Just received Student Software need laptop please help!

Hello,

I am currently taking AUTCAD is college for a design job. They gave us AutoCad 2000 to take home for practice. I need to get a lap top and don't know which to get.

Believe it or not I am really horrible with computers, I don't know what I need as far as size, speed and whatever else.

I found several listing but it is all you can have this or that with this upgrade and I don't understand that.

Can some simply tell me the min specs I need for basic pratice and side work of simple drawings.

thank you

ACAD2000 will run ok on most laptops if you don't have to handle large 3D drawings. For instance I've seen later versions running on an IBM Thinkpad T23.

ACAD2000 may not install on Windows Vista. Some laptops are still sold with Windows XP Professional - or you could pick up a suitable secondhand laptop.

I will be doing side work with my teacher, nothing major like what I will be doing at work. I just am not computer savy to know what it requires....

thanks for the input

Check for old web links...http://www.angelfire.com/oh4/psychfea/AUTOCAD2000r1.htm

Will you be working in 2D or 3D?

Get a laptop with sufficient memory (1GB) and if you can afford it a dedicated graphics card and not an integrated graphics chip. If the word "shared" is used to describe the graphics capability of the computer then it has a graphics chip. AC 2000 should run under Windows XP (get the Pro version if you can). I'd stay away from Vista.

Will you be working in 2D or 3D?.

I will be working in 2D, thanks for the tip about graphics card..I have no idea what it is, but I am writing down everything to take with me.

I really can't afford much right now. I am still working as a fabricator in the shipyard. I was on the crew that handled most of the difficult jobs so I worked with design a lot, one of them suggested going out for the position because I understood a lot and was good with tweaking their blue prints so I did and now they are putting me through college.My wife isn't working and we have 2 babies....so my budget is 300, i don't even know if that could buy one but we will start looking now that I know what to get

thank you

A graphics card or graphics chip, as the case may be, is simply responsible for what you see on your screen. A card with more video RAM installed on it will resulting in a better display (higher resolution). $300? Sorry, that is not going to buy you much. Does it have to be a laptop?

$300? Sorry, that is not going to buy you much. Does it have to be a laptop?

I realize that now, I went to Best Buy and I am lookin at about $500. min for a basic laptop to hadle 2D and won't handle what I eventually will be doing at my work with 2D and 3D....

My wife said to just pull it out of our savings but we only have $500 in there, and I don't know how much to expect to be paid for these drawings. You know if I knew I was gonna make this money back doing these drawings for my teacher I would be more ok to spend our savings but I am worried about spending $500 to make $100.

It does have to be a laptop, my teacher offered me side work doing drawings for her so I need one that I can carry to and from her work, my school, my work, and home...

I realize that even if I only make a couple hundred doing this work it is still giving me experience for the position that I will be in after school is done and that is worth a lot to...

Any ideas what a pay scale for 2D drawings are?

You can carry drawings between locations quite simply by using a flash drive. Unless you are going to working on the drawings in more than one location it isn't necessary to have a laptop.

I think you need to educate yourself about computers in general and laptops in particular. Then look on craigslist, under computers, and see what's for sale. If you find something of interest make arrangements to see the computer in actual use (up and running). Then ask the seller to shut the computer off, wait 20 seconds, then reboot it. Make sure it is functional before buying it.

You should also find out what the recommended minimum specs for a computer are running AutoCAD 2000.

Here, I saved you some searching. This is a link to an AutoDesk article regarding system requirements for running AC 2000. By today's standards these specs are laughable. This is good news for you since it means you won't have to pay a lot of $$$ for that computer.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/item?siteID=123112&id=2865811&linkID=9240617

A quick check of craigslist for my area (Hartford, CT) has plenty of laptops to choose from at very affordable prices (your budget). Just stay away from Vista. I'd suggest Windows XP Pro. I don't think you'll push the system too hard so something with an integrated graphics chip will probably be OK initially until you can cobble together the $$$ to buy a new laptop. I saw a couple of pretty good systems around the $250 range. The specs still beat out, by a mile, what AC 2000 calls for.

ReMark is right - AC2000i won't strain any lappy with a Pentium 3 1Ghz or better *mobile!!* CPU and say 512Kb of RAM, a 10Gbdisk and at least XGA video driven by an integrated graphics chip from ATI, Intel or S3. Secondhand such a system should cost very little.

