• SolidWorks  -a 3D mechanical CAD (computer-aided design) program that runs on Microsoft Windows.

  -This PDF file "Optimizing your workstations for SolidWorks" provides very easy to understand info on the performance characteristics of Solidworks as presented by AMD.  It exposed that a 3.0GHz Dual Core CPU performed faster on Solidworks than a 3.0GHz Quad Core CPU because the former has 6MB L3 cache whereas the latter has 4MB only.  It also recommended users to delete CPU processes inherited at start up time which are not needed for running Solidworks.  It pointed out that an entry level professional grade graphics card would run faster than a higher priced consumer grade graphics card due to hardware drivers. 

- System Requirement

*SolidWorks does not have a certification program comparable to the UNIX CAD vendors. We develop to Windows standards and we run on standard Windows. Our hardware partners are self-certifying, in that they receive a copy of SolidWorks and test it on their recommended platforms. They are encouraged to maintain a released version of their hardware at SolidWorks to ensure that any customer issues that may come up can be dealt with quickly. SolidWorks will also assist any hardware vendor in selecting a SolidWorks reseller to assist in this testing if that is desired.

• Catia - Computer Aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application is a multi-platform CAD/CAM/CAE commercial software suite.NVIDIA professional graphics solutions are certified and recommended by Dassault Systeme.

- System Requirement (PDF)

• AutoCAD  - a CAD (Computer Aided Design or Computer Aided Drafting) software application for 2D and 3D design and drafting.

- AutoCAD System requirement 

• Creative Suite 5.5  - a collection of graphic design, video editing, and web development applications made by Adobe Systems.

Premiere Pro 5.5  - is a real-time, timeline based proprietary video editing software application

- System Requirement

Photoshop CS 5

- System Requirement