To start research the various software you plan on using and see what their hardware requirements are. Autodesk products tend to be a little particular about what graphics card you are using and the newer Autodesk products have specific memory and processor requirements as well. At a minimum this will help establish a base model and also see if the supplied hardware will be sufficient. I recently saw a pretty good deal on a quad-core HP but then realized that the supplied graphics card was not supported for the software I needed (Maya) and really the only option is a BOXX.

The best system right now is intel i7.

Its 20-30% faster than Quad Core and costs about the same. Dell is the best place to purchase it, because they provide really good deals and you can find coupon codes for checkout on sites like www.craigslist.com or techbargains.net.

I think for $1500 you can get a really good deal on Dell desktop with 1GB Graphic Card, monitor and make sure its i7 intel. Also, make you get 64bit system, so it will use all your ram (get at least 8GB or ram).

sorry instead of craigslist, I meant www.bensbargains.net

:p

Build one yourself - easy to do and will save a lot of money.

yea i built my computer with Archinect's help for like 700 bucks, and it's freakin' kickass

or if you at least know the equipment you want/need but lack the mechanical/computer skills to assemble it yourself you could always look into a local computer company to assist with the assemble. Usually you will still get a higher performance machine than something from Dell or HP for the same cost AND you get the added benefit (depending on the shop) of warranty service.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I am looking into the hardware requirements for the software right now .._. .._ _._._._.

Building my own computer sounds really intimidating to me right now grid and jk3hl. But I am going to check out the threads relating to that in this forum. I guess I was looking for a desktop that I could buy at the store, but that may be tricky with the different softwares I need to use.

Zen maker, thanks for heads up on that desktop, I am going to check it out. From reading some of the computer advice posts on this site I got the idea that Dell and HP desktops are not great for arch. use, but perhaps I am wrong about this?

Thanks again for the help, and I will post back if I find something :)

Great Lake,

I don't know if you have a Costco near you or not. They have a great 3 month return policy. So you can test it out for a while and really see if the computer you buy is a good fit.

time and time again - there is only one definitive solution that transcends technological advancement - mine runs windows 7 and it's great for real time vector processing (no print feature though!)

jk3, what'd you end up getting?

i had good experience with http://www.xicomputer.com/products/
good service and good system builders.

spent almost $4g for a quadcore WS 3 years ago, recently spent $200 to up the RAM to 8 so i can run win7pro64...rock solid & wrote the whole thing off as business expense.

i see alot of better systems for alot less then what i spent on there, so take a look if u like.

Hi everyone, I'm back to ask a few more questions.

I have been doing a bit of searching around, but am still unsure. I have to admit, I am just not that knowledgeable about many of these systems everyone recommended, and the more I researched for these awesome systems, the steeper and steeper the price tag got.

Is it necessary to have intel i7 or will a quad core sytem do fine? Or will the quad core system be out of date soon? The intel i7 systems are about $400-$500 more.

I feel overwhelmed because for each desktop I check out there seems to be better and better options, but I'm not sure I need all those frills for what I want to do.

I am leaning towards a Dell. Their website allows for easy customization, however, has anyone bought their system off the website? I heard that if you need help or repairs it can be a real pain with Dell.

The ones I looked at meeting some of the criteria you guys recommended include:

Dell Studio 540 Desktop featuring Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q8200 with a 24" HD LCD Monitor selling for $1109.96 or

Dell Studio XPS 435 Desktop featuring Intel Core i7 920 Processor and 21.5 True HD LCD Monitor selling for $1749.98

I'm from Canada so these prices are off the BestBuy site here. Also a problem seems to be that they come with Windows Vista, so that's probably a no go.

Is it better to wait for a holiday or boxing day sale? I'm unsure what to do. Yikes!


BOTS, lol, that seems to be the tried, tested and true! If only that could be my final solution. Thanks for all the feedback so far everyone, I really appreciate it :)

Wow niro, that site you recommended looks great and it seems to really be specific to CAD and the other applications I need. I think I really need to look at this site further. Thanks for the link!

yes, xi only sell workstations and gaming machines.

Dell while overall not bad, they are more for the general public. their higher end stuff is probably just fine, but i did notice they often don't list the name or model of the parts they are using...just not very comfortable with that for a a higher price.

there are some other very high end ones as well, but cost a lot more than xi for many of the same component they put in. it all depends on how u want to invest in it.

i prefer to get better machines that last 3-5year min.
its probably a greener way to go about it.

don't forget dell's 'outlet'
scratch 'n dent, refurbished, and returned.
same warranty as new.

dell outlet workstations

Refer to this, should give you a very good idea of what you want.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/1306371.html

Also for easily customizable set ups you can check out:

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

They seem to be the most reasonably priced set up I've found this far, besides buying everything off Newegg and putting it together yourself.

Arri, nullassult and KHouchin, thanks for all these suggestions, they give me many more options then I first thought existed and for much better deals than just going to the nearest BestBuy or FutureShop to pick up a computer!

Do any of you have or know people who have had experience buying from these sites? I am always a little bit cautious about online purchases but especially for something expensive like a computer.

Again thanks for all these suggestions, they are super helpful!

i don't recommend delloutlet or refurbished mac mall stuff, since a few of my friends had problems with their system and all ended up returning them...

buying online is fairly safe from places that have a good service contract. online is almost always cheaper than buying retail. buying online usually covers return shipping labels for the 1st year so if there are any problems u just put it back in the box and ask UPS or FEDEX to pick it up and get it back within 3-5days. it is not so different than retail stores which can still take 3-5 days to repair. the comfort level is perhaps u knowing where the store is, but alot of big box retail send them out to their repair locations anyway.

i haven't had the need to buy stuff from cyberpowerpc, people i know seemed to have good experience with them...of course these are people who are fairly tech savvy so that always helps.

for starter u probably want to buy the extended warranty for 2-3 years just to be safe.

why don't u post some tech spec. of the system u built online to get some fee back?