The currency I would be using would be pounds £. Considering I know how to build a home computer for myself and what parts are needed for myself, and I have done it before. I just don't know what standards are used for architects nowadays and when I asked the teacher for help, he just said "go find out on forums, websites etc" which wasn't much help. I figured some of the things I needed for the computer, guessing mainly for the base things. But I need what type of software a architect who doesn't work for a big industry, preferably it has to be bought somewhere in the UK or sites which have a UK currency. Much appreciated, I understand that I may not be bothering myself or anything, but I am, I just need guidance. Also the computer needs to be built from scratch with off the shelf parts, not one already done. Although the one posted, may give some guidance.

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I am in the US. I thought you were speaking of pounds. So we are talking about around $3500 US dollars. Do you think this may be more about identifying what types of hardware and software would be needed? For instance many users of Autocad use input tablets which augment the mouse and keyboard. However, I have never used one because I use different CAD software that doesn't require it. Same goes for things like plotters or large format printers. One of these items can exceed your entire budget too. In order to use more than 4GB of RAM with Autocad you would need to buy a 64 bit operating system. Like Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit. I think you need to forget about Autocad and outfit the hardware and OS and then see how much cash is left for software. Should have an office suite included too. Could use an open source or a corel product instead of MSoft Office. There is a user here named jam that would be ideal to give you good suggestions on the basic hardware, giving the most bang for the pound. I will send jam a PM and ask him to check ou this thread.

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I'm not an architect and only use CAD for pretty basic site plans. But, Cadvance 6.5 is free and even works on Win 3.1. http://www.cadvance.com/65form.htm Another affordable choice from this vendor is v 7.2 for $95US; a 2 volume set of manuals is an extra $50US. Skip

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hi some more info adding to skip & O'thill i appreciate its a self build question use it as a base spec. the question may not mention a OS or design application but i would go with the 'auto'cad industry standard , definatly mention the others + eg Pro/Engineer Wildfire & look at freebie versions skips link. CAD progs 'freebie' or 'civil 3d' etc may require different spec pcs your answer may require why you chose that spec of pc, compare & contrast as they say. see link Include monitors in the discussion 19+ inch & cost,& resolution spec. Input devices as prev mentioned. HDD size cad files can be 200 meg a piece dependant on the design application. http://www.cadtutor.net/faq/questio... Why not add up the parts for the 'ebuyer pc' on other web vendors, ask how much do architects charge for their services. may give a clue on the spend. have a read up on the nvidia quadro range of graphic cards which have been mainstream for a long time in cad. £2000 buys alot of pc power these days so plenty to work with.

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Thank you, I will try and look up all suggestions given ad see where this leads me. I will then post up my results, in the mean time, does anyone else have any suggestions?

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As OtheHill pointed out, CAD software can be extremely expensive. We use Bentley Microstation where I work but it would eat your entire budget. And I know we've run into some compatibility issues with other software programs such as AutoCAD. I think you need some clarification from your teacher. Here's a listing of some of the more mainstream CAD programs but if you can get away with the one Skip suggested above, you'd be able to go all out on the hardware: http://www.caddprimer.com/cad_softw... In the original post you wrote "i've never built a computer before" but in response #7 you wrote "I know how to build a home computer for myself and what parts are needed for myself, and I have done it before". There's really not much difference. You don't necessarily need a Xeon CPU or even a QUADRO video card, but since this is just a "virtual" machine, you may as well try to get the best hardware available. But I think the 1st thing you need to do is get the software issue straightened out. "If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions" - Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) in Pulp Fiction

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Maybe that is the point of the project, you have to research all the parts and price them out and the eventual outcome will be that it can not be done for £2000, so you offer an alternative solutions one that will be budget option that would be within the £2000 mark (and list its limitations) and your preferred solution at what ever cost it comes out at. Tim

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xendistar You make a good point. However, it is possible to supply the computer once more parameters are established. For instance as I mentioned above are printers or plotters needed? How about multiple display, which are common when using Autocad as the program is designed with that in mind. If designing houses only a fraction of the gear and software are required. falad I would suggest you select hardware based on a good gaming computer and spec 4GB of RAM but use Vista Ultimate 64. Most architects I know like ball mice, for some reason. Autocad can use keyboard commands more effiecently than using the mouse so get a nice full fledged keyboard. I would say no less than a 22" LCD. Install everything in a full tower with TWO SATA II drives. Get a MBoard with RAID 1 capability. Add that up and then if you have money left for CAD software you can post back. I wouldn't worry about large format printers, plotters or input tablets. I would research these items and add them to the sheet as options. Sams could be done for CAD software and an Office suite.

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