SOLIDWORKS Certified Graphics Drivers

SOLIDWORKS works closely with graphics card manufacturers to ensure compatibility and certification.  Having a proper graphics card and driver is essential for best performance and stability of the software.

It is crucial to have a professional grade 3D graphics card installed.  SOLIDWORKS supports NVIDIA Quadro/RTX series and AMD Firepro and Radeon Pro series.

For a more detailed explanation of certified graphics cards, please review our SOLIDWORKS Hardware Recommendations blog article.

Driver Certification

A list of certified graphics card drivers can be found on the SOLIDWORKS Hardware Certification website.  This is a list of the latest cards that SOLIDWORKS recommends.  If you are purchasing a new system, it’s recommended to invest in the latest series to ensure continued support.

SOLIDWORKS Hardware Certification

A full list of supported graphics cards can be viewed from a link on the Hardware Certification page.  Please note that some on this list may be older series of cards and have no certified driver listed.  However general support will still be provided for these older cards.  In the case where you still have an older graphics card that has general support, please refer to the NVIDIA driver or AMD driver website to locate the latest driver available.

SOLIDWORKS Graphics Cards Supported

AMD cards will have quarterly driver certification allowing users to update to the latest security patches and hotfixes.  For example driver 19.Q4 is the latest driver released in Q4 of 2019.

AMD Graphics Driver Quarterly Release

NVIDIA cards are given specific branch support.  Any driver within the same certified branch will be supported.  This provides patch upgrades to the latest drivers but remains a certified version.  For more explanation, visit our NVIDIA Branch Driver blog post on the topic.

NVIDIA Graphics Driver Branch Release

Install Latest Graphics Driver

Determine the computer manufacturer and graphics card for your system. Go to Windows Start and type in System Information and open the App.  The System Information summary will show the manufacturer and model.  Go to Components > Display to locate what graphics card and driver is currently installed.

Windows System Information

System Manufacturer and Model

System Information Display and Driver

Browse to the SOLIDWORKS Hardware Certification page and use the filters or search fields to locate your card.  If listed, download the latest AMD quarterly release or NVIDIA branch release from the link provided for your system.  If you have an older series of support cards not listed, browse to the driver manufacturer’s website for the latest driver.

To ensure a clean install, we recommend first uninstalling all AMD or NVIDIA applications from the Windows Control Panel, then reboot the computer prior to the install.

Uninstall Graphics Drivers from Windows Control Panel

If installing an NVIDIA driver, we recommend using Custom (Advanced) option and then select Clean Install.

Additional References

More information can be found on the SOLIDWORKS forum with topics Hardware Certification and Graphics Card Drivers.