and keyboard. (Image courtesy of The Verge.)

This device has the following specs:

• Screen size: 12.9-inch touch screen, with 2732x2048 resolution
• Weight: 1.57 lbs(713g)
• Storage: 256GB solid-state drive
• Architecture: A9X chip with 64‑bit architecture Embedded M9 coprocessor
• RAM: Apple doesn’t advertise RAM in its devices—IFixIt.com reports 4GB DDR4 in teardown
• OS: iOS X
• Battery: Built‐in 38.5‐watt‐hour rechargeable lithium‐polymer battery
• Ports: USB 3.1/Thunderbolt 3 Microsoft Surface Pro 3
• Price, with stylus and keyboard: $1,267

Tablet/Keyboard System Representative 1: Microsoft Surface Pro 3

The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 was replaced by the Surface Pro 4 about a year ago, but stock remains with a few resellers. Bargain hunters will delight in getting last year’s model at big discounts while taking only a small hit in performance. Microsoft did little to improve specifications with the Surface Pro 4.

• Screen size: 12-inch touch screen, with 2160 x 1440 resolution
• Weight: 1.76 lbs (800g)
• Storage: 256GB solid-state drive with microSD card for expansion
• Architecture: Intel Core-i5-4300U Processor (1.9Ghz up to 2.90GHz) and Intel HD Graphics 4400
• RAM: 8GB
• OS: Windows 10 Professional 64-bit
• Battery: Built-in 38-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
• Ports: Full-size USB 3.0, microSD card reader, 3.5-mm audio jack, Mini DisplayPort
• Price as configured, with mouse and keyboard: $1,164

Tablet/Keyboard System Representative 2: Microsoft Surface Pro 4

Hardware options for CAD have been noticeably downsized since Microsoft starting delivering its Surface products.

• Screen size: 12.9-inch touch screen, with 2736 x 1824 resolution
• Weight: 1.73 lbs (786g)
• Storage: 256GB solid-state drive with microSD card for expansion
• Architecture: Intel Core-i5-6300U Processor (2.4Ghz up to 3.00GHz) and Intel HD Graphics 520
• RAM: 8GB
• OS: Windows 10 Professional 64-bit
• Battery: Built-in 38-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
• Ports: Full-size USB 3.0, microSD card reader, 3.5-mm audio jack, Mini DisplayPort
• Price as configured, with mouse and keyboard: $1,599

Lean Mobile Workstation Representative: HP EliteBook Folio G1

The next device is the HP EliteBook Folio G1.

• Screen size: 12.5 inch, with 1920x1080 resolution and full HD

• Weight: 2.14lbs(971g)
• Storage: 128GB solid-state drive
• Architecture: Intel Core M5-6Y54 (1.1Ghz up to 2.70GHz) and Intel HD Graphics 515
• RAM: 8GB with options for 4,8 or 16GB
• OS: Windows 10 Professional 64-bit
• Battery: Built‐in 38‐watt‐hour rechargeable lithium‐polymer battery
• Ports: (2) USB 3.1/Thunderbolt 3 and 3.5-mm audio jack
• Price as configured: $1,219

Full-Figure Mobile Workstation Representative: BOXX GoBOXX17 MXL

• Screen size: 17.3-inch, full-HD LED, with 1920 x 1080 resolution

• Weight: 8.6 lbs(3,901g)
• Storage: 512GB M.2solid-state drive with PCIe
• Architecture: Intel Core-i7-6700 (4.0Ghz) Quad-Core processor and NVIDIA Quadro M3000M 4GB
• RAM: 32GB DDR4-2133
• Battery: 82-watt-hour smart lithium-ion
• OS: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
• Ports: Full-size USB 3.0 eSATA, (3) USB 3.0, (1) USB 3.1/Thunderbolt 3, (1) HDMI, (2) DisplayPorts, 6-1 card reader, (4) 3.5-mm audio jacks, gigabit Ethernet LAN
• Price as configured: $3,942

Hardware Assessment

This section will look at hardware-related components of the various form factors.

Service and Upgrade

This area looks at how easy the devices are to service, upgrade and access components. You will see right away that new devices are thin and very compact. They are generally sealed devices, and the internal components can be glued to the shell. The GoBOXX was the only device to be deemed easily serviceable. But that is to be expected of a traditional laptop. The Folio was a little worse. With Surface Pros and the iPad, the access is mostly denied due to a sealed touchscreen and glued-down components. These devices are not repairable except through a professional. The iPad is a little better than the Surface Pros because it utilizes more fastening hardware than glue.

