5 Things to Know About RAM for SolidWorks 500-Part Assemblies
32GB is the minimum for comfortable use 16GB will stop crashes but still cause slowdowns during mate rebuilds, simulations, or multitasking. 32GB gives you headroom for the assembly plus your OS and browser.
8GB is a bottleneck even for light work SolidWorks with 500-part assemblies chews through RAM. 8GB causes swapping and crashes immediately.
16GB is a stopgap, not a solution It prevents immediate crashes but you will still hit slowdowns. The price jump to 32GB is small relative to the productivity gain.
Go straight to 32GB if your motherboard supports it The cost difference between 16GB and 32GB is minor. Future-proof now—next year you will have 800-part assemblies.
More RAM helps with multiple documents 32GB handles the assembly plus other open files, simulations, and background tasks without choking.