Min Reqs (Win7x64)

CPU     Intel or AMD with SSE2 support. 64-bit OS recommended.
RAM     2GB+
HDD     5GB+
Video   Quadro/QuadroFX/FireGL/FirePro

Notes regarding HW selection

• FirePro v3900 was best bang for buck. Good Solidworks reviews.
• 4GB of RAM will work, can always upgrade.
• 3.5Ghz Dual core + Hyper-Threading (i3-3220/3240) should be plenty.

Capinc Solidworks HW Tips

• Video Card: VERY important
• Proc: Solidworks is optimized for multiple cores
• RAM: Solidworks grabs 340mb on launch. 4gb+ is only necessary for very large assemblies (over 10,000 parts)
• HD: Generally, does not affect Solidworks performance

Newegg specials for Oct.

"i5" Combo + FirePro V3900 ~$630

Someone mentioned i5 & i7's have decent enough graphics to run Solidworks.. maybe just get FirePro later, if needed?

• Trustworthy PSU
• i5 is Quad Core, 8MB-L2, HD4000 'integrated' gfx
• 8GB RAM
• 1TB HDD, SSD would've been nicer.
• USB 3.0

• No case.

  Combo: 1291151

"i3" Combo + FirePro V3900 ~$ 430

• Decent PSU. But low wattage.
• 500GB HDD
• USB 3.0

• Plain Case.

  Combo: 1271103

"Budget Gaming" Combo $ 370

• nVidia GT 640 2GB, instead of FirePro ?
  .. donno if that's such a good idea.
• Good PSU
• 500GB HDD
• USB 3.0

• Decent looking case.

  Combo: 1461943