Solidworks on an NVidia Geforce 8600?

So I just bought a laptop with a GeForce 8600. One of the things I need this laptop for is to run Solidworks 2007. However, apparently Solidworks doesn't want anything to do with my video card. Major, major slowdown and jerkiness and general not-workin'-like-it-should. The only way Solidworks is working at all on this thing is by switching it to software-based OpenGL.

I mean I knew when I bought the thing that there'd be less support for CAD applications, but I didn't think that'd translate to no support. I'm hardly doing high-end stuff here, we're talking beginner-level, introduction-to class exercises; nothing I looked at beforehand indicated I'd have this much of a problem.

So my question is does anybody know how I can get this program and this card talking to each other? Is there a driver I need to update or a setting I need to adjust or a software something-or-other I need to reinstall? Or am I just straight-up SOL?

EDIT: Sorry if this is in the wrong place, it occurred to me like a second after posting this probably should have gone in the software forum.

 

The Geforce isn't optimized for CAD/DCC....you could look at modded Quadro FX 570m drivers, the CAD/DCC version of the 8600M-GT.

 

stop the default nvidia control panel

download nhancer

create a solidworks profile.. and tweak the openGL settings

i run a bunch of cad and 3d programs on a 8600m gt and i've found that all most all of them turn of hardware acceleration on the 8600m....? when i turn it back on (via each program) it runs really smooth. make sure Solidworks didn't turn off hardware acceleration.

 

Try downloading newer drivers for your graphics card from laptopvideo2go.

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/drivers

The 8600 has more than enough power for solidworks. My brother runs solidworks on his computer which has an intel graphics media accelerator 950, and it run fine

K-TRON

 

Naw I mean like I said, it runs okay with the hardware acceleration switched off, it's when I try to turn it on that it goes all glitchy on me.

 

Sounds like a driver issue. I have never had any problems running Autocad, Solidworks, or Mastercam. Even my M1330 (with an 8400gs) runs Solidworks.

 

jcovelli,

I have downloaded nhancer and have been messing with the controls for hours, but I still can't get RealView graphics in SolidWorks. What settings are you using?

 

slightly different but on my desktop (still waiting for my lenovo r61 to ship) I have an AMD Opteron 148 running at 2.6 ghz with a gig of ram at 2-2-2-8 (1T and 550 mhz at 2.76 volts) and a evga 7900gt oc superclocked and solidworks and autocad 2007 run like a dream.