SW on a Mac . . . again

[guimba]

Hello, I've looked at a few threads on here already - all of them closed, and all of them over two years old - regarding what seems to be a taboo subject. But my boss wants me to research buying SW2010 and running it on a Mac Pro quad-core with Fusion 3 and Windows 7. He already has everyone else on a MacBook so it seems a natural to him to keep things in the family. I'm currently using SW2008 on an old PC that was kept around just for CAD use. If anyone has any experience with this it would be appreciated. Also, SW's graphics card certifications don't jive with Apple's installation of an NVIDIA GeForce GT 120. Any help here is also welcome. Thanks!

 

[fcsuper]

First, I would ask one question. By "want" you mean to say "demand"? If not, I would push back and make it clear that SW is a Windows application that is only supported when it is installed on a PC. PCs and Macs do effectively communicate data these days, so I'm not sure why you must be on a mac. Sorry for not helping directly.

Matt Lorono
CAD Engineer/ECN Analyst
Silicon Valley, CA
Lorono's SolidWorks Resources
Co-moderator of Solidworks Yahoo! Group
and Mechnical.Engineering Yahoo! Group

 

[guimba]

Thanks fcsuper. I'm sure if I stood my ground and came up with good reasons why - like if my reseller comes back with you can but we won't support you - that I can convince him to just buy a good high-end PC to run SW on, but I'll wait to see what they say.

 

[vigildesign]

Show your boss the requirements from SW:

http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/SystemRequirements.html

Have him decide based on what the software needs to properly function.

 

[gwubs]

Tell your boss about the other things you could spend extra money on instead of an elitist computer. I'm disappointed by the many computer gurus and IT guys that think SW is just another "graphic rendering" program. The fact that SW does not run native on an Apple should discourage people from trying to do it. Spend the extra money on a mouse with programable buttons, or get a second LCD panel. These are the things that lead to productivity. Sorry for sounding steamed, but I'm fed up with hearing "that would never happen on a mac".

 

[gwubs]

guimba - just reread your first post - if nothing else run an approved video card

 

[JMirisola]

While there are those that do run SolidWorks on a Mac, they do so without a net. Your VAR won't be able to provide you with any support as you aren't using SolidWorks on supported hardware. The graphics card isn't set up for 3D design, though it can be soft-modded. However, once again you're outside of the parameters and won't get any tech support.
If you and your boss are comfortable without a net, go for it. Hopefully, the potential headaches will be worth "keeping it in the family".

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP, Certified DriveWorks AE
CAD Administrator, Ultimate Survival Technologies
My Blog

 

[MadMango]

Also, have a look at this PDF file, though I can't verify if it's good or bad info. I only supply the nails...

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of these Forums?

 

[gwubs]

MadMango - great stuff. And I feel even more sure that I don't want to run SW on a Mac.

 

[takedownca]

I'm in agreement with everyone else. If you want to run SW you should do it without the unnecessary performance impact imposed by using a Mac. If your boss is really set on getting a Mac, I would look into NX. I don't have first hand experience with it, but it's the only professional 3D CAD app that I know of that runs native on Max.

 

[drawoh]

guimba,

Mechancical CAD is just about the worst thing you can do to your computer. If you are installing SolidWorks for the first time, you need a new computer. The computer should be configured and set up the way SolidWorks recommends you configure it and set it up.

SolidWorks puts a lot of stress on your CPU, RAM and your video card. If you install SolidWorks on a non-Windows machine, Linux or Mac, you are putting even more stress on it. Even if you get it running, there is no guarantee that your emulator will support the next version of SolidWorks.

Email SolidWorks and tell them you want a version to run on Linux and Mac. Maybe they will get the hint.

JHG

 

[guimba]

Thanks all for your inputs. There's a lot to be said for running the software on the OS and machine that it was intended to run on. I have used SW for over 8 years now and have been very happy with it. No sense upsetting the apple cart by changing the foundation. I know it's possible to run in Mac, but it doesn't seem to be worth it. Cheers.

Engineering isn't about perfect solutions; it's about doing the best you can with limited resources. - Randy Pausch

 

[Theophilus]

Spend the extra money on a mouse with programable buttons...

...Or at least a mouse with a plurality of buttons! (I think my MX Revolution has ten or more button functions.)

Plenty of debate over Mac merit at Matt's blog, such as this example, if you're into that sort of thing. (I'm guessing you won't need much guesswork to figure out what Matt thinks.):

http://www.dezignstuff.com/blog/?p=2912

Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

A people governed by fear cannot value freedom.

 

[gwubs]

Heh heh - upsetting the Apple cart - good one

 

[guimba]

LOL! Yeah, I should've caught that. Why I decided to stick with engineering instead of doing stand-up.

Engineering isn't about perfect solutions; it's about doing the best you can with limited resources. - Randy Pausch

 

[keepinitcool]

You will get better performance on a Intel i7 computer, and that's not available for Mac. All benchmarks have shown i7 as the best option since you can continue to upgrade it in the future (see Anna's SolidMuse benchmark charts). Solidworks is not very multi-core able except for photo rendering and FEA. For actual modeling you want the best CPU core (multi-core is beneficial if you are doing some rendering and FEA).

 

[keepinitcool]

Can't seem to edit my post, so I forgot to mention, you would have to get the Quadro FX Mac card to attempt to run on a Mac. Not cheap.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/TW386LL/A?fnode=MTY1NDA5OQ&mco=MTA4MzU2Nzg&p=1&s=topSellers

 

[NuclearNerd]

I've searched the forums over the years for this question. The answer I've heard was this:

a) Solidworks runs like ass under Parallels / Fusion, but *hey* it works.
b) Solidworks runs fine under BootCamp, but you can't get a Mac with a SW recommended video card (the Quadro FX for Mac apparently isn't supported either). The NVidia chipsets will still do some hardware acceleration and *hey* it works (although it won't be the fastest SW machine for the money.)

I plan on running SW under bootcamp when I get a new macbook this year. Despite what the haters upthread say, I use my machine for more than one task - I'm willing to sacrifice some Solidworks speed so that I can work in my preferred OS the rest of the time.

 

[gwubs]

We're not haters, just strong dislikers...

 

[JMirisola]

I figure the software is already buggy to varying degrees, no use in adding fuel to the fire.

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP, Certified DriveWorks AE
CAD Administrator, Ultimate Survival Technologies
My Blog