dimension text.įinally, without a supported card SOLIDWORKS is less stable and more prone to crashing. Users have also reported items temporarily disappearing after you rotate/zoom/Pan e.g. Without a supported card, you won’t get some feature such as the looking glass, RealView etc.
The virtual driver is much slower than using the correct driver running on a normal Windows PC or laptop. You have to use the generic Parallels virtual driver.
There is currently no way to install the correct NVIDIA Quadro or ATI Fire drivers required by SOLIDWORKS via Parallels even if you have a supported card. If you run via Parallels, you are running a “virtual” graphics card driver. No MacBook or MacBook Pros have supported cards. Not many Macs come with supported graphics card. Most ATI cards are from their Radeon range, which are not supported. Most NVIDIA cards are from their GeForce range, which are not supported.ĪTI sell as range of graphics cards called “FireGL”/“FirePRO” which are supported.
NVIDIA sell a range of supported graphics cards called “Quadro” (the exception is the Quadro NVS, which is unsupported). Only a few cards are supported by SOLIDWORKS. You need to be running a supported graphics card to get the most out of SOLIDWORKS. Certainly running via Parallels is slower and more prone to crashing SOLIDWORKS than the Boot Camp solution.
It also introduces an extra level of software to “go wrong”.
Unfortunately, it really stretches the capabilities of most machines to run both Mac OS and Windows as well as a heavy-duty program like SOLIDWORKS at the same time. Running Parallels on a Mac is really convenient as you can seamlessly switch between Windows and Mac OS when needed. You need to buy Parallels and a copy of Windows 10 for this solution. The “Virtual PC” would then run Windows 10 on which SOLIDWORKS can ultimately run. In our case, we would use Parallels to run a “Virtual PC”. It allows you to run a “virtual” copy of a Windows operating system at the same time as running your Mac OS. Parallels software can be installed on your Mac OS. Note: It is important you only use “boot camp assistant” to create this windows partition. It is free to install but you do have to buy a copy of your preferred windows operating system. When you boot up your Mac you have to choose to run either Mac OS or Windows.īoot Camp Assistant creates a partition just for Windows, leaving your existing Mac OS volume intact. In effect, you end up with one computer with a choice of two operating systems. This is the preferred method – it effectively runs Windows on your computer instead of Mac OS. The operating system on a Mac is called “Mac OS” and there are two ways of running Windows 10 on a Mac:. Running with a supported graphics card (more of this later).It also means you have to buy a copy of the Windows operating system. However, Windows 7 will only be supported until the end of the 2020 release, so we recommend going with Windows 10. With SOLIDWORKS 2019, that means running Windows 10 or Windows 7 operating systems. Running on Microsoft operating systems.However if you have to run SOLIDWORKS on a Mac read on:- Running SOLIDWORKS on a Mac means you are making compromises on speed, functionality and stability. With eDrawings Viewer you can create review-enabled eDrawings files that allow an unlimited number of recipients to mark up and provide feedback on product. EDrawings Viewer is available for Windows, Mac and mobile devices for true cross-platform design collaboration and communication. We would always recommend running SOLIDWORKS on a Windows PC.ĮDrawings, SOLIDWORKS ®, and AutoCAD DWG and DXF files.
A change in Mac OS or an upgrade to SOLIDWORKS may suddenly give you major headache.
The bad news is that it isn’t supported by SOLIDWORKS … There are no versions of SOLIDWORKS that are written for Mac OS and OS X, however there are versions of eDrawings available for Mac OS. We know quite a few users running SOLIDWORKS successfully on a Mac. Running SOLIDWORKS on a Mac People often ask if it is possible to run SOLIDWORKS on a Mac – the good news is you can. The design and style, as well as growth remedy, plumped for by significantly over 3.1 million users worldwide with increases performance, and new abilities for emerging technologies, it has never been recently less challenging to develop and make with. It’s most likely the Advance CAD computer program.