Anything Contained in this Document is my personal opinion and I cannot be held responsible for any problems that could occur when purchasing computer components.

1) What do you recommend as a good PC to run SolidWorks? What are good recommendations for processors, video cards, and RAM? What are the preferences between AMD and Pentiums, or in name brand machines, or building our own?

CPU - Complicated models have a tendency to take its toll on computers. Also with every major release of SW it becomes more demanding on your hardware. In my opinion, you should get at least close to top of the line when it comes to CPU. As for AMD or Intel… there is no standard type to use. I have used both and both work fine. I prefer Intel to AMD, but neither seems to be much different. Just don't get the cheaper CPU's like the Celeron's, etc...

Video - The Quadro FX cards have been doing very well lately. I use a Quadro FX 1700. This is a god Mid-range Card. For your higher end assemblies files you would probably want to get one of the higher end cards, depending on the type of work and complexity of your work that you do. See website for a listing of Approved Video cards http://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/VideoCardTesting.html Select the Mfg, the OS, then Version of SW, then select Show Passing. It will list the Certified cards to be used with SW. Just make sure you use the ones with the Green box. Don't get one with a yellow or red box. If you a Specific machine (Dell, HP) select that as your Mfg. - Something new with the SW website is you can specify a direct card to find just that and the certified driver for it.

RAM - Ram is important. I don't recommend anything under 2 GBs anymore. If you build large complex assemblies, you would probably prefer to look at anywhere from 4GBs of RAM. Be sure the RAM is all the same type and not mixed up types or manufacturer boards. With the XP Sp2, Microsoft released what they call the 3GB switch. This change to the Boot.ini file is a simple change, but it's an important one. This change (4GB must be installed for stability) allows Windows to dedicate 3GBs of RAM to Applications and 1 to Windows. You can see some of the findings that some Veteran Solidworks users (Ed Eaton & Wayne Tiffany) like myself have found - http://www.kcswug.com/documents/3gb_switch_part_one,_two,_&_three.pdf

Hard drive - HDD is important as well. Look at getting one that has the faster RPM, like a 10,000-RPM HDD. Also there is the choice of RAID setups. I am not a big fan of SCSI drivers, but according to some I have spoke with they truly think they are bullet proof. Raid Setups have a 0-5 setup types, Each setup is different. So be sure what you want before making the switch.

I prefer Dell workstations. I have 2 here and they run great. If you build it yourself and have any problems you will have to look at the manufacturers for the warranty. Were as if you bought it through Dell you would rely on them for the warranty. It varies and is pretty much up to you and where you want to get, make or buy a computer. But there is no specific computer or standard computer that SW recommends. However the Workstations that Dell produces, I have seen less problems than the HP machines do. Whatever you decide, be sure that you get the right Certified Video Card and Driver for the machine you get.

Software makes a big difference too. Use either Windows XP Pro or Windows Vista for your OS. Today the biggest choice is 32 bit or 64 bit. This is going to Vary on what you are running into right now. If you have a 32 bit machine with 4GB of RAM and you are still paging the HDD. Then it's time to go to 64-bit, because the memory limitation is not like the32-bit. 64-bit your memory limitation is something like 128GB. That is not even feasible yet. So now all you have to decide on is Vista or XP? Well that is up to you. Vista is still having some issues with drivers, but it's getting better. Vista is the OS of the Future and is not going to just go away. I still think 64-bit for the average user and assembly maker is overkill. Those that are doing high end Mold design, machine design, even some Die and large complex assemblies need to consider 64-bit. Vista or XP is not a big choice outside of relearning the OS and dealing with changing as Vista gets older. It is still a young OS.

Things that you need to consider when you have multiple users on your machines. Make sure the users are not downloading and using lots of useless or needless programs - (Programs that might make your background image change ever few days, GoogleToolbar.exe, Weather bug, etc...). Also basic maintenance will help keep the computers running smoother and give them more stability. Cleaning out the TEMP files at least once a week. They are located under - C:\Documents and Settings\[ Log in Name, Will VARY ]\Local Settings\TEMP\ - defrag your HDD every once in awhile. See this LINK for Clarification.

The whole computer needs to work well together. It's like building and engine for a car. You just don't want to put in a high duration CAM and not upgrade the rest of the motor. If you did that then the CAM wouldn't prove to be sufficient enough to pull the load and would fail in the process. So the whole computer has to be looked at, except for maybe the case. Other than making sure everything will fit inside.

2) Is there a large difference in working from the network and locally? What can be done to improve this?

Yes! Working on your local Hard drive runs a lot faster than over a network. With a network you have hubs and switches and not to mention traffic to deal with all the time. When you open a file up over a network you make temp files in the local directory of the server. SW has to communicate with those files on the server that takes time. If you upgrade your Switches, hubs and get newer servers with better speeds then you might be able to squeeze out a few more seconds, but it won't compare to opening the files locally. PDMworks would benefit you in the way of checking out files from the server and placing them on your local Hard disk. This would eliminate the need to copy files locally, open the files and put them back when finished. In that process you might screw something up. But with PDMworks you wouldn't have that problem, plus can now track those files with Revisions. The best way to test this is to find a not to complicated assembly and open it via the network, then locally and then you can see the time differences.

3) Will 32 bit and 64-bit machines work together across a network?

Yes, you can use a 64-bit machine and have 32-bit servers or vice versus. It doesn't matter, because both machines will talk to each other totally fine. You can even install 32-bit applications on a 64-bit machine and they will still work. The only disadvantage is that you cannot take full use of 64-bit software.