Configurations

How configurable are these devices in terms of choosing different CPUs, RAM and hard drive options? The tablets and Folio are the least configurable. Once again, the form of the device dictates what you can put inside it. The GoBOXX wins hands down because it allows you to pick and choose hardware components. The Surface Pros are in the middle of the pack.

CPU

The tablets all have similar CPUs. CAD users might be surprised that CAD programs still run, for the most part, using a single core. Because of this, the number of cores only benefits specific types of tasks like rendering and simulation. For general CAD use, a single core with a high clock speed is beneficial. These devices all run a lower powered CPU to extend battery life and to keep the heat down. Lower power also means slower clock speeds. This is the reason the GoBOXX, sporting the i7-6700 CPU,wins. Unlike the BOXX desktop workstation, the GoBOXX runs at its rated clock speeds rather than being overclocked, which is still faster than the same processor in other vendors’ mobile workstations, which get “throttled down” to lessen the heat produced.

GPU

GPUs and CPUs are combined in many of the devices. Most of the devices utilize the CPU to do the graphics processing. This is required because of the space limitations and cooling requirements of the GPUs. To be honest, we were surprised how well tablet devices handled the rigors of CAD graphics. In this category, we see a leveling of the scores for the majority of the devices. The GoBOXX does manage to pull ahead because of its GPU, however.

Device Connectivity

Any measure of device connectivity should include both physical ports for connecting peripherals and Bluetooth connectivity. The iPad does the worst in this category as it has a single USB 3.1/Thunderbolt 3 port and Bluetooth connectivity. The issue with this device is that you cannot utilize the port if you are charging it. They are the same port. All devices must be connected using Bluetooth. Adding more peripherals will require an adapter, which just adds to cost and requires extra storage.

The Folio doesn’t fare much better, having a total of two USB 3.1 ports. But, like the iPad, you will more than likely need to purchase adapters.

The Surface Pros proved much better for connecting peripherals compared to the iPad and Folio. The Surface Pro devices include a USB 3.0, MiniDisplayPort and MicroSD card slot. This pairing of ports allows for multiple monitor outputs via the MiniDisplayPort, with use of most devices via the USB 3.0 and, more importantly, the microSD card slot for expanding disk space.

The GoBOXX, being a full-sized device, sweeps the series with three USB 3.0 ports, one USB 3.1, one HDMI video output, two DisplayPort outputs and a 6-1 card reader. I’ll also add that all the devices include a 3.5-mm audio jack. But the GoBOXX has dedicated jacks for headset, microphone and S/PDIF digital output.

Display Outputs

The portable CAD device will generally have a small screen, and in the design world, screen space is king. Here we have some issues. The iPad Pro will connect with an Apple TV or use an adapter out of its single Thunderbolt (USB 3.1) port. You better work fast if you plan on using your iPad with an external monitor because it quickly drains your battery. You can buy a Apple TV to mirror your screen.

The Folio, like the iPad Pro, is limited and will require an adapter to connect to an external monitor.

The Surface Pro devices utilize the double signals of the MiniDisplayPort and connect to other DisplayPort monitors. The right configuration of monitors allows you to connect two monitors by a daisy chain method and extend your display across three screens (your laptop screen and two monitors).

Finally, the GoBOXX offers up two DisplayPorts and HDMI output from it’s NVIDIA Quadro M3000M graphics card. It also has a 17-inch display. However, being users of touchscreen devices ourselves, we did find ourselves touching the screen a lot.

Size

The iPad Pro, Folio and Surface Pro devices are equal across the board. These devices are lightweight based on their designs. As would be expected, with a 17-inch screen and all of its features, capabilities (will cover next) and individual components, the GoBOXX is large enough to get you a few snickers and chuckles at the coffee shop.

Weight

This score is one of the more critical requirements for a portable device. Once again, the iPad Pro, Folio and Surface Pros are equal. By comparison, the GoBOXX is a beast. The screen size is driving the size and weight of this device. It weighs in at 8.25 lbs with a battery and 10.65 lbs with the power brick.

CAD and CAE Functionality Assessment

CAD and CAE functionality is driven directly by the CPU and availability of RAM. CAD in the cloud reduces the demand on local CPU.

2D CAD

All devices were able to manage 2D CAD. Most of the CAD vendors have provided 2D CAD tools across the different devices and operating systems.

3D Visualization

Most CAD visualization software allows the user to define whether they want the software to utilize CPU or GPU for visualization effects. The iPad Pro and Foliodid the worst. The Surface Pro devices are hitting, once again, mid-range. Software original equipment manufacturers have been working directly with Microsoft to optimize their software with the Surface product lines.

