You’ve got 11 Best laptops for SolidWorks in 2022 to pick from Amazon, and we’ll make everything as straightforward as possible for you, explaining what each one of these models has to offer, and why they might be suitable for SolidWorks.
If we talk about SolidWorks (2021) it introduces several enhancements, such as improved performance with optimized workflows, and 3DExperience, and providing a cloud-based platform. This means picking one up that is the cheapest may not be the solution to your problems, So it requires a lot of power to run SolidWorks. So, you need a laptop that doesn’t have to glitch and freezing, especially in the middle of a task.
Whether you are a mechanical, electrical, or an electronics engineer, you know CAD and CAE software’s moves from innovation to innovation, the software is becoming more and more resource hungry.
Now the question raises.
What laptop do I need to run SolidWorks?
Ideally, you will need to find a piece of accurate information about the system requirement to reach the best laptop for SolidWorks to have a smooth and enjoyable experience with it.
After interviewing some SolidWorks Experts and reviewed all the suggested models and finally we suggested a minimum and optimal system requirement for SolidWorks.
Table of Contents
System Requirement for SolidWorks
Minimum Requirements
| Operating System (OS) | Windows 10 and 7 (2020 was the last year for Windows 7 support) |
| CPU | Intel i5 (at least 7th generation) |
| Memory (RAM) | up to 8 GB |
| Storage | up to 256GB SSD |
| Battery | Up to 4 Hours |
| GPU | NVIDIA Quadro P2200 |
| GPU RAM | 2GB or more GPU RAM |
If you’re a student then you may require a laptop for Student design kit program, or you are a beginner, in this case we suggest you to go with minimum system requirements for SOLIDWORKS, but still can’t get most out of Solid works.
Recommended System Requirements
| Operating System (OS) | Windows 10 |
| CPU | 3.3GHz or faster, Intel Core i7, Xeon or equivalent AMD |
| Memory (RAM) | 32GB or more as required |
| Storage | Solid State Drive (SSD) > 512GB, keeping 10% drive capacity free space |
| Battery | Up to 8 hours |
| GPU | NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000, RTX 6000, RTX 8000 |
| GPU RAM | up to 4GB or more |
11 Best Laptops For SolidWorks in 2022
1. HP ZBook 15V
SPECS
| CPU | Intel 8th Generation Intel i7-8750H 6-Core |
| RAM | 32 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 2TB PCIe NVMe SSD+2TB HDD |
| Operating system | Windows 10 Pro |
| GPU | NVIDIA Quadro P600 |
| GPU RAM | 4 GB GDDR5 VRAM |
| Battery | 4 to 5 hours |
| Screen Size | 15.6 Inches |
| Weight | 3.94 pounds |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Dimension | 10 x 14 x 1 inches |
PROS
- 32 GB Ultra Fast RAM
- Professional Level GPU
- Vast & Speedy SSD
- Powerful 8th Gen CPU
- Exceptional Build Quality
- Lightweight
CONS
- Battery could be better
2. Asus ZenBook Pro Duo
SPECS
| CPU | 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H Processor |
| RAM | 32GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 1TB SSD |
| Operating system | Windows 10 Home |
| GPU | Discrete NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GDDR6 |
| GPU RAM | 6GB VRAM |
| Battery | backup up to 7.5 Hours |
| Screen Size | 15.6 Inches Full HD |
| Weight | 2 kg 500 g |
| Resolution | 3840 x 2160 (4K UHD) |
| Dimension | 24.6 x 35.9 x 2.4 cm |
PROS
- Massive 32 GB RAM
- Brilliant GPU
- Vast & Speedy SSD
- High Performance CPU
- 4K Display
CONS
- Bit Heavy
3. Microsoft Surface Book 3
SPECS
| CPU | 10th Gen Intel Core processors |
| RAM | 32 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 1TB NVMe SSD |
| Operating system | Windows 10 Home |
| GPU | NVIDIA GTX GeForce GPU |
| GPU RAM | |
| Battery | Up to 17.5 hours battery life |
| Screen Size | 15 Inches |
| Weight | 7.79 pounds |
| Resolution | 3240 x 2160, (260 PPI) Pixels |
| Dimension | 13.5 x 0.9 x 9.87 inches |
PROS
- Long Lasting Battery
- Fast & Vast SSD
- 10th Gen High Performance CPU
- Massive 32 GB RAM
- Enthralling Display
CONS
- Bit Heavy
4. MSI P65 Creator
SPECS
| CPU | 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H Processor |
| RAM | 32GB RAM DDR4 |
| Storage | 1TB PCIe SSD |
| Operating system | Windows 10 Home |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 |
