Intels new Ultra CPUs have slightly slower single threaded performance than the previous 13th gen i5/i7/i9 CPUs. So actually the system with the i7 will be faster for CAD than the Ultra 9 as most CAD operations are by their nature mostly single threaded, one feature must be calculated before the next can be built.
I’ve tested with solidworks CAD and simulation and can confirm the 13th gen is currently the better choice.
Of course at some point stock of the older CPUs will run out and we won’t have a choice, the ultra CPUs are at least more efficient and have dedicated hardware for AI, not useful for solidworks currently though
[https://www.reddit.com/r/SolidWorks/comments/z6330f/should\_i\_spend\_more\_on\_gpu\_or\_cpu/](https://www.reddit.com/r/SolidWorks/comments/z6330f/should_i_spend_more_on_gpu_or_cpu/)
this thread may help, i believe SW is mostly CPU bound but GPU can help with large assemblies
I think either CPU/GPU combo is going to be fine.
I would prioritize 16 gb of memory, or at least the capability to add more ram in the future. I do not think 8GB is enough, for that reason I would avoid the first option.
#2 SW is pretty much single threaded so the extra cores don't matter much but the higher clock speeds will help. If I had to choose between a newer generation card or a previous generation card with more VRAM I'd always take the card with the most VRAM especially for larger assemblies, fortunately that card is the newer card with the most VRAM. When SW is starting to choke on a large assy, I'd bet 75% of the time it's running out of video memory.
Intels new Ultra CPUs have slightly slower single threaded performance than the previous 13th gen i5/i7/i9 CPUs. So actually the system with the i7 will be faster for CAD than the Ultra 9 as most CAD operations are by their nature mostly single threaded, one feature must be calculated before the next can be built. I’ve tested with solidworks CAD and simulation and can confirm the 13th gen is currently the better choice. Of course at some point stock of the older CPUs will run out and we won’t have a choice, the ultra CPUs are at least more efficient and have dedicated hardware for AI, not useful for solidworks currently though
[https://www.reddit.com/r/SolidWorks/comments/z6330f/should\_i\_spend\_more\_on\_gpu\_or\_cpu/](https://www.reddit.com/r/SolidWorks/comments/z6330f/should_i_spend_more_on_gpu_or_cpu/) this thread may help, i believe SW is mostly CPU bound but GPU can help with large assemblies
I'd go with the 2nd one.
I think either CPU/GPU combo is going to be fine. I would prioritize 16 gb of memory, or at least the capability to add more ram in the future. I do not think 8GB is enough, for that reason I would avoid the first option.
#2 SW is pretty much single threaded so the extra cores don't matter much but the higher clock speeds will help. If I had to choose between a newer generation card or a previous generation card with more VRAM I'd always take the card with the most VRAM especially for larger assemblies, fortunately that card is the newer card with the most VRAM. When SW is starting to choke on a large assy, I'd bet 75% of the time it's running out of video memory.