3D CAD (Local)

The ability to handle 3D CAD is of great value to many engineers. Running 3D CAD locally means the ability to run CAD on the device itself—without requiring an Internet connection to the cloud. Here, RAM, CPU and GPU reign supreme. The machine with the highest quantity of RAM and the fastest CPU will win. But we will see something else is also a factor.

The iPad Pro scores the lowest when running 3D CAD. This is due largely to the OS. There are few CAD programs that run on the iPad. iPads run on a phone OS and not a “traditional” OS, leaving most options as 2D-based CAD apps.

With dedicated graphics and a whopping 32GB of RAM, the GoBOXX wins, yet again.

3D CAD (Cloud)

Here, the iPad Pro gets a reprieve. Due to the ability to run CAD in the cloud with Onshape and the ability to run CAD in a browser using the Frame environment, you can run Solid Edge and SOLIDWORKS on the iPad Pro. Here, the quality of your Internet is most important. All devices were equal but the iPad Pro suffered for the lack of a mouse. CAD functionality requires precise control to navigate menus, pop-ups, etc. Onshape has done a decent job in providing the user with a “swipe” experience, but other CAD software still requires more than touch input. Apple does provide its Pencil at extra cost for the iPad Pro. The Surface Pro devices have the pen. The Folio provides a touchpad. The iPad Pro is alone in not being able to connect a mouse. Yes, the iOS is hurting the iPad Pro, again.

Ethernet

The other main hindrance we found was the inability to hook the iPad Pro up to a local area network. You would require, yes, another adapter, and when using the adapter, you lose access to power.

The Folio and Surface Pros also will require adapters to connect to local networks, but unlike the iPad Pro, you have multiple ports to choose from.

The GoBOXX has a dedicated Ethernet port.

Rendering

Rendering is CPU and GPU intense, utilizing multi-threading (multiple cores). RAM is another significant requirement. The Surface Pros render using the integrated GPU but can get overheated, leading to a “throttled-down” CPU, which can cause rendering to take longer to complete. Because of its dedicated graphics card and its 32GB of RAM, the GoBOXX is the choice for those doing serious rendering.

FEA

Finite element analysis (FEA) is also a CPU-intense function. The most RAM and highest performing CPU will score the highest. This is also a function that the cloud-based tools are starting to leverage. The GoBOXX did the best, with the Surface Pro 4 next.

Large Assembly

Size of assemblies is limited by RAM and how well the tools embedded in your CAD software leverage RAM utilization. Large assembly management and 3D visualization go hand in hand.

Here we used an assembly that contained over 400 unique components, with a full component count of over 1,400. Yes, nuts, bolts and washers count and add up quickly.

Most devices handled this well, although rotation did lag on the Surface Pro 3.

Conclusion

Has any manufacturer captured all the requirements of CAD in a truly portable workstation? I’d say we’re only about 60 percent there.

If you’re a one-man engineering shop that requires FEA, simulation and rendering along with the general CAD, then you still have to go with a full-figure mobile workstation like the GoBOXX17 MXL. Its performance won’t fail to please the most demanding engineer. Along with the ability to swap out hardware components, the GoBOXX even offers the ability to customize the color of the backlighting on the keyboard. This device’s 17-inch display can make do when you have to set up with just one screen. The only thing you need to add is a good mouse.

Author's setup with Surface Pro 3 and two large monitors running Solid Edge.

Microsoft’s Surface Pros are decent devices that will meet the needs of all but the most demanding CAD. Opt for more memory (8GB or 16GB of RAM). The devices’ ability to run multiple monitors using the MiniDisplayPort and connecting to a LAN with a USB to Ethernet will make it work as well as, if not better than, the workstation you will replace.

The laptop form factor exemplified by HP’s Folio may be more suited for traditional business use than CAD. The lack of USB ports will make it hard to set up in a CAD user environment.

While the iPad Pro rules in terms of portability, its lack of mouse input and single USB connector limits its prolonged CAD use. Also, since iOS has not been ported to by many CAD vendors, using CAD on it will be confined to browser-based CAD products (like Onshape and Fusion360).

Figure 1. The four primary hardware considerations when choosing a new laptop for running SOLIDWORKS.

Since each user will have different needs when working within the software, it is difficult to simply say, “Get this laptop; it will work for you.” Instead, we are going to look at each of these four hardware areas to help you make the best decision when selecting a new laptop to run the software.