A lot depends on where Robert is located. This advice from Ebay Australia is helpful:

http://reviews.ebay.com.au/Buying-a-Second-Hand-Notebook-Laptop_W0QQugidZ10000000001414307

I suggest looking at used business-quality machines from HP/Compaq, Dell or IBM/Lenovo rather than gamer or schoolkid machines.

Also maybe the forum could comment on any likely looking machine Robert may be contemplating buying.

Another forum if you're in Oz is Whirlpool (here discussing 2ndhand lappies):

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/809051.html

Yes, Robert, where are you located?

Hi Robert,

Earlier in this thread you said "THEY" are putting you through college.

I assume that "THEY" are your company; have you tried asking them for help with the cost of a laptop for your college work?

Some companies are quite happy to do this and write the cost off in their training budget.

Why not ask, the worst they can say is no and they may just surprise you.

Hi, this is Roberts wife.... first off all thank ya'll for helping him (us) out with this:D...I am flustered beyond belief.

We went last night to best buy and took all the info we complied from here and what we found. Robert said lets go when we started comparing what AutoCad 2000 can run on vs. what he will be using which is Autocad 2009 or is it 2010?

He wanted to just by a used one.

My issue is if we are spending money and investing we are doing it for the long hual, his teacher told he he is very talented and will do great things with this, I believe in him and want him to have something nice not "doable" so I borrowed the money went ahead and got a laptop that would be suitableand affordable the HP Pavillion dv7-1245cx

Now I am in tears because it has vista and it won't upload and I called his teacher and she said unless I can find a driver? to upload I can't run 2000 on this machine. She said she may can get 2004 but not sure. But she said not to return it because it will be perfect for when he starts at work...

Can anyone point me in the right direction...

do they even make a driver or what ever to upload this program? If so where do I get it?

BTW we are in Mobile,AL. I am sure they won't pay for some of it because he asked if he could borrow one or supply one to practice on and they said no...

Oh no!

Autocad 2000/2000i is not compatible with Vista. (Some people have got it to run after a fashion but not good).

The teachers advice seems right about the laptop you have got; but you will need a later version of Autocad.

Have you looked at the Autodesk website? They are running some new deals on Autocad products for people who are out of work and for students.

Oh no!

 

Autocad 2000/2000i is not compatible with Vista. (Some people have got it to run after a fashion but not good).

 

The teachers advice seems right about the laptop you have got; but you will need a later version of Autocad.

 

Have you looked at the Autodesk website? They are running some new deals on Autocad products for people who are out of work and for students.

Oh gosh, I think I am gonna be sick.

I have been on here and every other website I have been googling and have tried many different things and I was starting to figure I was SOL.

BUT every computer there had Vista...where can I get a new laptop without it? And I was told he will need vista for Autocad 2009..

I read about student copys and such...do you mean to purchase? if so I can't I borrowed money for the laptop...

there is nothing I can do? gosh this sucks..

oh the error says uncompatible 16-bit application. see if vendor can provide 64-bit disk...what does that mean?

Get professional assistance to help you with this:

http://forums13.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/bizsupport/questionanswer.do?admit=109447627+1245227757377+28353475&threadId=1216441

This assumes HP will still let you do this and you can get relevant drivers.

- Or sell the lappy and buy a secondhand Thinkpad T23, T42, T43 or T61p which should have Win XP Pro installed ready to go.

- Or Dell still sells new laptops with XP Pro eg Vostro 1520 (15") or 1720(17") - here's the 1720:

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-vostro-1720?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04

If you want a keeper, invest in decent graphics WUXGA and the 512 MB NVIDIA® GeForce 9600M GS Graphic Card.

Software unfortunately can be picky about the company it keeps ...

Best of luck. I'm away for a bit.

Can you just clear up one thing for me? What software will Robert be running right NOW? That is, the software he'll be using to assist his teacher. That's all that matters. For a mere $300 he could have been up and running. Any money made above and beyond the cost of the used laptop could have been set aside for the purchase of a newer laptop when and if he upgraded to AutoCAD 2009 or 2010.

By the way, you do NOT need Vista to run 2009 or 2010. I'm running both on a system that uses Windows XP Pro. Whoever told you that was full of horse manure.

I would suggest that you return the laptop for a refund and buy a used computer with Windows XP Pro on it. Stop wasting your time trying to kludge together some sort of fix.

Looking back at my replies I see that in my very first one I said to get a laptop with XP Pro and stay away from Vista.