Totally green & new to this.................'puter question.

Super Noob here........need to upgrade the 'puter for AutoCAD 2011

What's your budget?

For Solidworks and Inventor I might spec something like the following:

Intel i7 Quad Core

Windows 7 64-bit

4-8GB of RAM

500GB HD 7200 rpm

nVidia Quadro or ATI FirePro GL graphics card

24" wide screen LCD monitor

However, you should also check the AutoDesk website. Minimum system requirements are posted for each program. You could just as easily meet those specs and save a few dollars. Just remember...they are the minimum system requirements. I like to go above and beyond because I know I'll be running other software concurrently and I want to still be using the same computer 3 years from now.

If you want more particulars look at the specs for my computer system to the left under my avatar.

Budget??? Oh, at least $150......maybe more. OK, so much for being a wizeguy. On my way to the 'puter shop for them to do a look see as to what I have. Have the rqmnts in hand, as you said for MINIMAL ops. I have a baaaaad feeling we're looking at a pot load of bux.

Sure wish my long range estate sale would materialize.......anyone know of a buyer for 1k (yard) rifles? I have some beauts. Never got into the 1k as it was a bit too far to drive, compete and return in the same day.

MB@TR............we're slowly but surely tracking down the bits and bobs needed for me to navigate this class. Sure would be nice to noodle around at home to do some homework/practice and make my notes. Memory just isn't what I'd like it to be.

OK, gonna start jerking cords and hie myself to the C. Emporium.

Well I was expecting a more definitive answer.

Detail he sez..............I gotcher detail for you right here .

The nice computer store guy (used to belong to the outdoor range together) had these recommendations:

i7-950 3.06 8MB

8 GB of DDR3 1333 Mem (4x2GB)

Seagate 1TB SATAll 7200 32MB HD

XFX 1GB GeForce GT240 DDR3 Video Card (DVI/HDMl)

MS Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit)

This with the new case, re-use of my 16X DVDRW, same 19" monster monitor, $900-1K. Might shave $75 off by going with an i5..............

Now, I just Goog'd Terabyte, just to make sure my intuition was reliable...............boy howdy, I remember the days in apprentice class where a Meg was beyond stellar. So much for the good ol' days.

I see where there is some differences in what you list and what I was handed earlier so am looking for suggestions, strong suggestions even. ReMark..........Anyone?

I don't have to build a killer machine at this stage. As much as I'd like to do the Inventor class this summer, I am not sure the stress would be worth it. Instructor is defensive for one thing and in my third class which was the 7th as I had to handle some long distance family matters for two weeks, I was drawing a blank for an op and asked how to do ---. He looks at me and says: "I told you how to do that". Yes he had, once, not that class but the first class period three weeks previous............not the way I handle questions when I instruct in my areas of knowledge.

I know as time passes, prices will recede as the product moves toward obsolescence. Just need to get things moving if possible to do some work while at home. I do 40 hours a week "for the man" with 2 hours of commute so my time is less than plentiful. Trying to get into the lab requires taking off work as well as working around the teaching schedule.

I am sure I can garner a lot of knowledge and hands on this summer from all of the tutorials available here - turns this ol' fella on.....so need something that will enable me to do that.

What say ye Troops?

Go with the i5 and drop the RAM to 4GB (2 x 2GB). I see no reason for a 1TB hard drive. Drop that way down to a 320GB drive (7200 rpm) unless you anticipate having a large number of files on your hard drive. Definitely get Win7 64-bit Home Premium or Pro version. Any new AutoDesk software should also be 64-bit as well. Make sure your graphics card is Direct3D 10 capable.

Re: your commute. Is that 2 hours one way? Mine is 1 hour 20 minutes and that's on a good day. A bad day can double that. Yep...one way.

Very good...........No sense having a 10 story warehouse if you don't plan on using but one floor. Can't remember what my current HD is..........wrote it down somewhere.

How about the AMD Black Ed.Phenom II for same $$ as the i5? Any downside there? Any noticeable upside?

Only 53 miles of EASY driving, one way..........no traffic either coming or going but it sure does get old as well as expensive doesn't it?

I have that CPU in my home system and I am running Win7 Ultimate 64-bit along with AutoCAD 2011 64-bit with no problems. I also have 8GB of RAM and a 1GB graphics card.

53 miles is damn close to what I'm driving. My day starts at 3:30 a.m. At least the morning commute isn't too bad except for the tractor trailers on I-95. Be safe out there.

I start at 0430 & do 20 miles on I95 myself........GA/SC line. Billboards across from the weigh station keeps me posted on what the lottery & Mega M. is doing. Gotta be in it to win it, so I don't win:(.

So, you're saying the AMD Black Death, Epic/Super Phenomenol is as good if not better than the i5 - especially for the same $$?

Is the recommended vid card waaaay more than I need? Properly adequate or would you do a different brand?

The AMD Phenom Black is a good CPU.

I'd have to give the graphics card another look before I could answer your question.

You might want to look at a solid state drive over the traditional hard drive. Your boot and shut down times go from minutes to seconds and the programs open darn near instantly. Think of it as a massive USB jump drive.

For the video card, go to Autodesk's site and look up the card to see if it's been certified or not, or if it's even been tested yet. My card at home (ATI Radeon HD 4650) was tested and passed, but not certified and I get some glitchy reactions from time to time. My card at work (NVIDIA Quadro FX 3800), however, is certified and it runs great.

I'm going to have to differ with SuperCAD's advice re: solid state drives. The cost per GB is way too high to justify at this time compared to a "normal" (platter) drive. If you want to save money avoid buying a SSD until the price drops.

Do the words "cost/benefit analysis" sound familiar?

Yes, but a mere $200-300 versus the time it would save is well worth the investment to me.

Is that per Gig or total for the unit in my parameters??

Unfortunately that $200-$300 does not buy much storage space. That explains the high cost to capacity ratio. Most normal users can get better bang for the buck by putting their money elsewhere.

I would drop down to 4 gb of ram and a 500gb hdd and upgrade to a 24" lcd. Dell has good deals on AMD Phenom based XPS systems but they will have ATI cards in them and I just don't feel they match what you can get from nVidia. I priced one with a 4 core Phenom and 4gb hdd with a 1gb ATI HD4550 and 24"lcd for under $850 but I just don't like ATI cards for CAD. Just make sure your OS is 64-bit to use more than 3 gb of ram.