| GPU RAM | 6GB GDDR6 |
| Battery | backup up to 6 to 8 hours |
| Screen Size | 15.6 Inches |
| Weight | 4.19 pounds |
| Resolution | 3840 x 2160 |
| Dimension | 15.1 x 10.2 x 0.7 inches |
PROS
- 4K Ultra HD Display
- Fast & Vast SSD
- High Performance CPU
- Decent RAM Support
- Good Battery Life
- Lightweight
CONS
- Cooling System Could be better
5. Apple MacBook Pro
SPECS
| CPU | Ninth-generation 8-Core Intel Core i9 Processor |
| RAM | 16GB RAM DDR4 |
| Storage | 1 TB SSD |
| Operating system | Mac OS |
| GPU | AMD Radeon Pro 5500M Intel UHD Graphics 630 |
| GPU RAM | 4GB of GDDR6 memory |
| Battery | Up to 10 to 11 hours |
| Screen Size | 16 Inches |
| Weight | 8.33 pounds |
| Resolution | 3072×1920 |
| Dimension | 15.63 x 2.4 x 11.14 inches |
PROS
- Retina Display Screen
- Impressive Audio Quality
- Speedy & Vast SSD
- High Performance CPU
- Good RAM
- Decent Battery Life
- Lightweight
CONS
- No HDMI & USB A
6. Dell XPS 15
SPECS
| CPU | Intel Core i7 10th Gen |
| RAM | 16GB RAM DDR4 |
| Storage | 512GB Solid State Drive |
| Operating system | Windows 10 Home |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti |
| GPU RAM | 4GB GDDR6 |
| Battery | 5 to 6 hours |
| Screen Size | 15 Inches |
| Weight | 8.58 pounds |
| Resolution | 3840 x 2400 Pixels |
| Dimension | 21.73 x 15.71 x 3.78 inches |
PROS
- 4K UHD Display
- Thunder 3 Support
- Fast and Sizable SSD Storage
- 10th High Performance CPU
- Good RAM
- Decent Battery Life
CONS
- Bit Heavy
7. LG gram Thin and Light Laptop
SPECS
| CPU | Intel 8th Generation Intel Core i7 8565u Processor |
| RAM | 16GB RAM DDR4 |
| Storage | 512GB PCIE SSD |
| Operating system | Windows 10 Home |
| GPU | Intel HD Graphics 610 |
| GPU RAM | 16 GB GDDR6 |
| Battery | Up to 5 to 6 Hours Battery Life |
| Screen Size | 17 Inches |
| Weight | 2.95 pounds |
| Resolution | 2560 x 1600 Pixels |
| Dimension | 15 x 10.5 x 0.7 inches |
PROS
- Lightweight
- Backlit Keyboard
- 17” Display
- Speedy SSD and Fast RAM
- Amazing Battery life
CONS
- No Fingerprint Sensor
8. Lenovo ThinkPad P53s
SPECS
| CPU | Intel Core i7-8565U 1.80GHz Processor |
| RAM | 24GB DDR4 SODIMM RAM |
| Storage | 1TB PCIe SSD |
| Operating system | Windows 10 Pro |
| GPU | NVIDIA Quadro P520 |
| GPU RAM | 2GB GDDR5 Integrated Graphics |
| Battery | 6 hours |
| Screen Size | 15.6 Inches |
| Weight | 3.9 pounds |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 Pixels |
| Dimension | 9.76 x 14.4 x 0.75 inches |
PROS
- Lightweight
- Professional Level GPU
- Amazing Display
- Speedy SSD and Fast RAM
- Good Battery
- Responsive Touchpad & Keyboard
CONS
- Expected Design
9. Acer Predator Helios 300
SPECS
| CPU | 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10750H 6-Core Processor |
| RAM | 16GB RAM DDR4 |
| Storage | 512GB SSD |
| Operating system | Windows 10 Home |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 |
| GPU RAM | 6 GB of dedicated GDDR6 VRAM |
| Battery | last up to 6 hours |
| Screen Size | 15.6 Inches |
| Weight | 5.07 pounds |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 Pixels |
| Dimension | 14.31 x 10.04 x 0.9 inches |
PROS
- Great Graphics Card
- Powerful Processor
- Vast SSD and Fast RAM
- Good Battery
- 144Hz Refresh Rate
CONS
- Bulky
10. Alienware AW13R3
SPECS
| CPU | 7th Generation Intel Core i7 |
| RAM | 16GB RAM DDR4 |
| Storage | 512GB SSD |
| Operating system | Windows 10 |
| GPU | NVIDIA GTX 1060 |
| GPU RAM | GDDR6 memory |
| Battery | 6 to 7 hours long lasting battery |
| Screen Size | 13.3 Inches |
| Weight | 5.8 pounds |
| Resolution | 1920×1080 Pixels |
| Dimension | 10.59 x 12.99 x 9.44 inches |
PROS
- Thunderbolt 3 Support
- Powerful 8th Gen Processor
- Vast SSD and Fast RAM
- Good Battery
- The latest NVIDIA GTX 1030 graphics
CONS
- Bit Heavy
11. Razer Blade 15
SPECS
| CPU | 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8750H 6 core Processor |
| RAM | 16GB RAM DDR4 |
| Storage | 512GB SSD |
| Operating system | Windows 10 Home |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q |
| GPU RAM | 8 GB GPU RAM |
| Battery | 6 to 7 hours long lasting battery |
| Screen Size | 15.6 Inches |
| Weight | 4.63 pounds |
| Resolution | 1920×1080 Pixels |
| Dimension | 9.25 x 13.98 x 0.7 inches |
PROS
- Expandable memory and storage.
