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Win-7 Pro with XP Mode

mikej

New member
I'm between jobs and am working on learning Solidworks. We're looking at upgrading our computer and I'm trying to get one that can handle Solidworks and stay within our budget. I've got a student edition of Solidworks 2008-2009. Will this student version run on a Windows 7 Pro system running the XP Mode option? Per the Solidworks web site it looks like only Solidworks 2010 and 2011 can run on Win 7.

We're looking at laptops, processors under consideration are the Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 cpu's. I'm focusing on Nvidia GT300 series graphics cards. RAM ranges from 4-6Gb. CPU speeds range from 1.7-2.4GHz, the i7 at 1.7GHz is supposed to sort of overclock itself to a higher functional speed according to the sales techs.
I guess I'm asking for input on a computer too. I might also run a comp'd copy of AutoCAD Inventor under their Displaced Worker program just to refresh my AutoCAD skillset from 15+ years ago. I should maybe add I've been using I-DEAS since SDRC released the Master Series since this is my first post to the site here.

Thanks in advance for any input. The sales folks at the local computer sales place don't know much about CAD requirements.

Mike
 
MCADCentral started as ProeCentral thus the low traffic in Solidworks forum I had to set Active Topics to Since Last Week to see any posts.

You will eventually need Win 7 to run any future SolidWorks editions. XP support ends with 2011 release.

You may want to check the following site.
http://www.mysolidbox.com/solidworks/?page_id=6

I met the owner of the Company at SolidWorks World and he knows how to set up CAD systems so they can work.

SolidWorks now requires SSE2 processor capability
And so does autodesk.
http://autodesk.blogs.com/between_the_lines/2009/03/sse2-cpu -support-requirement-for-autocad-2010.html

Which is Why SolidWorks 2010 is no longer supported on older processors like my home AMD Athlon 64bit.

I think the Autodesk Student licenses only run for a year but if you have a .edu email students can get a 13month license for AutoDesk and even get the current version of Inventor 2011 which also installs Autocad 2011. I think Win7 supports unlimited RAM or a 64bit version of Windows OS will too.

I'm running one of the new ATI-Fire-Pro boards and it is just as if not more stable than the NVidia boards I've used. PNY.com sells most of the good CAD video cards. The new Dell Laptops support up to 16G of ram with 4 memory slots but they can be quite expensive. I've heard good things about the older M4400 systems as well which I think you can get with Win7 now.
You may also get good performance from the i5 processors but the i7 is quite nice for speeding processes with immediate need of resources.

Michael
 
Thank you for the reply. I'll have to check out the references later, on the cell phone browser now and it can't handle some sites.

I've had to clear my head of Consumer mode and get into Workstation mode and I started to find what I was looking for. The Dell M4500 looked interesting but was out of stock on their clearance section. I'll have to find that link again and look at the M4400.

Autodesk has a Displaced Worker program where they give non-students access to the student versions once they verify unemployed status. I spent five hours downloading Inventor only to find it won't run on our desktop system (bummer).

I wish Solidworks had a similar program since there are more Solidworks job openings posted locally than for Autodesk programs, except for Civil Eng and the Building trades which are locked out without direct industry experience.

I appreciate the reply, thanks for the info.
 

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