Performance with Solidworks??

[jlemay]

Can anyone help me out??

I just started working for a company where an engineer is using Solidworks. This is my first time supporting this program, so I don't know too much about it. What I do know is for the longest time, he was using SolidWorks 2001 SP3.0 on an older Compaq Deskpro which used to run slow for him. Last week, we upgraded him to a Compaq Evo D300v which is a Pentium 4 1.7GHz with 640MB Ram.....we were all sure this would fix his problem, but he is still having performance issues. It is not the graphics card, because I have checked the compatibility with solidworks and I have the latest drivers(3DLabs Oxygen VX1). He is also running on Windows XP.....I do not know what else to try at this point.......he showed me an example of what was happening....even on a part with only 50 components, he goes to do a rebuild, and it takes minutes, usually slow enough to not allow him to work on anything else......Does the processor really get that hammered with simple requests, or could it be memory?? Any help would be greatly appreciated......thank you

 

[MadMango]

It sounds like he needs to update his Service Pack for SW01. I think the latest version is SP14. "The attempt and not the deed confounds us."

 

[jlemay]

Thanks for the prompt response, but I thought that SP3.0 was the latest.......it has a date of 5/50/02......and I thought with the new numbering system, that was the latest??

 

[jlemay]

I apologize.....he is using SolidWorks Plus 2001, which would explain why I said that service pack 3.0 was the latest.....please advise

 

[MadMango]

SW01Plus, SP3.0... that's much better. = )

I would have to question the types of models he has in his assemblies. Does he have a lot of in-contexted features or mates? Does he have a lot of Helix-based parts (springs and such) in his models? All of these can be great resource hogs. Also, try going into:

Tools>Options>System Options>Display Selection and make sure "Edges displayed in shaded mode" is set to "no edges".

Tools>Options>System Options>Performance and make sure "Assemblies" is set to Remove detail during zoom/pan/rotate.

Also go into Windows Control Panel, and under Display, make sure the options for Hardware Acceleration is set to full. Conversely, if this might be a video problem, you could try to set your Software Acceleration to full instead, and let SW do all the work. Not sure what's available for XP. "The attempt and not the deed confounds us."

 

[jlemay]

I have tried some of these settings, but to no avail....the example model he has has very little features at all.....I have a feeling there is something more to this......could it possibly be the graphics card?? It seems to be the only common denominator between his old machine and his new one......any help would be great.....thanks

 

[BBJT]

There is also another setting that seems to play games with the performance is the use software open gl setting under Tools, Options, Performance. Try unchecking it if it is checked. If it is grey out you need to get out of the part, assembly or drawing. BBJT CSWP

 

[dsi]

The one item most often missed in these discussions is virus software. If the system is running a virus package with realtime protection, performance will be slowed down significantly. Running one of my automation routines with Norton AV takes about 21 minutes, but when I turn it off, it takes less than 4. I have also seen this with other applications, such as an Excel program I wrote that reads and writes to hundreds of files. That one used to take less than 10 seconds to run, but since we began running realtime protection, it takes several minutes to perform the same task. DimensionalSolutions@Core.com
While I welcome e-mail messages, please post all thread activity in these forums for the benefit of all members.

 

[jlemay]

I am totally stumped here guys.......I have uninstalled Norton Anti-virus, I have tried all these little tricks, and still, when I go to do just a simple rebuild on a small model, CPU Usage is up to 100%.......I can't explain it....but if anyone had anymore suggestion, I would love to hear them.....I'm running out of options here......thank you very much

 

[MadMango]

Is there a chance that the motherboard FSB speed has changed between computers? Are you using Windows XP Professional or Home?

...just grasping at straws. "The attempt and not the deed confounds us."

 

[jlemay]

Well, it is a TOTALLY different machine, so I'm sure the motherboard FSB speed has changed.....He is using Windows XP Professional......I hear you about the grasping at straws......I have a user who is frustrated, and it is becoming contagious real quick.....the only similarity between both machines hardware wise has been the graphics card......but I don't believe that would explain the processor usage being at 100% during a rebuild......just don't know what to do next.....thanks

 

[brengine]

!ALL! rebuilds I do go to 100% of the Processor, and ~300MB of the 768MB RAM gets used. Difference is that larger files spend a longer time pegged at that 100%. FYI, SW2001 SP3 running on a Dell with Intel 1.4GHz, 768 MB RAM, 64MB Nvidia (something) video card, and XP-pro.

Just to make sure we're all on the same page...

Is he having the problem in the 3D Assembly file(i.e. blahblah.SLDASM), or is he held up by the 2D drawing(i.e. blahblah.SLDDRW) of that Assembly. If he's in the 2D, there's nothing I know of that works well. Rebuild there in my 2D drawings usually takes anywhere from 2 to maybe 10+ times longer. Don't waste your time with the Rapid Draft either, it's more nuisance than it's worth. From what I've heard, the problem here is that it takes more math calculations to generate all of the edges\lines than it does to generate surfaces/solids and their intersections.

Sorry I don't have anything else to add for a 3D Assembly file. We had some issues with imported parts slowing everything down, but SP3 fixed that.