- Aesthetic display.
- Thin and compact.
- Good Battery
- Lightweight
- Powerful Processor.
CONS
- gets hot
- often gets loud
Buyer Guide
How much RAM do I need for SolidWorks?
SolidWorks is a 3D CAD software that requires high Ram Bandwidth, the higher the RAM, the more data your laptop can handle and also do other multiple tasks besides Solidworks, at any given time so 8Gb of Ram is must have but up to 16Gb can be more effective as we recommend.
Will Solidworks run on 8GB Ram?
Simple tasks like 2D modeling, rotating models, and renders can also be done even if you have 4GB Ram, but for doing complex tasks your Laptop should have at least 8GB and a big Yes!. Every laptop having 8 GB Ram can run SolidWorks, but for running other programs you will need more Ram.
Is AMD or Intel better for Solid works?
For using SolidWorks, the thing matters is the clock speed (measured in GHz) of the processor so generally, in comparison to Intel, we have seen that AMD processors are underperforming so we recommend the best for you hence 4GHz Intel i9 would be the best option for you but you can still pick 3.3 GHz Intel i7 which is the minimum requirement.
Will Solidworks run on windows 10 home?
Yes! SolidWorks can run on both Windows and MAC. if you buy a laptop rather than a MacBook most of those laptops have Windows 10 Home already Installed so if you want to Install and run SolidWorks on a Windows 10 Home laptop there will be no issue to run SolidWorks. It also recommend using a Windows Server operating system for all SolidWorks server-based products.
Storage
We suggest you to always pick a good high-capacity SSD this is because even though it is nice to have more storage on your HDD, saving the money and getting a high-quality 500GB SSD with 1Tb HDD is always going to result in a smoother experience but if you don’t want to go high you can still choose 512GB and 256GB SSD.
Is SolidWorks CPU or GPU intensive?
Like every CAD software, SolidWorks also requires a high-quality Graphics card in order to get better quality results so it is GPU intensive hence you need 2GB or more GPU RAM but we recommend a laptop to have up to 4GB or more GPU RAM.
Display
We recommend to have Up to 15 inches of a display screen for using software like SolidWorks.
Note: Article is checked once a month by our team and replaces a model with a newer one if a better one is available on the market.
Frequently Ask Questions
Are you already having a laptop and thinking to start and install SolidWorks on your existing laptop. now the question may arise in your mind that:
Will SolidWorks run on my Laptop?
Why not? If your laptops have those specifications which are required to run SolidWorks that software will run because it is totally dependent on few specifications, for example, your laptop RAM, Storage, Processor, and GPU these 4 specs are to consider while running SolidWorks on a laptop. Click here to check minimum and optimal system requirements to run SolidWorks.
How useful is SolidWorks?
did you know! over 2 million engineers and designers working at more than 165,000 companies using SolidWorks generating about 483 million dollars revenue per year.
SolidWorks won’t let you die from hunger, being a SolidWorks expert you can find a job as a draftsman, can make cars, motorbikes, aero planes, and robots, can do flow simulation and designing mechanisms.
Is there any free version of SolidWorks?
unfortunately, there is no free version of SolidWorks, you can get a free trial from Solidwroks.com.
trials available for free are:
- 3D design
- simulation
- Electrical design
- Product data management
- Technical communication
- visualization
What is the best free tutorial to learn SolidWorks?
For learning SolidWorks, there are countless resources providing tests and DIY projects that will be helpful to the user to learn the basics and you will get good knowledge on SolidWorks.
