System Advice please!

[mr cadman guiff]

I'm thinking of building my own desktop computer with the main aim doing 3D AutoCAD. I've made a few phone calls to various suppliers of components but on the whole, they haven't been particularly helpful in terms of the best spec for the job. Can anyone please advise me how far I should go regarding the spec. say, of a graphics card, motherboard, RAM and processor or any other advice you can give me? Please bear in mind, I have not done this before and am a novice!

 

Many thanks in advance for helping me with this project.

[BIGAL]

Intel I5 or I7

min 8Gb ram

Nvidia etc for graphics

64 bit

 

the new HP workstation looks pretty great 22" screen is computer

[ReMark]

Start by looking at systems that are certified by AutoDesk and compare what you are thinking of building.

 

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/syscert?id=18844534&siteID=123112

[Bill Tillman]

CompUSA is practically giving away i7 DIY systems these days. Get as much RAM as you can get and a kick-tail video card, one that is approved/certified by AutoDesk.

 

I built an i7 Quad core with 12GB of RAM several years ago and spent just under $1500 for everything (not including OS and software). The prices I've seen recently in CompUSA's flyers would save significantly over that price today.

 

You might find an off-the-shelf desktop already setup but to do this right and pay the least price, you should really by a barebones kit and build it yourself.

[ReMark]

Depends on one's definition of a kick tail video card. I just ordered a system where the graphics card itself cost $800 and it was a mid-range card. Maybe I should have bought two CompUSA computers, taken the graphics card out of one, put it in the other then thrown the system out. I could have saved a bundle! Or I could a V-8. Duh!