Auto CAD PC need a few ?'s answered plz

G

Gun_Strife

2[H]4U
Joined
Dec 6, 2004
Messages
3,343
Well my dad is gonna get a new pc and all it really is for is auto cad, as i am not familiar with auto cad's needs i was hopeing you guys could help me out

what is the most important component for using it?
does the graphics card matter?

any help would be greatly appreciated thanks in advance
 
Here's Autodesk's recommendations: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/item?siteID=123112&id=2998493&linkID=2475323

If you only do 2D cad just about anything will work, including onboard graphics. For anything 3D you need something better.

(Be aware there are installation and product activation issues with AutoCad on XP SP2 systems. If that applies to you... in IE Internet Options > Advanced > Security... uncheck "Check for publisher's certificate revocation" before installing AutoCad. In System Properties > Advanced > Performance Settings > Data Execution Prevention, click the bottom button and add "aclt.exe" to excluded programs list before installing AutoCad). <<< Been there done that.
 
Here is a reply of mine to a simialr thread:

I used to spend 9 hours a day doing AutoCAD and 3-D modeling & Rendering. I switched jobs in november so I haven't used it that much since then. But I can relay my experiences:

Almost any of todays higher end machines will run autocad with no problems. I was running AutoCAD Architectural Desktop 2006 on a Dell XPS Gen2. (it was a work computer. not my home machine)

If you'll mostly be doing 2d drawing, follow the above recommendations:
Lots of RAM
fast CPU
and fast chipset/memory config.
Almost any hard drive these days is fast enough.
any decent video card will work.

For 3d modeling and rendering, you might want to look into a "professional" video card
such as the Quadros or ATI Fire GL's.
simply b/c they will usually (not always) produce more accurate rendering results.

Spend the cash on an LCD monitor that does 1600x1200 such as the Planar.
Or one of the widescreens that do 1680x1050.
The bigger the better.
With all else being being equal, I would opt for any run of the mill higher end computer and allocate more of the budget to a bigger monitor.
The bigger monitor will increase productivity more than a faster cpu.
Autodesk Autocad is a really great product in the 2006 versions and it runs well
on most modern computers and laptops.

High quality renderings with high levels of Radiosity, Light Bounce calculations, & Materials Quality is when the hardware specs become a little more critical.


You can see the whole thread here:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1034505
 
What kind of budget do you have?

Yes, the video card definitely matters, especially with CAD. At my HS, they bought a whole bunch of new computers specifically for CAD and then found they were slow as hell and basically unusable... why? Because they never bothered to upgrade from onboard video...

For CAD you're going to want a workstation card like FireGL or Quadro. I would recommend the FireGL V5000 if you've got the money to spend for a nice, mid-high range card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102664
 
first let me thank all of you for helping me out
second its gonna be for 2d
third there really is no budget he just doesn't want to spend toooo much so I guess around $1800-$2000ish

he wants to get one of the xps systems, so Terminator would you go with the 2.8, 3.0, or 3.2ghz dual core intel
and would you say widesreen is better
and the gpu I was thinking of was the nvidia 7300 and is 2gb of ram enough or would it greatly benifit from 4gb
 
If you can afford the 3.2, get it.
If you have to finagle the budget, it'd be better to drop down to the 3.0 and get a better monitor. I myself have never done cad in widescreen, but it should be great.
I used a Planar 2010m and it was absolutely fabulous for cad.
There is no need for 4gb of ram.

The honest truth is, if your dad will be using Autocad LT, he will be fine with almost any computer that you buy. Autocad LT runs fine on a pentium 3 with an old TNT2 card.

If he's using regular Autocad, but simply not drafting in 3d, than any modern day computer will handle it. Just insist on 1 gig of ram and a 21" lcd monitor that does 1600x1200, or the widescreen monitor that does 1680x1050.
oh, and get a good mouse.

A fancy video card doesn't really come into play until you start doing 3D drafting, or if you need to open 3D files created by someone else.

as a side note, I'm very familiar with Autodesk Autocad products, but I'm not as familiar with other 3d packages. Just need to put in my little discalimer. :)
 
I draw houses on Autocad (2005 now, going to 2007) and am using a Geforce FX5200 card on a 19" CRT. We only do 2D stuff and this lowly video card does just fine. We've been upgrading to Dell 24" widescreens here and those that already have the 24" have gotten 6600 GT's, when I get my 24" we'll have moved on to getting 7600 GT's. We even had a 24" running off of onboard video on an Asus A8N-VM CSM (Geforce 6150 graphics) for a couple of weeks during transition for some of the drafters. Ran okay. DVI definitely makes a noticeable difference.

I agree about comments regarding a larger screen over more CPU, although more CPU never hurts.
 
I have two socket 754 Athlon 64 systems and they both handle Acad2004 (have not upgraded yet) with ease. Both systems were built with Acad and gaming in mind. I use Civil Design 2D on a daily basis.
The work system is a skt 754 3700+ Clawhammer oc'd to 215x12 = 2.58 ghz with
1 gb of PC3200 DDR400 ram, Asus K8V mobo, VisionTek AGP X800Pro video card, Gigabyte 3D Cooler - Ultra GT cpu heatsink/fan and Samsung SyncMaster 997DF 19" CRT flat screen monitor. I've had it for approx 1.5 yrs (it started life with a 3400+ Clawhammer cpu) and it has been failure proof.
The home system is in my sig and it is as fast or faster in cadd as my work system. I am space constricted at home so I have a 17" flat screen CRT monitor there.

We also use 3.0ghz single core Dell Pentiums here at work. They are ok but not as fast as mine. I'd recommend a fast(er) cpu, good video card, 1gb min. of ram and a decent video card (6600 or above nVidia or x800 or above from ATI) with a good quality monitor. I'd say the monitor is probably THE most important part of the system since you will be looking at it for quite awhile. Get one with excellent image quality and sharpness. I've gotten fuzzy monitors and promptly returned them. The monitor will make or break your system.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top