Harware spec for Autocad 2006?

Hi,
My son is about to start a one year course in CAD. He will
be using Autocad 2006. I would like to set him up with a
computer at home so that he can work with Autocad 2006
in the evenings. I think he will progress faster that way.
I would appreciate a hardware specification for running the
above. Obviously I don't want an all dancing all singing
spec. because I will be paying for it. On the other hand I
would not want resources cut so mean that the prog is
forever falling over. Please help. TIA Tom.

 

His current machine has W2000 with SP4; 256MB RAM &
20GB HDD. I upgraded IE to v. 6 with SP1. I can't
remember what CPU he has but it is running something
over 1GHz.

Autocad 2006 installed like a dream and ran. However,
when he got to the college (live in) he was told he would
need a P4 CPU (must have hyperthreading they say) and
a GB RAM. I have not had a chance to test it myself
because his 'puter is still at his college.

I could upgrade to a Celeron board with 600MB RAM
(approx £120) or to a P4 board with 1GB RAM (upwards
of £350). However, going on what you say I might get
away with a RAM upgrade? What do you think? TIA.

 

I myself have found that if MS paint works well on a
machine AutoCad will also run fine on that machine.
AutoCad is a vector program but does not require
any where near the resource of say Adobe Illustrator.
The only thing you might need for AutoCad is a little
more RAM if your son gets into doing a lot of
3D drawing. I have done a lot of drawing at home
for work on a 1.8Gig system with 512meg ram
with out a single lockup or crash.

Richard

Also, send him a link to my site for a free lisp program
that I'm sure he'll be able to use.
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/medeziner/

 

Here are the AutoDesk recommendations: (Read as minimum)

Recommended System Requirements:

a.. Intel® Pentium® III or later, with 800 MHz or faster processor, or
compatible
b.. Microsoft® Windows® XP (Professional, Home Edition, or Tablet PC
Edition with SP1 or SP2), Windows® 2000 Professional with SP4
c.. 512 MB RAM
d.. 500 MB free disk space for installation
e.. 1024x768 VGA with true color
f.. Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 or later
g.. CD-ROM drive
h.. Mouse, trackball, or compatible pointing device

 

Hi Guys,
Thank you for all your advice. I am going for the lighter option
like you suggest. Best regards, Bill.