New Computer Purchase Advice (1 Viewer)

[Doug_S]

My laptop is quickly dying and I need to get another computer. I like the idea of an all-in-one but I know that they are limited in their expansion capabilities. I think that I can get the biggest bang for the buck with a mini tower and a widescreen monitor.

I'd like 3-4 gb of memory, at least a 320 gb HD, a 2.66 gb processor, a decent video card and the ability to access wi-fi. I don't game but do use AutoCad frequently (two dimension drafting only). I also use a program for my CNC mill that isn't that graphic intensive.

Do you guys know of any "deals" out there?

I've been to Costco and Best Buy. Both have different models so I can't get one or the other to price match.

Lastly, my budget allows for only about $900.00.

Thanks!

 

[Dirtsquirt]

I have some exp.

We have 6 cad machines at work. I would like to share a little insite
I have picked up over the years.
A cad specific cad video card isnt necessary. Get a Fast Nvidia card
and you should be golden. By fast I mean spend 150-200 on the card its self.
That being said. You dont want a unit with onboard video.
All the cad programs we have. Are written to take advantage of multiple processors. I would go for a unit with at least 2 processors.
Personaly I would buy the component from New Egg and build one.
I am not a fan of Dell or compac/hp.
I would go to my local computer store and have em build you a machine. You should be able to get a bangup around the 700-800
area.
I dont know if your version of autocad is Vista ready. But I would
specificaly as for XP.
my.02c

 

[beaufort-fj60]

x2 on what squirt said.... except on the dual processor part, I've "heard" the older autocad 2000 and up does not take advatage of the dual processors. Their new subscription based cad might. I have a copy of 2001 ldd and 2009 microsurvey with the new cad engine. Both work fine on my single processor Pentium 4. The video card is important and so is about a 1GB of ram. I wouldn't use vista or a non Pentium chip.

 

[Sanchez]

Build you own if you can, go with a quad core processor and nvidia video card. you can snag a nice deal at fry's for motherboard and chip combo. I know you said you don't game but this will be a descent pc that you can always upgrade in the future. Or I recommend the Core i7. Expensive to build right now but worth every penny. Also look into SSD hard drives, again a little expensive but those drives are pretty fast when it comes to reading and writing data.

My 2 cents.

 

[Doug_S]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm really tempted to build my own given the price of the new machines. That way I can get the best price and learn something at the same time.

 

[Red Beard]

We just got out CNC Router working over at my place. We used my old Dell Dimension 4550. I believe it had 1.66ghz processor (just one) 1 gig of ram and a basic gfx card. This computer is from like 2004. It runs it just fine. CAD, not too far out of reach I'm sure. I used to do a lot of photoshop and illustrator on that. (At the time I was using Freehand MX, miss it. )

These days, you can get Gigs for cheap, I'm sure you can find a deal.

 

[Doug_S]

Thanks for the advice Red Beard. I actually bit the bullet and after looking into building one vs. buying a complete computer from a local retailer, I decided to go with the ready built computer. I got 4 gb of RAM with it and plan on adding another 2 gb. I contacted the manufacturer of my CAM program and he agreed to give me a new key, so that I could install the program on the new computer, for free. Good customer service.

Glad to heard that your CNC router works well on an older computer. Since I have a controller attached to the CNC mill already, I'm don't need to have a PC to run the mill.

Thanks again.