Hello, I am a student who is wanting to purchase Solidworks. I am just curious as to the differences between Professional and Premium. Also, when is Solidworks 2012 going to be released? I dont want to purchase 2011 and a short time later have 2012 come out and have to upgrade after just having bought 2011
Thanks, Nathan
Troy as per my knowledge student edition is one version behind commercial version.
Yes, dyslexic with my typing this morning, fixed it.
I would not really say they are "behind". The labeling is different because the educational/student versions are linked to a school year. So, the educational/student version labeled 2011-2012 are based on SolidWorks 2011. It is just due to the timing of when it needs to be produced (mid-year) that it is based on the commercial version with a name that matches the current calendar year and not the version that comes out towards the end of that year (SolidWorks 2012 in this year's case). So, the educational/student version that will be based on SolidWorks 2012 will be called 2012-2013.
I hope this helps explain it,
Jim
Jim thanks for the information
The naming of the student version is confusing and misleading. As proof, this question pops up all too often both here and at Eng-Tips.
Apart from Marketing BS, I see no useful reason to tie a SW version to a school "year". The name should reflect the actual version being sold.
The release date is generally around September-October (dates/time can change) and the beta will be released this June end (http://www.solidworks.com/beta/)
Check this link for your other query http://www.solidworks.com/sw/products/mechanical-design-software-matrix.htm
Deepak,
Like others, I really appreciate your help; however, am just wondering if you have a real full time job or just hanging here to answer all the questions
Chris
If I were SolidWorks I would base my student version on a more mature product that has had a few service pack upgrades as opposed to a rev 0 version of the newest software. Many of the bugs have been worked out and the student will have a more satisfying experience with the software. Having less frustration with the software might make them more likely to purchase SolidWorks when they get in the real world.
Keith, this is exactly what is happening with the current process. The student version is based on a "mature" product (SP 3.0 or 4.0).
Chris wrote:
Deepak,
Like others, I really appreciate your help; however, am just wondering if you have a real full time job or just hanging here to answer all the questions
Thanks Chris for your thoughts, I've full time working job
Thankyou sir, good thing I decided to wait until payday. I have to work on getting the proper graphics card before I purchase Solidworks however.
Thankyou all for the information!
FYI-
SolidWorks does not require a special graphics card, only the ability to run OpenGL (provided with almost all computers). I recently purchased a video card with 1GB memory, and now can utilize the SolidWorks RealView graphics..
RealView use is dependent on the type of card (NVidia Quadro-series and some ATI's) not the size of the graphics board memory.
If you are going to purchase a student version, even if it says student version 2012, you are actually getting 2011.
Here is the different packages
Around Late Sept - Early Oct is when new version typically are released