Before you can answer the concerns listed above, you need to have some idea about which make and model of laptop you are looking to purchase. If you aren't sure which manufacturer to choose from, talk to your IT team or purchasing department. Your company might already have an agreement with a computer manufacturer, or your IT team might prefer that you go with one specific manufacturer. For today's example, I am going to use Dell as the computer manufacturer. However, you can use any manufacturer and follow these same steps.

Start this process by going to the manufacturer's website and examining its line of laptops. Look for terms like “professional laptop” or “mobile workstation,” which typically indicate that the laptop is going to offer more horsepower and higher-end options. On the company's main website, I found that Dell uses the term “precision mobile workstations” and that it offers three base models: the 3000 series, the 5000 series and the 7000 series.

For this example, I went with the middle-range option, which is called the Dell Precision 15 5000 Series (5510). After clicking on this option, I was taken to a screen where I could configure the laptop to my particular needs and specifications. The list in Figure 1 can help make sure that the laptop being considered can properly run the software.

Video Card

A video card (or graphics card) is a piece of hardware that receives information from your software (SOLIDWORKS) and sends this information to your display (your monitor). In a traditional computer tower, the video card is a physical piece of hardware that may be removed and replaced. This is convenient because certain videos cards are optimized for certain tasks, but may fail to perform other tasks well.

For example, some video cards are great for gaming but perform poorly when attempting to run CAD applications. Two popular cards that are great for gaming are the NVIDIA GeForce series and the AMD Radeon series. Unfortunately, neither of these series of cards is supported to run SOLIDWORKS. If you had one of these cards in a traditional tower, you could remove the unsupported card and replace it with a card that could properly run the software such as an NVIDIA Quadro series card or an AMD FirePro series card.

When it comes to a laptop computer, however, the video card is often embedded into the motherboard, which means that it cannot be removed. The video card you select when purchasing a laptop is the one you will have in place for the entire life of the device.

Figure 2. A Dell M4600 laptop motherboard with the video card circuitry embedded into the main board. (Image courtesy of newegg.com.)

Selecting the proper video card is easily the most important decision you will make when choosing a laptop to run SOLIDWORKS. Choosing a laptop with an unsupported (or undersupported) video card can be disastrous because an unsupported video card is one of the most common causes of slowdowns and crashes in the software—and this card cannot be removed and replaced.

Fortunately, SOLIDWORKS has done extensive testing on the leading industry video cards and has provided a guide to which cards are supported.

Figure 3. The tool that shows supported graphics cards.

Before purchasing a mobile workstation to run the software, it is imperative that you check this list to ensure that the laptop you are considering has a supported graphics card. To use this list, you will begin by selecting a computer vendor. For this example, I selected Dell.

Figure 4. Selecting the computer vendor.

After this first selection, I found that there are over 2,000 available results. This represents the total number of computer configurations that SOLIDWORKS has tested using Dell computers. This list is a bit too extensive, so let’s narrow it down further.

Next, I chose a model. As discussed above, the model in this example is a Precision 15 5000 Series (5510).

Figure 5.Examining the different models of Dell computers available.

As you can see in Figure 5, the model number might be abbreviated or listed slightly differently from what is listed on the manufacturer's website. After doing a bit of detective work, I was able to find the correct model number and select the Precision 5510.

Figure 6. Selecting the correct laptop model.

As is shown in Figure 6, the total number of results drops significantly after a model number is selected. At this point, it’s possible to examine these results to see if this laptop model has a compatible graphics card, but let’s narrow the list down a bit further.

Next, look at the graphics card model. On some computers, multiple graphics cards will be available when you purchase the computer. We will talk about this a little later. In the case of the Dell Precision 5510, there is only one graphics card available.

Figure 7. Selecting the correct graphics card model.

The final two choices to make will be the software version and the operating system. You should always choose the latest software version available. Although you may be working on an earlier version of the software, you want to future-proof your video card since you cannot swap it out in a laptop.

Figure 8. Selecting the latest possible software version.

Finally, you will need to choose your operating system. Again, you should talk to your IT team about your current operating system and if there are any plans to move to a newer operating system.

Figure 9. Selecting the operating system for the laptop.

Once you have selected the operating system, click “Show Results” and examine the feedback. There is a legend that breaks down the meaning of these results below the list of graphics cards.

Figure 10. Final results of the selected configuration and the legend explaining the results.

As you can see in Figure 10, the selected card was the NVIDIA Quadro M1000M, which has a supported and suggested driver. A video card driver is an essential program that optimizes the video card so that it will output specific results. Sometimes having a supported video card with an unsupported driver can cause the software to perform poorly. The supported driver listed on this site should always be used.

