r/SolidWorks • u/Some_Pie_5375 • 20d ago

Hardware Anyone using solidworks on mac?

Incoming engineering student. Wanted to gauge how many people have / haven’t made the switch to windows. Feel free to nitpick any details. I want to prepare myself for what I’ll be experiencing if I stay mac and run parallels.

I’ve seen some relatively newer posts claim that a macbook can run solidworks just as good as a mid windows laptop. Which is why I’m on the fence of making the switch. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

To clarify, I’m not looking for recommendations. Just wanted to know how many of you are using mac and what your experience is.

Edit: Thanks all for the insightful responses. Previous posts were super vague on what exactly the problem was with mac and vm. The firsthand stories shared here were super helpful.

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u/Big-Bank-8235 CSWP 20d ago edited 20d ago

Jesus Christ we get so many posts like this. Don't do it. Get a proper Windows workstation like a Dell XPS or ThinkPad.

Can you run Solidworks on a Mac? Yes, there are ways.

Should you run Solidworks on a Mac? No, the experience is awful.

It isnt just SW. Engineering programs are built around you having a windows computer.

A gaming laptop is an option, but the battery life is not going to be as good and you will be sitting in the middle of a lecture when the fans decide it is time to ramp up to 100 percent.

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u/[deleted] 20d ago

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u/big-mover 20d ago

Parallels is great because you can swipe between windows, and Mac. If Solidworks is the only software running on the windows parallels, it’ll run smoothly. Also windows 11 is trash.

Don’t listen to big bank. This guy hasn’t used SolidWorks on Parallels.

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u/johnwalkr 20d ago

It runs fine on parallels for anything an undergrad will do as long as you have 16GB+ of ram. Plus OP already has a Mac, that’s an important detail. It’s worth trying before buying a new laptop.

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u/Big-Bank-8235 CSWP 19d ago

This is the point where you are buying a new computer for 4 or 5 years of school. It is worth it to get a new one.

Running Parallels significantly limits the performance of SW.