need help spec'ing new AutoCad PC

Need help spec'ing a new AutoCad PC.
it will most likely be a DELL brand.

It will be for ocasional use only of AutoCAD and
not for use professionally or every day.
So this will be a "light duty" AutoCAD machine.

Have a few questions:

1.) What type of CPU will be needed?
will a Celeron 2.4ghz work or is a Pentium-4 really required?

2.) how much RAM? is 256mb enough?

3.) Video Card Type? Is the Intel 3D Graphics Extreme that
comes with the DELL systems suitable? Or any other
suggestions that come with the DELL?

any other suggestions?

email reply cc: is prefered.

-mike

 

AutoCAD doesn't require a special system - if it's fast enough for
games, then it certainly is fast enough for AutoCAD, Indeed then it is
much oversized for AutoCAD.

With a 500 MHz system, 128 Megs of RAM and a 20$-graphics card you
will be able to work with very complex AutoCAD drawings, You really
will hardly see any difference to the most up-to-date system with the
most expensive graphics card.

Tom Berger

 

It doesn't take much to run Autocad. Any modern computer. If you buy it new,
it will work.

 

From Autodesk's website, here are the system requirements for the new
bloated version of their software:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=2497958

FWIW, I found 256MB of RAM ran too slowly, but it did work. 256MB was
enough for previous versions, which I wish I was still using. It
wasn't worth the cost of "upgrading", though the smaller .dwg file
size is a nice feature.

 

Rule for Thumb - at least double the Ram that Autodesk recommend.

Given to me by a dealer many many moons ago.........

Alan (Cadalot)

 

Is this the dealer's rule for thumb or his special rule for dumb?

I know that most dealers recommend high-end graphics cards for the use
with AutoCAD. They really don't have the slightest clue, but they
argue that CAD is graphics, and graphics is always much too slow, and
as they make good money on an expensive graphics card, why not
recommend it ...

Tm SCNR Berger

 

If you files are going to be large (1-10mb), stuff the sucker with RAM.
(768mb is a nice number.)
Celeron will work, but processor speed affects opening, saving, and all
calculations like hides, boundary etc.,
as well as running times for LISPS.
Video card with a few Megs on it should be fine.
You didn't mention the monitor.....this shouldn't be an afterthought. If you
are going to spend a lot of time in front of the thing, get the biggest,
sharpest one you can afford.
I have a 19" Trinitron, and like it a lot.

 

yes like mick said the display is of primary importance with long term
computer usage.

i have an older Sony Trinitron Multiscan 420GS at work. after spending 8
hours a day in the autocad drawing environment its nice not to go home with
eyes that are fried.

when you do select a montor. ensure that it can acompany a HIGH refresh rate
of at least 75Hz. 85Hz is better (standard 60Hz will give you a head ache in
no time flat). also you want to achive these high refresh rates with good
color depth (at least 16bit, 32 bit is better) and a good resolution (i
recomend min. 1024x768 for general autocad use. but prefer 1280x1024)

now monitors aren't everything. they need a decent video card to provide it
with adigute information. anything 2 years or older simply is just getting
out of leage. try for at least a nVidia geforce 3 or an ATI radon 8500.

and last but not least. please pelase spend the money and get a 19" monitor!
even only beeing 12" away from the screen surface the increasted resolution
and wider montor will make the computer so much more firendly!.

thats my two sence

anyhow. rockon!

remember, its not work, its autocad!

 

If you are going to open a 100megs plus drawing, you need at least
1000meg ram to open it. To manipulate the drawing add another 1000meg ram.

Tahimik

 

It will be either the monitor that comes with the DELL or
a 20" trinitron (that I already have).

 

I have a 19" Trinitron, and like it a lot.

The lines piss me off. Just can't learn to live.

 

It took me months to see them. Then it took me months to NOT see them ; D

 

They make a 20"?
I once had a 21" but it was so old and fuzzy, that you had to put it far
away to see it clearly.
It came with a 14" monochrome text monitor... and r12 for DOS...
<drifts into a reverie of being young, ...and an intern ...and making
peanuts...>
<snaps out of it>

 

OK. Dave's is 3" bigger than anyone else in this thread has seen.
Anybody out there have one bigger? How big do they get?

 

I've seen 42".

 

Wow. Was that running Intergraph?

 

Get the best system you can afford!
Celeron? if you don't mind waiting!
True you don't need open GL, but a fast card improves the time to open a
drawing.
Ram, If you use the PC just for Autocad, then 1GB maybe enough, if you use
it for other programs the get as much as you can.
If you work to a dead line, those odd few 10seconds waiting for the drawing
to open, will drive you mad!
"You get what you pay for" is the thing you must pay heed too.

 

No. When you open a drawing AutoCAD has to do the same job as with the
REGEN command - and that is done by the system processor and RAM and
has nothing to do with the graphics card.

Only the REDRAW command depends on the performance of the graphics
card, and while some manufacturers claim huge differences of several
100% of REDRAW performance, this is only a matter of the magnitude of
0.01 seconds versa 0.03 seconds. If you really want to spend some
hundred $$ for this 0.02 seconds speed improvement is up to you.

You can simply do a benchmark using (command "._REDRAW") 10000 times
in a loop, and 100 times with (command "._REGEN"). Tell me what
differencies you find between a system with a $50 graphics card and
another one with a $500 card. And, BTW, I already did this benchmark
with a $50 noname card and a Oxygene 4 which was $2500 at that time.

1 GByte of RAM may be OK when you are usually dealing with drawing
files of 50 or 100 megabyte size. Most people don't, and even where
people have this kind of drawing files they could easily do with much
smaller sizes if they would organize their work properly.

Tom Berger