The final result shows that the NVIDIA Quadro M1000M card with the driver version 362.13 passed all tests (apparent by the green check mark) for use on SOLIDWORKS 2017 on a Windows 10 64-bit operating system; this card also supports all RealView functionality (apparent by the green checkmark on the sphere).

This card passed all tests and I would consider it a good choice.

On the manufacturer's site, you will have the option of choosing the video card for the laptop. Be sure to select the correct video card when making your final purchase.

Figure 11. An example of the manufacturer's page where the correct supported video card can be selected.

In the example laptop selection, there was only one available supported graphics card—the NVIDIA Quadro M1000M. Some laptops will have multiple supported graphics card available.

Figure 12. A computer model with multiple supported graphics cards to choose from.

In Figure 12, the selected computer model has five different graphics cards from which to choose. The range in cost of these different graphics cards will often be associated with the amount of onboard RAM on the graphics cards. In the simplest terms, the more expensive the card is, the better and newer the onboard technology will be.

So with five choices, which one should be selected? To answer this question, let’s review some of the topics we have already covered. To future-proof the laptop as best as possible, try to get the best (and often most expensive) graphics card offered. This card will likely have the highest amount of onboard RAM and will be running the fastest and latest graphical processing unit (GPU). It’s also important to talk to your purchasing team to see how far you can go with this concept and to talk to the IT team to see if it has an opinion on one graphics card manufacturer versus another.

Ultimately, you are going to be stuck with this graphics card for the life of the laptop, so you’ll want it to be good enough to last through as many future versions of the software as possible. This sometimes means spending a lot more money up front, but this is a good investment if it means you can run the same laptop for two to three years longer than you would have been able to with a less expensive graphics card. Remember, this choice is the single most important one you will have to make when selecting a laptop to run SOLIDWORKS.

Keep in mind that on most laptops, the CPU, RAM and hard drive can be removed and replaced with an upgrade, unlike a video card. When configuring and choosing options for a new laptop, you will often be dealing with a specific budget and therefore will need to compromise when selecting hardware options. If you have the option of getting a better video card, but it would mean getting a lower-quality CPU, RAM or hard drive, then you should almost always choose the better video card. The other types of hardware can be upgraded at a later time, possibly when that hardware drops in price. Once you choose a video card, that will be the card you have for the life of the laptop.

CPU

The CPU, or central processing unit, can be thought of as a computer’s brain. The CPU is the primary processor of your computer and it is responsible for the execution of lines of code in the programs that run on your computer.

When configuring a new laptop for SOLIDWORKS and examining the options for CPU, you will often see options for the speed of the CPU as well as the number of cores on the CPU. You can research the topic of CPU and cores in detail via a simple search on the Internet, so today I am going to focus on how your choice of CPU can affect the software.

The speed of a CPU is going to affect how quickly your computer boots, how quickly software launches and how quickly commands are executed. The number of cores in your CPU can allow your operating system to run two or more programs simultaneously, with each program utilizing a different core. A CPU with multiple cores is similar to a laptop with two different CPUs. With two cores or two CPUs, each core can dedicate its entire processing to a single series of commands (a program) while the second core works on another program simultaneously. This means that one core could be running SOLIDWORKS while a second core could simultaneously run your Internet browser or email program.

When examining the options available for the CPU on your new laptop, you might encounter choices similar to what is shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13. When purchasing your computer, which CPU option should you choose?

As you can see in Figure 13, you will often have the choice of a faster single-core processor, or a slightly slower multicore processor. You may be wondering: Which is better for SOLIDWORKS? The answer has to do with a technology known as multithreading, which allows multiple cores to work together to accomplish a single task.

To use a very simple analogy, think about it this way. Would it take longer for two average men working together to dig a hole that is 4 ft in diameter and 2 ft deep, or one very muscular man with a larger shovel working to dig the same hole? It’s also worth asking whether there are rules that allow or prohibit teams of two men to work on the task simultaneously.

Some programs can utilize multiple cores working together on a single process, while others are unable to take advantage of multithreading. If multiple cores are allowed to work together on a single task, slightly slower CPU speeds can typically get the job done faster by allowing multiple cores to work together on a single task.

In the world of SOLIDWORKS, the uses of multithreading can vary. For part modeling and assembly modeling, most of the processing operations are very linear—that is, one process needs to be solved before the next process can be started. Due to the nature of this linear parametric modeling, multithreading is not heavily utilized and a single processor with a faster speed will perform better than a multicore processor with slower speeds.

