March 28, 2023
As a leading 3D design platform, SOLIDWORKS has taken full advantage of GPU acceleration to improve performance. The SOLIDWORKS Visualize renderer and other modules are optimized to run on advanced, professional-grade graphics cards, and other key workflows such as large model manipulation and simulation are greatly accelerated with GPU compute.
This makes selecting the right GPU essential for designers. A consumer-grade graphics card or gaming GPU is not designed to support these intensive design workflows, and SOLIDWORKS developers have tailored the advanced functionality in the platform to work with these professional-grade processors.
AMD has worked closely with the SOLIDWORKS team to ensure its latest generation of GPUs. The AMD Radeon PRO W6000 Series of GPUs has been tested and certified to provide SOLIDWORKS users with enhanced performance for parts and assembly CAD modeling, rendering and simulation. In this new brochure and video, AMD explains how the SOLIDWORKS-specific optimizations in the AMD Radeon PRO GPUs can enable improved performance and interactivity for end users.
The Radeon PRO W6000 family includes the Radeon PRO W6400, which offers support for DisplayPort 1.4a, functional Transparency Mode and access to RealView; the Radeon PRO W6600, which is suitable for assembly modeling, provides access to large performance mode; and offers simultaneous use of SOLIDWORKS Viewport and Visualize; and the Radeon PRO W6800, which provides advanced performance for very large assemblies, and supports multitasking using one or multiple 8K displays.
The brochure provides a high-level overview of how the AMD Radeon PRO GPUs can enable and improve the advanced engineering functions in SOLIDWORKS. That includes the rigorous testing and comprehensive ISV certification program that supports its AMD Software: PRO Edition, which includes an advanced graphics driver and intelligent productivity features.
The SOLIDWORKS Visualize renderer natively integrates the AMD Radeon ProRender engine, providing enhanced photorealistic rendering. The AMD Radeon PRO GPUs also support multi-display workflows, advanced shading, and enhanced interactivity. The Radeon PRO W6000 GPUs also improve the advanced shading functionality via Realview and Ambient Occlusion – providing greater realism in your renders.
AMD and the SOLIDWORKS team have also collaborated on testing and benchmarking to prove out the advantages of the AMD graphics cards. According to the brochure, the Radeon PRO W6600 GPU performed up to 55% faster on the SPECapc SOLIDWORKS 2022 benchmark compared to a competing GPU.
In addition, AMD Software: PRO Edition capabilities can improve image quality and collaboration during the design process. The brochure also notes that AMD’s industry leading AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO CPUs provide even more power for both single- and multi-threaded tasks within SOLIDWORKS, providing an even greater power and performance boost.
You can see a side-by-side comparison of the performance advantage in this video, which features the SPECapc SOLIDWORKS 2022 benchmark demonstration cited above. In the video, you can clearly see how much faster the AMD Radeon PRO GPU performs than the competing GPU, across a variety of SOLIDWORKS tasks and workflows.
As products become more complex, design and engineering workflows need to adapt so that engineers can easily iterate, work with larger models, incorporate simulation into their daily work, and more rapidly innovate. The AMD Radeon PRO W6000 family of GPUs provides the power that SOLIDWORKS users need to meet the challenges of modern design and engineering.
You can learn more about AMD Radeon PRO for SOLIDWORKS on the company’s website.
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