64bit Solidworks notebook

[cmm]

I'm thinking of buying a notebook with 64bit Windows pre-installed and running 64bit Solidworks 2007 on it. I'm worried this setup could put me in such a small minority of users that I might end up in driver hell and never be saved by updates. Anyone out there blazing the 64bit Solidworks notebook trail? I would appreciate any advice.

Chris Montgomery
Mechanical Engineer

 

[PDMAdmin]

I haven't ventured into notebook territory, but I have a 64-bit desktop at work, and I'm in driver hell with that one. I would recommend waiting a while, at least until Windows Vista becomes mainstream, unless you have a compelling reason to use 64-bit (such as large assembly management).

 

[symjim]

Even if you can find a notebook that will support XP x64 (I'm not aware of any) it doesn't make sense unless you're willing to pay mondo bucks to go with 4GB RAM ($2,300 more than 2GB from Dell).

The primary benefit of 64-bit operation is the ability to address more than 3GB RAM. The catch is that even though you can address more RAM, 64-bit operation also requires more RAM - typically 25% more than 32-bit.

At least for now, it is better to run 32-bit Windows with the \3GB switch enabled. This will allow you to utilize the full 2GB RAM installed and have another 1GB of addressable virtual RAM for stability.