Solidworks performance issue differs between laptop and desktop 1

[nico3]

I'm having an issue with Solidworks on my desktop not performing well.
I'm not doing anything too complicated or intensely complex, just an assembly with about 20 parts, no crazy surfaces...

My desktop is homebuilt with:
Intel i7 920 2.67 Ghz
6 Gb Corsair 1600 Mhz RAM
OCZ Vertex2 90Gb SSD drive (where Solidworks is installed)
BFG GTX 295 graphics card, running dual monitors that are not matched

Latop is a Sony VAIO:
Intel i5 M 480 2.67 Ghz
6Gb Ram (not sure Mhz)
OCZ Vertex2 180Gb SSD drive (upgraded from original HDD)
ATI Radeon HD 5470

Using Passmark the desktop received score of 2221.
Whereas the laptop got a score of 969.

However it is my desktop that is REALLY lagging.....and I recently (1 month) did a fresh install of windows and programs.
When trying the pick a surface between the time I actually click on the surface and it highlights can take a good 5 seconds.
Trying to rotate the assembly can be frustrating as hell...
I do remember during installation the Toolbox Database didn't install correctly, I copied the database from the laptop to the desktop and that problem went away.
But I'm not sure where I've gone wrong here, everything else on my desktop runs just fine, video, internet, music, multitasking, video conversion etc...
I've attached the Passmark test files.
Can someone help me out here??


PS Had to zip files together, can only upload one file...

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Do you have access to an approved card for testing in the desktop? GeForce cards are not recommended for SW.
Check

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

for an approved card for you system.

 

[nico3]

No access to Quadro cards...
But obviously this isn't my issue since everything seems to be working well on the laptop which clearly is not as powerful as the desktop...

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

What works well on one machine may not work at all on another. Some people have great performance with non-approved cards, while others have serious performance problems. Anyway, that's your choice.

For the desktop, you only mention a 90GB SSD. Do you have other storage? How much free space is on the SSD?
Make sure your temp files are cleaned out.
What OS are you using?
What other programs or processes are running?
Are you streaming music?

You state that the laptop is not as powerful as the desktop, but both CPU's are 2.67 GHz, & both have 6GB Ram, and they are two of the main items which affect performance. The main differences between the two machines are the amount of free space on the SSD, and the graphics cards.

 

[JMirisola]

When trying the pick a surface between the time I actually click on the surface and it highlights can take a good 5 seconds.
Trying to rotate the assembly can be frustrating as hell...

These are classic signs of graphics issues, which are directly related to the cards you're using. You can do whatever you want to the software but you're probably not going to see an improvement until you change the cards.

Jeff Mirisola
Director of Engineering
M9 Defense
My Blog

 

[nico3]

Thank you.