graphics card

[stevieboy]

Hi Guys,

I've just started using solidworks so I'm finding my way around. One thing I've noticed is the graphics on the pc don't seem to good. A simple disc looks like it's been cut from a series of small straight lines. There's 8 gig of ram so that should be ok. Any advice on a suitable graphics card.

[HorridHenry]

There's 8 gig of ram so

Is that physical memory or graphics? if its physical then this will not help the graphics as graphics memory needs to be just that,you need a card with the most memory you can afford and the higher its resolution it can go the better although things start to go very precise and small with resolution,you also need to take into account whether your monitor is comaptible with that card in resolution so beware and see what your monitor is capable of before buying.

[stevieboy]

Thanks henry,

I've done some checking and the PC has 4GB of physical memory not 8GB like I thought.
The graphics card is NVIDIA GeFORCE GT320 with 1GB onboard memory.
The monitor is a widscreen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080.

[HorridHenry]

Then you should not have what they call pixelization.

What screen res it it in now?

[HorridHenry]

Cad programs require the highest resolution thats possible with the user not straining their eyes with the resolution on the screen.

[BanduraMaker]

You need to modify your settings. 2011 SolidWorks Help - Display and Selection Options

[HorridHenry]

Good one,Andy...as I don't have the program SB should note this area of the program setting....

Anti-aliasing

Determines the extent of anti-aliasing to apply to models in the graphics area. Anti-aliasing smoothes jagged edges, making an image appear more realistic.

[stevieboy]

Ok I've looked at that and it was set to "anti-alias edges/sketches". Full scene anti alias cannot be selected. (Available if your video card supports full scene anti-aliasing and has passed a stability test. You must set the graphics card control panel settings for anti-aliasing so that the application has control. Applies anti-aliasing to the entire graphics area for parts and assemblies. Anti-aliasing is disabled during zoom, pan, and rotate.)

I've looked at the graphics card control panel and there's no settings for anti aliasing. How do i do a stability test?

[HorridHenry]

Sorry can't help you with this as most of these cards need a pilots licence to operate em,however there are two settings Standard and Advanced,make sure you're in Advanced and dabble from there.

[HorridHenry]

Here a pic in my own control panel which is a Ge-Force card....

[BurrMan]

The area you are looking for is under display Image quality.

2011 SolidWorks Help - Image Quality

There is also a link which takes you to the performance options. All of these together will determine the performance.

[BanduraMaker]

Burr Man's got it. I thought the link I posted last time would cover it but it didn't.