....i've had really good luck with my Dell's, very good pricing too...

this one is well configured for what you need:
1GB ram, p4 3+GHz processor, 128 video card, 160 gb hard drive..

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/featured_dp_desktop4_1?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

(no i'm not a rep or make any money off the link..)

we have had good luck w/dell too - bought 2 pcs and a server, no problems yet. we run most of the software you mentioned (though we don't do 3D modeling), but we do play online games (my husband does anyway). Think he upgraded the memory for it...

Ive bought 11 pcs. from Dell in the last 2 years. Two notebooks the rest desktops......excellent service and price.

dell. o+ specs sounds like what you need.
my dell monitor went out in the morning a while ago, the replacement arrived next morning (i could not believe it). now, that is a good place to buy a computer in my opinion.

Yup, Dell. I've purchased 5 for our office, good pricing, no problems and great service.

as far as i'm concerned, i'm unwilling to invest 8-900 bucks in a desktop.. check out this deal that's going on at selected officedepot right now.. this compaq unit consists of a p4 2.9 GHz cpu, 256mb pc3200 ddr ram, 80GB hd, dvd and cd-rw drive, and a 17" crt monitor.. the price is 399 after 300 bucks rebate.. throw in another 100 bucks you can sup up the memory to at least 512, ditch the crt monitor if you want and get a lcd flat panel, yet the price still comes below what dell offers.. you really don't have to worry about what programs you'll be running.. current computers are advancing too fast for software requirements to catch up..

Biggest problem with the low end PC's for architects is the Integrated Video. It is S-L-O-W for any kind of 3-d stuff (including games). The worst part is that the low-end PC's usually don't even have an AGP or PCI-Express slot to upgrade to a real video card.

Go to www.techbargains.com and get one of the frequent coupons for Dell's Home computers.

Get something decent. We got a refurbished Dell 8400, 512, 128 MB graphics, 80 gig hard drive, and a P4 3.4 for $1000, including shipping. That was about 4 months ago, so you can do better.

With the coupons, you can probably beat that for a new one if you are patient. They just had 30% off all Dimension's $1500+. That's HUGE savings!

go refurbished. also, don't buy all your memory from Dell--my computer guy at work told me to just get half a gig, then go to memory4less and get another gig--just be sure to have enough (physical) space to put it in... this saved me $600 bucks from getting 1.5 gb from Dell. worth the trouble.

i got $700 off my Dell laptop, took advantage of a special on any that were over $1500 on a certain day...happy happy joy joy.

Another site for Dell deals is gotapex.com
You can configure the same computer on Dells site and get half a dozen different prices depending on where you start out. It generally is best to start in the Small Business section, just type in your name when it asks for business name when you buy.
Stay away from celeron and get a dedicated graphics card, lotta memmory helps. The speed of the processor is not normally the weekest link in most PCs, but when they put a celeron in they are usually cutting corners somewhere else.

related issue

I do a lot of graphics, rendering, photoshop, games, etc. I was considering upgrading to an lcd from my current crt. I've heard that color is bad though. Can anyone who works on an LCD give me their opinion.

Also I'm looking to sell a computer and need help determining a fair price.

Completely rebuilt compaq, new better/faster/flexible components, almost nothing original, but everything still matches exterior.

AMD 2100+
1gb RAM
120gb hd
52x cd-rw/dvd
media card reader
nvidia gforce 4 mx
nvidia soundstorm
modem etc
17 inch crt

just help me determine an asking price. I'm not trying to auction it.
thanks

Re: LCD's and color..

Never heard anyone say that LCD color is "bad" per se...

it might be "bad" in the sense that it's harder to calibrate your screen to match pantone ink colors, but there are some new higher end LCDs that support suction cup style calibration.

I have a Samgung 213T as my main monitor. 21", 1600x1200 native, looks absolutely wonderful and it's a lot easier on my eyes than a crt because there's not a cathod tube bombarding my retinas. I paid $1500 for it about two years ago, you can get them for around $900 these days. HP also makes an incredible 23" 1920x1200 wide aspect display. It uses the exact same LCD panel that the Apple 23" has, but it has additional inputs and a 3 year warranty, which is something you can't get from Apple unless you purchase your monitor WITH a system.

P.S. - The HP display can be had for around $1400-$1500, which is a good $300 less than the Apple. The bezel might not be as sleek as Apple's, but I tend to spend my time looking at the screen and not what's around it when I'm working : )