On the other hand, drawings can utilize multiple cores, particularly when opening and viewing a drawing with multiple sheets. SOLIDWORKS Simulation can run and solve studies utilizing multiple cores, which means that a complex simulation will solve much faster with multiple cores working simultaneously than with a single faster CPU. PhotoView 360 is another SOLIDWORKS program that can take advantage of multiple cores to generate faster renderings.

When choosing a CPU, there are two things to consider. The first is that a CPU can be replaced and upgraded at a later time, so a budget-conscious purchase may result in a slightly lower-end CPU now, with the option of upgrading at a later time (when hardware prices drop). The next consideration is whether to go with a faster single CPU or a slower multicore CPU. This will depend on how you are utilizing the software. Do you create a lot of multi-sheet drawings or work with SOLIDWORKS simulation often? If so, a multicore processor may be the better choice.

Generally speaking, the recommendation is to choose a multicore CPU, even though the software's part and assembly modeling doesn’t take significant advantage of multithreading. This is because you will typically be simultaneously running additional programs on your computer. Having multiple cores will allow these programs to run without pulling resources from the dedicated core that is running the software. On top of this, there are a few areas inside the software (including multi-sheet drawings) that do take advantage of multithreading multiple cores.

RAM

RAM, or random access memory, essentially indicates how many different items you can have open at one time. In the world of SOLIDWORKS, this comes into play when opening a large assembly, many individual windows or a multi-sheet drawing. As of 2016, you will usually see choices for RAM in the range of 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB or more.

Figure 14. Choices for RAM when purchasing a new laptop.

RAM will often be listed with the total amount, the number of dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) and the speed of the RAM. In this case, a DIMM is a stick of laptop RAM and is about 82mm x 30mm in size. Laptop RAM is installed/upgraded via a panel in the bottom of most laptops and most laptops can accept two DIMMs of RAM. Similar to a CPU, the speed of RAM is going to affect how quickly new changes can be processed and written into temporary memory.

To determine how much RAM you are currently using, start by opening a very complex assembly or multi-sheet drawing in SOLIDWORKS. Then open the Windows Task Manager. Click on the tab for Performance.

Figure 15. The Windows Task Manager showing the current RAM usage.

In Figure 15,you can see an image of the Task Manager of my current computer. I opened a semicomplex assembly (262 parts, 85 top-level mates) and you can see that I am utilizing 4.62 GB of RAM. You can also see that I have a total of 16 GB of RAM on this laptop and that I am utilizing 29 percent of this total RAM. Since this assembly is typical of the assemblies I work on, 16 GB of RAM is a good choice because I will still have a lot of extra RAM in case I need to work on a more complex assembly.

For most SOLIDWORKS users, 8GB to 16GB of RAM will be sufficient. For heavy users of Simulation or Flow Simulation, 32GB of RAM (or more) should be included in a laptop purchase since these programs utilize RAM to solve studies.

Hard Drive

The final choice we will be reviewing today will be the hard drive. Similar to CPU and RAM, the hard drive in most laptops can be replaced with an upgrade at a later time.

The choice of hard drive in a laptop will include whether to get one hard drive or multiple, how much local storage you will need, and whether to get a mechanical (spinning) hard drive or a solid state hard drive.

The primary reason to get multiple hard drives has to do with RAID, or a redundant array of independent disks. This technology allows you to either have two hard drives working together to provide faster read/write speeds, or have two hard drives that are automatically cloning one another, so that if one hard drive has a catastrophic failure, you will always have a full backup on the second hard drive. The decision as to whether or not to setup a RAID configuration is one that should be made with your IT team, since it may have a preference.

The next choice will be regarding how much local space you need. This choice will depend on your protocol for storing data—do you store most of your files locally or do you work from and save to a server? If you store most of your data on a server, then a smaller hard drive could be utilized. If you store most of your data locally, then you will want a larger local hard drive.

This can sometimes be determined by examining your current computer.

Figure 16. An image of my current hard drive usage.

As you can see in Figure 16, I am utilizing a hard drive with a total of 256GB available. I am currently using 191 GB of this hard drive. Therefore, on my next laptop, I should consider upgrading to a larger capacity hard drive, possibly 512GB.

The final decision you will need to make is choosing between a solid state hard drive or a mechanical hard drive. A solid state hard drive will be more expensive but will provide much better performance when booting your computer, launching software and opening files. If you can afford to do so, you should opt for a solid state hard drive over a mechanical hard drive.

Conclusion

Every SOLIDWORKS user will have slightly different needs for a new laptop depending on software usage and budget options. Figure 17 shows a summary of some of my specific recommendations.

Figure 17. Final hardware recommendations.

