[artdutra04]

Step 1. Acquire a legal license for Windows 7 or 8.

Step 2. Choose either Bootcamp or a virtual machine, then install Windows appropriately.

Step 3. Install and use Solidworks.

I recommend using Bootcamp for running Solidworks on OSX. Bootcamp makes a separate hard drive partition, from which you can then install Windows on. After installing Windows, you can choose between either OSX or Windows when you boot your computer. I used this method for several years when I mentored 228 while in college.

If you run Windows in a virtual machine, your RAM, processor, GPU, etc. resources will be split between OSX and Windows, which will hinder CAD performance.