XPS 17 (l702x) not good for Solidworks

Awhile back I asked if anyone knew whether the XPS 15 with its Nvidia GPUs or the XPS 17 with its Nvidia GeForce GT 550M would work OK for Solidworks (CAD software.) Nobody answered, and I now have experience with it, so thought I'd put it out there in case anybody else wonders this.

I was sent an XPS 17 as a warranty replacement for my Studio XPS 16. The specs are:
i7-2820qm
nvidia geforce gt 550m
8GB memory
FHD 1920x1080 LCD
500GB 7200RPM hard drive

When I open Solidworks, I get constant CPU usage of ~15%. One of the core's threads is pretty much pegged. This is with the application just sitting there, no files open. When I close Solidworks, the sldworks.exe process keeps running and the CPU usage stays high. The fan continues to run like crazy.

If I right click the solidworks icon and select to run it with the integrated graphics instead of the Nvidia GPU, I don't have these issues. It works as expected with minimal CPU usage when idling. HOWEVER, performance sucks, dragging parts around is choppy, graphics is poor.

It seems to be an issue with the Nvidia driver. I actually made a system image on my Studio XPS 16 and restored it on the drive in the XPS 17 to test. As you can imagine, many things didn't work well at first since all of the drivers were wrong, but I could fire up Solidworks and it worked great, like it did on the SXPS 16. As I installed the XPS 17 drivers, it was just after installing the Nvidia GPU driver that the Solidworks CPU issues began.

Therefore, I'd say the XPS 17 is not recommended for Solidworks users.

BTW, I investigated softmodding the GT550M into a Quadro workstation card, but it appears impossible due to the lack of a Quadro equivalent for the chip used.

 

Well that blows.

I've bought one for Solidworks (etc.) and haven't had a chance to test it yet. My first thought is maybe it's an Optimus issue. I'd try disabling Optimus, or even disable the Intel integrated graphics, then reinstall drivers. Solidworks is pretty finicky, so I'd say it's just a stupid driver issue.

 

It may suck, but if you want to make sure things will work out nice, you should probably just pay the workstation tax and get a proper business computer with a Quadro or FireGL (or whatever AMD calls their stuff now).

 

Well unless you're doing crazy stuff your average PC will run Solidworks really well. My Studio 17 with a Mobility HD3650 handles it with no problems. Just don't try making an aircraft carrier or something...

 

The XPS 17 should handle solidworks without an issue. I would definitely reinstall Solidworks to see if there is an issue with the program. I run many CAD software myself like Civil 3D, Inventor, and 3Ds Max. I find that compared to my SXPS 1640, the XPS 17 eats it up.

 

It's definitely a driver issue. I really hope it works out for you; Maybe I could have tried a different version or service pack but I ended up giving up.

I did install Solidworks a few times. The first time was with my other various programs just after receiving the computer, expecting I'd simply be setting up the new computer with my programs, moving my files over, then sending the SXPS 16 back. Then after realizing the Solidworks issues I did a fresh install of the OS (Windows 7 Ultimate) and drivers, and with that all still virgin, installed Solidworks exactly as I did on the SXPS 16 where it worked so well. It still had the CPU issues, so I tried restoring a system image from the SXPS 16 on the XPS 17, Solidworks worked properly, then installed Nvidia driver, and Solidworks issues began.

I really, really wanted to get it working because I really wanted to keep the XPS 17, but the Solidworks issues are a dealbreaker. Unfortunately in the mean time my SXPS 16 actually got stolen so I'm stuck using the 17 until the new laptop I ordered arrived (luckily I still had the original system (16) and the warranty replacement (17), or I'd be computerless! Dell is being nice and not hounding me too much to send one back yet...)

This time I went ahead and paid the workstation tax (what a racket!) and ordered a Precision M6600 with FirePro gpu. It's probably cheaper than the time I'd spend trying to softmod the gpu/drivers in another consumer laptop from a geforce or radeon into their quadro or firepro workstation counterparts.

I'm far from an expert on gpu drivers and softmodding, so hopefully somebody else can get it working on the XPS 17. Good luck!

 

If it weren't for the driver issue, I'm sure it would run great. Hardware wise, it's completely capable; it's a software/driver issue.

You show a Nvidia GT 445m GPU in your XPS 17; how did you get that! I could've sworn the only two options were the GT 550m and 555m.

 

I agree with this to a point. I'm actually able to use it on the XPS 17 by running it without the gpu (right click and choose run with integrated graphics) however, it's not smooth, and I have no doubt if I were to open one of my 100+ part assemblies, it would suck. 1000+ parts would probably suck bad.

Also, if Solidworks doesn't detect a workstation gpu from their approved list, it'll run with some of the functions disabled, such as RealView. On my SXPS 16 I was able to trick it into thinking an approved gpu was installed with a driver softmod, but was unable to figure out how to do this on the XPS17 (don't think it's readily possible.)