Tech Tip: Newer is Not Always Better

There’s a general mindset with most of us techie types out there that new is always better. People stand in lines to be the first get the next new smartphone. They brag about having some brand new 12 core super computer.  Your car still runs on gas? You need something NEW! Well, when it comes to SolidWorks, sometimes brand new is not the way to go.

The main example of too new is with your graphics card drivers. Sure, everyone knows that having really old graphics drivers can cause issue with SolidWorks. If you run into graphics problems, running an RX to check your drivers should be the first thing you do. But hopping onto the NVIDIA or ATI website and getting the newest driver can cause issues, too.

SolidWorks tests each new driver the companies put out and eventually certifies them for use. That can take time though. Your best bet for getting the correct, current certified driver is through RX. When it checks your drivers, if there are new ones it will usually provide a link to download the newest certified driver. If it doesn’t, you can find them at:
 http://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/VideoCardTesting.html

The certified drivers are usually the way to go, but in rare occasions even those are “too new.” If your computer is having a problem hanging when trying to close files, you might want to try rolling back your drivers to one version previous. Occasionally the graphics card doesn’t release some of the graphics data and SolidWorks hangs. Rolling back sometimes fixes that.

Next time you’re having graphics issues, remember: cool new things are great, just make sure they’re certified!