Regardless of how you are utilizing SOLIDWORKS on your laptop, you want your video card to be future-proofed since it cannot be replaced. Therefore, you should get the best possible video card offered on your selected laptop model. Your CPU should also be as fast as possible, and multiple cores should be selected so that you can run the software on one core and simultaneously run other programs on your other cores. The amount of RAM required can be determined from your existing computer by examining your Windows Task Manager after opening a complex assembly or multi-sheet drawing. Most SOLIDWORKS users can work with 8GB–16GB of RAM. Finally, if possible, you should always opt for a solid state hard drive since you will get much faster speeds when opening and saving software files when compared to a mechanical hard drive.

The most important selection will be in regards to the video card. The CPU, RAM and hard disk can all be upgraded/replaced at a later time, but the video card will be integrated with the motherboard and therefore cannot be upgraded. If faced with a decision to downgrade the CPU, RAM or hard drive to get a better video card, you should always opt for the better video card.

About the Author

Tobias Richard is a SOLIDWORKS elite applications engineer from Philadelphia. He has been working with SOLIDWORKS software since 1998 and has been providing training, technical support and tips and tricks since 2001.

My partner, Josh Altergott, and I began developing a testing tool and methodology focused around typical-use scenarios of SOLIDWORKS. With an application program interface (API) developed in conjunction with our sister company, InFlow, we were able to structure our testing methodology to isolate singular, particular aspects of the software's environment and test them individually.

What we were then able to do is measure the impact of small changes in specific aspects of a modeling environment and determine what changes have the most significant impact. Because we have continually improved the tools, methodology and process over the last several years, we are confident in our results.

This article will discuss the most critical aspects of a modeling environment from a hardware configuration perspective.

RAM

Our conversations with customers regarding hardware configuration always begin with RAM. RAM can kill your productivity if you don’t have enough but also can be an expensive over investment if you purchase more than you need.

(All images and graphs courtesy of the author.)

All SOLIDWORKS models have their own threshold for required RAM. The trick is to determine how much RAM your models need. There are several ways of doing this, but the easiest is to load your most demanding model and begin working with it. Open the Windows task manager and monitor the total amount of RAM being used while working. Determine the amount of RAM you would want to have in reserve. I personally look for 20 percent or so. Then buy a practical amount of RAM to support the need. The main thing to remember is that overbuying RAM only hurts the wallet on the front end. Poor productivity hits your wallet for the life of the workstation.

Number of Cores

In the past, we had to help folks understand that multiple cores or processors were essential for the effective use of the software. Now we have to make sure that folks don’t overbuy.

SOLIDWORKS can use two cores for certain aspects of the software. Quad-core processors are preferred to accommodate the software's needs as well as the needs of the operating system and other applications. It‘s also important to note that for SOLIDWORKS, anything more than four cores is practically useless. The software just leaves the extra capacity on the shelf.

Our research has shown this dynamic very clearly. The data below shows the result of running the exact same benchmark or the same workstation where the only difference from run to run is the number of cores. This list states 1) the number of cores used to run the test, 2) the time to complete the test and 3) the percentage difference to run the test compared with the two-core baseline.

•   1 core—7:35:41 :: 286 percent slower
•   2 cores—1:58:07
•   3 cores—1:41:47 :: 13.8 percent faster
•   4 cores—1:41:08 :: 14.4 percent faster
•   6 cores—1:40:40 :: 14.8 percent faster

With our baseline being a workstation with two cores (in bold above), it is easy to see that dropping to a single-core machine would be a productivity nightmare. However, jumping to three cores can generate a significant increase in performance. Given that you can’t get a three-core processor, a four-core processor is the practical choice. Also, it’s important to realize that going beyond four cores yields no significant increase in performance.

There are some situations where more than four cores can be very beneficial. Simulation and photo-rendering both take advantage of multicore processing much more effectively than core SOLIDWORKS.

Relative to Simulation and Flow Simulation, the productivity increase tapers off after six cores, meaning that eight or more cores doesn’t buy you anything worth the investment.

However, when looking at PhotoView 360, not only is multicore much more helpful, but hyper-threading can make a significant difference as well, improving performance up to 17 percent in our tests.

• 4 – 6 cores—17 percent faster
• 4 – 8 cores—51 percent faster
• 4 – 16 cores—74 percent faster

It is necessary to note as well that Visualize, which we have not yet tested, not only takes advantage of multicore very effectively, but also utilizes GPU, thrusting the graphics card into greater prominence than ever before within the SOLIDWORKS community.

