need help spec'ing new AutoCad PC

mike snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (Michael Sutton) schrieb:

AutoCAD doesn't require a special system - if it's fast enough for games, then it certainly is fast enough for AutoCAD, Indeed then it is much oversized for AutoCAD.

With a 500 MHz system, 128 Megs of RAM and a 20$-graphics card you will be able to work with very complex AutoCAD drawings, You really will hardly see any difference to the most up-to-date system with the most expensive graphics card.

Tom Berger

Rule for Thumb - at least double the Ram that Autodesk recommend.

Given to me by a dealer many many moons ago.........

Alan (Cadalot)

Cadalot schrieb:

Is this the dealer's rule for thumb or his special rule for dumb?

I know that most dealers recommend high-end graphics cards for the use with AutoCAD. They really don't have the slightest clue, but they argue that CAD is graphics, and graphics is always much too slow, and as they make good money on an expensive graphics card, why not recommend it ...

T:-)m SCNR Berger

If you files are going to be large (1-10mb), stuff the sucker with RAM. (768mb is a nice number.) Celeron will work, but processor speed affects opening, saving, and all calculations like hides, boundary etc., as well as running times for LISPS. Video card with a few Megs on it should be fine. You didn't mention the monitor.....this shouldn't be an afterthought. If you are going to spend a lot of time in front of the thing, get the biggest, sharpest one you can afford. I have a 19" Trinitron, and like it a lot.

yes like mick said the display is of primary importance with long term computer usage.

i have an older Sony Trinitron Multiscan 420GS at work. after spending 8 hours a day in the autocad drawing environment its nice not to go home with eyes that are fried.

when you do select a montor. ensure that it can acompany a HIGH refresh rate of at least 75Hz. 85Hz is better (standard 60Hz will give you a head ache in no time flat). also you want to achive these high refresh rates with good color depth (at least 16bit, 32 bit is better) and a good resolution (i recomend min. 1024x768 for general autocad use. but prefer 1280x1024)

now monitors aren't everything. they need a decent video card to provide it with adigute information. anything 2 years or older simply is just getting out of leage. try for at least a nVidia geforce 3 or an ATI radon 8500.

and last but not least. please pelase spend the money and get a 19" monitor! even only beeing 12" away from the screen surface the increasted resolution and wider montor will make the computer so much more firendly!.

thats my two sence

anyhow. rockon!

remember, its not work, its autocad!

If you are going to open a 100megs plus drawing, you need at least

Tahimik

I thought the old rule of thumb was 3 times your 'typical' drawing size.

It will be either the monitor that comes with the DELL or a 20" trinitron (that I already have).

The lines piss me off. Just can't learn to live.

It took me months to see them. Then it took me months to NOT see them ; D

I have a 24" Triniton and the lines bothered me for about 30 seconds...just until I opened my first Acad drawing :) Dave

They make a 20"? I once had a 21" but it was so old and fuzzy, that you had to put it far away to see it clearly. It came with a 14" monochrome text monitor... and r12 for DOS...

OK. Dave's is 3" bigger than anyone else in this thread has seen. Anybody out there have one bigger? How big do they get?

seconds...just

I've seen 42".

you'd need some desk for that baby!

Wow. Was that running Intergraph?

'Nuff said. ;) If you're using Acad 40+ a week, get what you can. Personally, I'd focus on a good, large monitor, graphics card and ram. The rest is fluff.

"pete" schrieb:

No. When you open a drawing AutoCAD has to do the same job as with the REGEN command - and that is done by the system processor and RAM and has nothing to do with the graphics card.

Only the REDRAW command depends on the performance of the graphics card, and while some manufacturers claim huge differences of several

You can simply do a benchmark using (command "._REDRAW") 10000 times in a loop, and 100 times with (command "._REGEN"). Tell me what differencies you find between a system with a $50 graphics card and another one with a $500 card. And, BTW, I already did this benchmark with a $50 noname card and a Oxygene 4 which was $2500 at that time.

Tom Berger