Getting a new Computer - Autocad 06 and Inventor 10

[SamMac]

:D Hello Every1
I am Sam and I am new to this forum. Next year I am going to do a course in CAD... I will be using Autocad and Inventor.

I currently need to get another computer as I have to share this with my brothers. Also, this pc is a bit old now and i doubt it would be able to handle large 3D rendering projects.
Specs: P4 2.53Ghz 512RAM 128MB Nvidia GeForce4 MX440 Graphics.

What would be the desirable system for ACAD & Inventor? Would a normal graphics card - i.e such as Nivdia gaming cards be sufficent...

Thanks heaps
cheers
Sam:P

[ReMark]

A P4 3.0GHz computer with 2-4GB of DDR2 memory and a PCIe video card with 256MB of vidRAM onboard (nVidia or ATI w/OpenGL support). You might want to look into Dual-Core technology and see if it offers any benefits as far as CAD is concerned. One last thing, get a good monitor...maybe a 19 or 20" flat screen (Viewsonic or Samsung are two good choices).

[SamMac]

Hi ReMark :)
Thanks. I see memory is important to CAD and Inventor. The workstation cards are a bit expensive, so i am happy looking around for a good PCIe card with the latest OpenGL support. I currenly have a 17" HP Monitor, and i'm already considering a larger monitor. Viewsonice and Samsung i think are well priced LCD monitors also.