YouTube is an enormous way to learn SolidWorks through tutorials like (Model Mania). 3DExperienceworld is another platform to learn, all you just have to visit 3dexperienceworld.com luckily, all sessions are recorded and saved online.
My.SOLIDWORKS eLearning is providing a free subscription to customers, as well as to students.
Which Solidworks version is best?
It is always confusing when you make a decision between versions available in Solidworks, which are more than one in number, and thinking about taking a start into the world of SolidWorks for the first time or looking for any extra and additional functionality, Solidworks would also be confusing you between choosing Standard version, Professional or Premium Versions.
So, to be very clear SolidWorks Standard Version is basically developed for those type of user who is thinking of taking a start because this version is casual and easy to use, while the SolidWorks Profession Version has every feature which includes in the standard version including several other productivity boosters which are intended to make users job faster and more efficient. But if you want to be a Core user Professional Version will lack your needs so then you will need SolidWorks Premium Version which adds a variety of special tools that will definitely help you making astonishing products that you cannot be able to make in Standard and Professional Versions.
Solidworks Student Edition:
Solidworks is also available in the student edition which is the combination of powerful online 3DExperience Platform and Solidworks Desktop Portfolio with this edition you will be able to access the latest online tools which are available on online platforms in addition to the complete suite of Solidworks Desktop Products. There is also a Premium called as SolidWorks student Premium edition which allows students to work outside the classroom with a home use License and also with all features available with Standard Edition.
What is Solidworks used for Or Why is Solidworks used?
In the beginning, Solidworks used for planning, visual ideation, modeling, feasibility assessment, project management, and also in the middle era professionals used this software for designing and building electrical and mechanical elements but now SolidWorks can manage, which includes device management, analytics, and data automation. SolidWorks is widely used in the fields of Mechatronics, Robotics, Electronics, and Control System for building and developing systems from start to end, Solidworks has been resulting in making a variety of extraordinary products from a tiny smartphone to a large self-driving car, for creating those products every designer needs to be digitally modeled and developed.
Who uses SolidWorks?
Many Mechanical Engineers, Mechatronics Engineers, and Industrial Engineers are using Solidworks for designing and developing large numbers of fascinating products that are making human life simple. SolidWorks has also become a useful tool in Industries for example Machinery, Computer Hardware, Automotive, and many other industries.
Which Companies use Solidworks?
A waste number of well-known companies like SpaceX, Tesla Motors, and Medtronic are also using Solidworks. You can see how these companies are developing and innovating new products that are giving lucrative benefits to society.
Solidworks for Beginners
The world of SolidWorks seems typical so when a beginner wants to dive into it, that is always pretty confusing for him about how to use it. how to learn? how to buy? and several other questions which confused him, but I think that’s not that difficult that it seems.
If you are a beginner in CAD and 3D designing, SolidWorks is one of the best and most useful software for 3D and CAD product designing and simulation. The useful thing is that it has a Standard Version called SolidWorks Standard in which you can create and modify interconnected part files, assembly files, and drawing files in a simple and easy way. We suggest a beginner at first start with the Standard because that would be less typical and more useful to begin and start his career in CAD and 3D designing.
Is solid work easy to learn?
SolidWorks is more user friendly and easier to learn for beginners you can learn in just less than a month at a couple of hours a day, First, you must start with 2D sketches of parts, learning how to draw basic shapes and work from there, they would turn these 2D sketches into 3D parts which is much easier. It takes just literally a few mouse clicks to extrude a drawing into an actual part.
Then you would learn best practices for the modeling process, like how to include certain features in parts like holes or fillets, after that you could start making little projects. Try modeling a rough sketch of a computer lamp, or a speaker, or anything you physically have in front of you that you can measure and translate into a drawing.
That is how one day you will be able to start making assemblies which are like groups of individual parts. An assembly includes parts such as the motherboard, power supply, hard drive, cooling fans etc. After practicing on assemblies properly you could work on turning these parts or assemblies into dimensioned drawings. Most learners and beginners quit learning CAD in the middle path due to its complexity because they lack patience, but you need to be cool and hardworking to become a better designer.
Getting a job as a SolidWorks designer is the goal of most designers who are learning but that may take you the better part of a year to master those skills which could get you a Professional job and a Handsome salary. You would have to learn how to create complex assemblies, create a bill of materials, learn how to do physics simulations, and other more typical tasks that will enhance your skills.
In A Nutshell
A perfect laptop is usually hard to find that can ensure the entire necessities required for a software like SolidWorks. As per experts, all the above laptops are perfect for SolidWorks with varying budgets. So go ahead make a decision and pick any model from the list according to the area of interest and budget, but make sure to check out the technical specification on Amazon (We have linked every laptop individually)
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