Ken

 

[dsi]

jlemay:

First, I should have mentioned that there is an option in NAV to disable the realtime protection for testing the scenario (at least there is in the coporate edition). Uninstalling virus software can turn around and bite you in the rear.

I am not sure if it would cause a performance issue, but during the installation, there is an option to provide SW with performance feedback. I am not sure how it works or if it is even an issue, but I have never enabled that option.

Is this PC connected to a network? Are the SW files on the network or on the local machine? How fast is the network card and switch? I know there is a slight improvememnt in opening/rebuilding models from the local HD versus a network drive, but I did not notice any difference when we switched from a 10mb to 100mb network cards.

If you want, I would me willing to test out a couple of scenarios on my machine. Just zip up the files and send them my way. Not sure if it will really help solve your problem, but may identify whether the performance is typicaly on different systems. DimensionalSolutions@Core.com
While I welcome e-mail messages, please post all thread activity in these forums for the benefit of all members.

 

[jlemay]

I can find out whether it is a 2D or 3D drawing that he is having problems with, but I guess my question is....is this acceptable performance for Solidworks either way??? Anytime he decides to do a rebuild, he is unable to do anything else on his machine...I feel bad because I don't have any answers for him, but if you claim the same thing happens to your computer, then what am I to do, right?? Can anyone else confirm this as well?? Thank you

 

[dsi]

Swinging blindly here:

Have you tweaked the XP OS at all? Without running SW, check task mgr and see what types of applications/services are running. Are any of them taking up a ton of memory or processor time? I can't imagine that this would make a huge difference, but some installed programs run services that are not required by the system. In my NT and 2KPro systems, I have removed several applications that were eating up resources.

I am not sure if SolidWorks utilizes virtual memory, but you may want to try increasing the maximum and default sizes. I have done this because I run large FEA problems, so I'm not real sure if it would have an impact on the performance of SW.

Have you discussed this with your SW reseller?

BTW, how complex are these models? DimensionalSolutions@Core.com
While I welcome e-mail messages, please post all thread activity in these forums for the benefit of all members.

 

[MadMango]

SW does take atvantage of virtual memory, and it is recommended that you set this to 3-4x more than your physical memory.

Right now I am working on an assembly with 723 parts, Rebuilds take a good 20 seconds, while a Save will take closer to a minute. I'm working with Dual 1.7ghz, Win2K SP2, SW01 SP1.2, 1gb memory, 64mb GLoria III video card. SolidWorks doesn't take advantage of the twin-procesors, but it helps for multitasking.

Networking issues may be causing the problem like DSI memtioned. At work, we noticed a huge improvement from reconfiguring our engineering half of the network to be on our own switch and 100mb.

There is a free program called UnFrag, works wonders with SW files to help reduce size and might help. You can find it with a quick search. "The attempt and not the deed confounds us."

 

[DetroitPickles]

Beats me too. Just to recap what you have/haven't done...

1) You are slow when rebuilding the assembly right?
2) Does this machine load/save the assembly slow?
3) When NO file is open in SW (just SW), if you click on Tools|Performance is "Use Software OPenGL" checked, unchecked, or grayed out? With the Oxygen card, it should be unchecked. If grayed out, you need to fix that problem driver-wise since the PC doesn't know the card Can do OpenGL.
4) Where is his temp file pointing?
5) Was Norton running when you "Installed" SW?
6) Is his Paging File size much larger than his 640mb or RAM?

I'm trying to break mine for you, but my 900 parts continue to be as "zippy" as before.


Mr. Pickles

 

jlemay:

O'kay, try this. Goto sw document properties, and then under image quality. Is the "shade quality" set at default? custom? If custom, is it at the highest possible quality? If yes CRANK IT DOWN a little bit, but do not set it too low! When you turn down your image quality down, it seems to effect only 2-D drawings (screen view), you'll see blown line segments/tangent/hidden attributes that you probably don't want to see in your drawings. Adjust "wire frame quality " also. Hope this helps.

 

[SBaugh]

I have been following this thread since the beginning, and everyone here in my opinon has done a great job at trying to find Jlemay an answer. Good job all!!

As a suggestion is Auto-backup checked? What maybe happening is when when he is saving or just doing normal things and it starts slowing down it, there may be a backup taking place. I have seen this max out the CPU. The fix for that is to just turn it off and save more frequently.

Also, if there any errors at any stage (part, assembly, drawing) you will significant slow downs.

Couple of Quesitons from me to you:
Are there any DT (Design Tables) being used?
Lots of Configurations possibly without the use of a DT?

MadMango pointed out the Unfrag utility which I used to use it. I now use Eco Squeeze

http://www.ecocom.com/eng/index00.htm

Works the same way but with nicer options. It remembers the last place you used it and you can remove the Shade file SW creates when you save the file. (Shade file is the image of the file, that is used in the preview of it). Plus some other options. [robocop]

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP
credence69@REMOVEhotmail.com

http://www.3dmca.com

http://home.insightbb.com/~scott.baugh/

 

[SBaugh]

Forgot to add this question....

Are there any helixs in the parts?

Regards,
Scott Baugh, CSWP
credence69@REMOVEhotmail.com

http://www.3dmca.com

http://home.insightbb.com/~scott.baugh/