Cad system opinions

Thoughts on a new cad system I'm putting together. It has to be budget
concious but powerful enough to do basic rendering

2 x Intel 2.8 Xeons, 800mhz fsb, 1mb L2, Hyper Threading, EMT64

2gig DDR2 PC2-3200 ram

2 x Hitachi 160gig SATA Drives in RAID 0

Asus EN6600GT/Top/TD 128mb Overclock limited edition video card.

Those are the main components I picked w/cad in mind. Thoughts?

 

Way too much RAM & HD space. I'd lower both & spend more on the video card.
that seems to make more noticeable difference in my experiences. JMO
Rob

 

I agree. Go for a better video card. If you cut the RAM and drive space in
half, you'd have plenty of $ for an exceptional video card.

 

2GB Ram is my standard for new computers. We do large 3D models and 1GB is
not cutting it anymore. Unless the machine will be used for gaming, don't
waste a lot on a video card.

Our systems a based on an $80 ASUS mother board with intergraded GForce
video and dual channel memory. AutoCAD runs fast and we can fly through the
real-time 3D walkthroughs of the models. I'll never blow the budget on
$3,000 decked out box again. The benefits are not realized in day to day
use.
-S

 

WTF is that all about? I don't even know anyone that uses dual monitors.

 

I was thinking the same thing. I haven't used, or needed, dual monitors
since 1995. Even then it was quaint. (Monochrome)