Processor Speed

We have done significant testing targeted at processor speed to determine how fast the processor needs to be and to determine if there is a point of diminishing return as processor speed increases. To help in this effort, we ran our benchmark with assemblies ranging between 95 and 21,000 total components (35 and 2,440 unique components). We tested processor speeds from 2 to 4.7GHz and showed very clearly that we could realize a roughly 7.5 percent to 9 percent increase in speed to complete our benchmark for every increase of 0.5 GHz of processor speed.

An interesting aspect of this experiment is that there was no discernible difference based on the assembly size. No matter what the assembly size was, the benchmark always completed with a percentage increase within the range noted above. No matter how big or small your models are, they can perform faster with a faster processor. Also, we saw no diminishing returns as we increased the processor speed, meaning that a faster processor will always improve performance. This, as discussed above, is not the case for RAM or the number of processor cores.

Hard Drive

Hard drives have undergone a significant transition in recent years. Where, in the past we used to talk to users about higher performance drives based on RPMs and potentially RAID arrays, we now just recommend solid-state hard drives. There is really no reason to do anything else. Our testing over the years has consistently shown a 12 percent to 18 percent performance improvement on our benchmarks when switching from a 7200-rpm standard hard drive to a solid-state drive. This coupled with the fact that solid-state drives have dropped so significantly in price makes the decision practically automatic.

There are situations where users store a lot of data on their local workstation hard drive. In these cases, a single solid-state hard drive large enough to store the data may be cost prohibitive. We recommend a second standard high-capacity hard drive for storage while maintaining a solid-state drive for the operating system, the software and a working directory for files currently being used.

Graphics Cards

Graphics are an important aspect of the modeling environment relative to both stability and performance. Graphics cards that are either unsupported or using drivers that are unsupported can cause a great deal of grief due to crashing, hanging and bizarre visual anomalies. SOLIDWORKS requires OpenGL-capable graphics.

Regardless of how you may feel about the requirement, it does limit the available selection of graphics cards to AMD FirePro and FireGL, NVIDIA Quadro and GRID and the Intel HD and IRIS Pro lines. The cost of straying from these options or experimenting with gaming cards can be significant. The gaming cards are very powerful when targeted at their core purpose—playing games. When using gaming cards for SOLIDWORKS, a user will lose functionality and crash more frequently.

The performance aspect of a graphics card is interesting. Measuring graphics performance is different than measuring calculative performance. With graphics, we are interested in “feel” and “response” as a user experiences it. For example, when a user rotates a model from point “A” to point “B” on the screen, it will get to the final position in the same amount of time regardless. To measure graphics performance, we are interested in how smoothly it made that transition, how detailed the image was as it made that transition and how it “felt” to the user as it made that transition. Essentially, we are interested in how many frames the card can display per second while we manipulate amodel on screen through such transitions.

What we have found in our testing has been enlightening. Stepping up through the different levels of graphics cards did result in higher performance in frames per second. However, this improvement in performance almost always occurred in a range beyond the monitor’s ability to display the difference as well as beyond the human eye’s ability to perceive the difference if a person had the opportunity to attempt a comparison.

Most monitors display at roughly 60Hz.So, realistically, anything over 60 fps is going to be overkill. Where we did see a difference in the performance of graphics cards was with models that were set to very high image qualities.

This graph also shows us that graphics performance as measured in frames per second drops rapidly between 0 and 2,000 components. However, in tests with our models, we have to cross 3,000 components before we drop below the capabilities of the typical monitor.

At this point, we need to leverage options such as “Level of detail” to lighten the graphics load and maintain comfortable “feel” and “response” by sacrificing model detail in transitions.

Summary

As a result of all of our research and testing, we are much more confident in our hardware recommendations, and making those recommendations has become much simpler.

In the case of general SOLIDWORKS use (and assuming that there are no other significant drains on the workstation while modeling), we recommend the following:

• The fastest quad-core processor you can get (overclocking i7 processors can take it to another level)
• Solid-state hard drives (operating system, SOLIDWORKS, working directory)
• Separate standard high-capacity hard drive for local storage, if necessary
• NVIDIA Quadro K2200 graphics card (don’t over-buy the graphics card)
• Ample RAM for the models being utilized

The most important thing to remember is that workstation performance is an investment that can yield tremendous benefits over time. In our experience with customers, we have seen countless examples where buying the right hardware for the situation saved tremendous amounts of money in productivity increases and also resulted in much happier designers and engineers.

About the Author

Adrian Fanjoy currently serves as vice president, technical services for Computer Aided Technology, LLC. His responsibilities include management of the SOLIDWORKS and additive manufacturing technical teams. For the past 10 years, he has specialized in SOLIDWORKS performance improvement from a hardware and configuration perspective.