Graphics/Memory issue - Mac Pro

hi guys, first of all ( and i know this has probably been said a gazillion times but) why did i not switch sooner!. secondly on to my issue; i bought my mac pro on recommendations from my dad (long time mac user) as i needed a fast, responsive and all-round powerful machine for 3D Modeling primarily SolidWorks. at first everything seemed fine until the current design got bigger and consisted of a number of moving parts. Now whenever i attempt to 'drag and move' a component within the design to simulate movement it doesn't move/freezes until i release the mouse button. I am currently in the process of purchasing (at least) 8GB RAM (standard installed is 4GB) but I'm unsure as to whether or not my graphics card is up to the job. the one that is installed came with the machine and is an ati radeon 2600 xt (i think). My other problem is that there are no mac versions of SolidWorks and i have had to therefore bootcamp windows and install it on that. am i right in thinking windows can only access one of the 8 cores i have in my machine and if so will this have any bearing on my problem? Im not really to clued up on graphics cards so could anyone recommend a RAM and card upgrade that will increase my performance significantly?

thanks a lot in advance

sam

anyone have any advice?

You can always upgrade the graphics card. We have several folks in our forums who are very familiar with the inner workings of a Mac Pro and I imagine you'll get a few suggestions before long.

As for whether or not Windows can access more than one core, it's really more of a matter if the software you're using is capable of doing so.

Also, I'm moving this thread to our Desktops forum where you should get some replies.

A 5770 would fill the bill nicely. Run a HD4870 with 1GB memory in my Quad Core Mac Pro and very happy with it. It is the flashed PC version as the Apple released card has only 512MB memory. Memory and cores Windows will recognize depends on the model of your Mac Pro.

Later models, say the 4.1 on, will seemore memory than the 32bit EFI models.

thanks very much guys, to be honest i had either the 5770 or 5780 in mind as my dad has the 5780 in his so that's just set it in stone :-D. how much RAM would you think would be overkill for my application, i have no problem with going all the way to 32 but obviously its not cheap.

cheers

sam

Find 16GB ample, using photo and graphic programs.

thanks a lot il aim for 16