SOLIDWORKS on Windows 11

Keeping software up to date is increasingly critical to maintain security, especially with actors looking to exploit any vulnerabilities like outdated software with threats such as ransomware. Windows 10 support ends on 14th October 2025, and while there is an option to pay Microsoft for extended security updates for a limited time, this will cost hundreds of pounds per machine over the maximum period.

Additionally, extended security updates do not extend to software support. Even Microsoft Office will not be supported on Windows 10 from October 2025, and third-party developers including Dassault Systèmes are having to follow suit.

So, in order to stay secure and be able to run the latest versions of various software it is crucial to upgrade to Windows 11 this year

SOLIDWORKS 2022 SP2 and newer are supported for Windows 11.

However, as Microsoft regularly update Windows 11, we would advise using a release that is within the SOLIDWORKS product support lifecycle for hotfixes, each release receives 1 year of service packs followed by a further year of hotfix support for critical issues. This means as of March 2025 only the SOLIDWORKS 2025 and 2024 releases are eligible for these critical fixes.

So while SOLIDWORKS 2022 is the minimum release that supports Windows 11, we recommend using SOLIDWORKS 2024 or 2025 for maximum support and security.

If you are planning to upgrade Windows you will want to check that your PC is capable of running Windows 11.

Windows 11 support requirements are tighter than previous releases, and systems must have a relatively modern CPU (broadly speaking) from Intel’s 2018 8th generation or AMD’s 2019 Zen 2 CPUs plus a motherboard with support for TPM 2.0 security.

You should then also consider whether you need to update SOLIDWORKS, and if you do we suggest you check out our guide for updating to the latest SOLIDWORKS version. If you want do discuss anything before upgrading you can contact our support team as usual.

If you are running SOLIDWORKS PDM then don’t forget that the PDM server components must be upgraded at the same time as the clients.

The main thing to be aware of is if the operating system is supported per the system requirements; for SOLIDWORKS 2022 this is Windows server 2016, 2019 or 2022 (SP4+), and for SOLIDWORKS 2023-25 Windows server 2019 or 2022.

We can also assist with planning this upgrade from advice to a fully managed service to upgrade your SOLIDWORKS PDM and SOLIDWORKS client software!

If your PC doesn't meet the Windows 11 requirements, or isn't compatible with the newer versions of SOLIDWORKS we would recommend upgrading.

Our recommended replacement cycle is 3-5 years for SOLIDWORKS users, as that provides the best trade-off between expenditure and performance gains.

To give you an idea of the significance of upgrading PCs for CAD work, we compared a high-end Precision 3630 system from 2018 with our latest recommended Precision 3680 Desktop. For typical CAD tasks like part modelling and navigating large assemblies, the 3680 workstations performed around twice as fast.

The newer versions of SOLIDWORKS also offer many performance improvements, so upgrading you hardware and software together can be hugely beneficial.