I have been getting really frustrated by SolidWorks performance and that's with 2011. Waiting several minutes between each rebuild with some of the more complex models. I have been holding out until I was able to buy a new computer before I moved to 2012. So now I'm in a position to spend some money on hardware it's a question of what do I get.

I normally buy Dell from EuroPC because I think they offer good value for money and Dell have always worked well for me, but I'm open to suggestions. For example, at the moment EuroPC have Dell T7500, Intel Xeon X5687 3.6GHz Windows 7 Pro 64, it has 24Gb RAM and a Quadro 4000 with 2Gb memory and two 1.5Tb drives with 3 years waranty for £1,999. Is that a good buy or are there other features that would make SolidWork run better? Is the Quadro better than an ATi video board?.

I can't find anywhere on the internet that offers definative advice on the best set up for SolidWorks or how to get the best performance. Do I spend money on RAM, Graphics memory, hard drive capacity or speed? Or all of these... or something else. I realise that SolidWorks won't recommend manufactures or specific models but has anybody out there been through this already?

I've seen some advice that says things like, if you work on large assemblies you may need more memory etc but the way I work I will push SolidWorks to the limit. Some of my models and assemblies are so complex that I have reached the point where I cannot work on them any more and have to work in smaller sub-groups. Often I've had to save sub-assemblies into Parasolids parts and ultimately turn them into dumb solid lumps so I can use them in top level assemblies without having to wait 20 minutes just to see if a modified part still fits. Time is Money!

My current Dell set up, a Dell PWS 380 (Pentium 4, 3.79GHz) must be 5 or 6 years old (can't remember when I bought it) but it has 8Gb of RAM and is running XP64 with a Quadra FX 4500 with 512Mb of memory so I believe it's not a bad set up - just not good enough.

All suggestions very welcome, before I part with my cash.

Alan