Minimum PC requirements

[stephen]

What would you reccommend as the minimum computer spec for running a full version of CAD 2002?

Me and a colleague are having a little problem trying to convince our employers that our computers are not good enough and are slowing us down.

Thanks guys

Stephen

[f700es]

What would you reccommend as the minimum computer spec for running a full version of CAD 2002?

Me and a colleague are having a little problem trying to convince our employers that our computers are not good enough and are slowing us down.

Thanks guys

Stephen

What are you running/using?
Autodesk reccomends;
Intel® Pentium® II or AMD K6-II 450 MHz-based PC
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows NT® 4.0 (SP5 or later)
128MB RAM
200MB free disk space
VGA display of 1024x768 or higher
Mouse or other pointing device
CD-ROM drive

This does not take into multi-tasking, larger files, rendering,multiple files open at once (or multiple instances of CAD open at once), other applications such as mail, IE, or other.
I would say a middle of the road P4 or AMD XP, Win2k or XP but no 98 or Me, 256 ram minimum, a GeForce 2 or better (a TNT2 M64 will work), a cdrw is almost a must these days.
Anyway my opinions.

F7

[CADTutor]

I agree, the Autodesk recommendation is an absolute minimum.

Ideally, you'll be using Pentium 4 at 1.7GB or above or AMD Athlon XP 2000 or faster. 256MB RAM is recommended but 512 is better (RAM is now cheap so this is a no brainer). A fast hard drive (7200rpm) or a striped pair for additional speed or mirrored pair for security.

Graphics is very important with CAD. Minimum specification should be a good Open GL capable card, 64 or 128 MB RAM and a quality 19" monitor so that you can run pin sharp at 1280x1024 in true colour.

As F7 indicated, you should have some backup and means for distributing large files. CDRW fits the bill although you may also consider a USB2/Firewire external drive you can use for quick backups that can be stored off site.

OS should be Win 2000 Pro or Win XP Pro.

In truth, the cost for such a setup is now so low compared to just a few years ago that it will probably pay for itself in increased productivity within 6 months - put that to your employers.

That's my 2p.

[Mr T]

Well then.

I use a pii266, 6.4gb, 256ram, 32mb video ram machine at home with win 95 2.1. Autocad flys, including 3d. The slowest thing is layouts.

I teach in my school, 2D and 3D autocad 2000i using pii266, 6.4gb, 64ram, 16mb video ram with win 95 2.1. These machines take a while to load Autocad but work great, even 3D, once loaded.

I personally think that RAM RAM RAM is key and also nowadays get at least 64mb video, bear in mind the bigger this is the more the processor can offload work to it.

Nick

[billsta]

think RAm and a decent processor is the go..
but here's a story..
my friend had ran AutoCAD2002 on his machine.. its a pentium pro200, not a lot of ram. cant remember all the specs. but you get the picture.. it takes absolutely forever to load, but once loaded, you can use it.. but you wouldnt want to work with it though....

anyway..

bit of useless info for the day..

cheers

[f700es]

think RAm and a decent processor is the go..
but here's a story..
my friend had ran AutoCAD2002 on his machine.. its a pentium pro200, not a lot of ram. cant remember all the specs. but you get the picture.. it takes absolutely forever to load, but once loaded, you can use it.. but you wouldnt want to work with it though....

anyway..

bit of useless info for the day..

cheers

I got 2002 LT to run on a P200 MMX w 64 mb. Like you said slow as a dog but it did work.

F7

[gcp310]

Dont get sucked into dual processor thing. i have at work a dual p3-600mgz,256 ram,64 vidoeo, and i would say on par with a single processor setup. I do know that acad does not utilize the dual p3 setup, but even rendering or multi tasking,theres not much improvement.

beef up on the ram,go the 7200 hard drives in a raid formation and a 128 videocard,an youll be wrapped.

I have a athlon xp1800,512ram and 80gig hardrive and it rocks.
i find that the athlon is more stable than the pentium.

also, get win XP,its a great os, if you dont have a mac. :lol:

G

[stephen]

i have recently had another 128 of ram stuck in my machine, which makes it 256 now, feels great as opposed to before.

But the guy who sits opposite me has a terrible pc, dont know the exact specs but you's would probably laugh if i told you's.

i have been doing a bit of campaigning lately to get new pc's, esp as im gonna get my workload upped as one of the guys is leaving and i dont think we're replacing him :cry:

Mr T what school do you teach at? i have been looking at doing courses in cad, i found a 13week course at west lothian college but i quite fancy doing a hnc/d, but it needs to be evening or weekends.

any ideas??

Thanks again

Stephen

[Mr T]

Mr T what school do you teach at? i have been looking at doing courses in cad, i found a 13week course at west lothian college but i quite fancy doing a hnc/d, but it needs to be evening or weekends

I teach Design & Technology. Which is -

WORKSHOP - woodwork, metalwork & plastics.

GRAPHICS - Sketching, Tech Drawing, 2D & 3D CAD, DTP.

TECHNOLOGY - Electronics, Pneumatics, Structures, Mechanics and Energy.

I teach at Grangemouth High School.

Unfortunately I am not allowed, budget reasons ?, to teach night classes although there is a local demand. I have good reports about Falkirk College Acad courses, 2D though not 3D. I teach Acad 2000i and utilise a digital projector projecting a 6 ft square image. Cooool.

Cheers

Nick