Computer Recommendations for CAD?

"Ryan A." (rba)
09/12/2015 at 21:08 • Filed to: None

My younger brother is about to start a class where he’ll he working in AutoCAD. I’ve been tasked with helping pick out a computer, but I need help. I haven’t bought a computer with Windows for awhile; my usual suggestion is whichever Apple laptop fits the budget.

I don’t have a specific budget for this computer (which makes it hard to solicit advice), but the cheaper the better. Is $500 a reasonable budget? My brother hates technology so nothing fancy. Durability might be a good plus, considering he breaks everything he owns — especially tools from Harbor Freight.

DISCUSSION (16)

bob and john > Ryan A.
09/12/2015 at 21:11

thinkpad offic grade laptops. pricey, but by god do they last

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Ryan A.
09/12/2015 at 21:12

Just AutoCAD or Inventor/Solid Works?

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Ryan A.
09/12/2015 at 21:14

Holy shit, I used to have a Dell just like that one!

BReLp7dzHM3ytYsE > Ryan A.
09/12/2015 at 21:18

I can use Solidworks on my Macbook Air just fine. Run it on Parallels.

Nibby > Ryan A.
09/12/2015 at 21:31

Get him one of these... even with a RAM upgrade, larger SSD, and new battery should be well under $400.

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/8460p-17302799…

wkiernan > Ryan A.
09/12/2015 at 21:33

Got to be an Intel 64-bit processor, and the thing to not skimp on is lots and lots and lots of RAM.

Phyrxes once again has a wagon! > Ryan A.
09/12/2015 at 21:39

Unless he is doing some fancy stuff with AutoCad he doesn’t need anything too beastly. That being said is this a laptop vs buying the tower/monitor/keyboard/mouse or simply a laptop vs. tower purchase?

Ryan A. > Phyrxes once again has a wagon!
09/12/2015 at 22:07

I think he’ll be bringing it to and from school, so laptop.

Ryan A. > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
09/12/2015 at 22:09

Not sure. Is Solid Works 3d? I’m assuming that means more power?

Ryan A. > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
09/12/2015 at 22:12

I had an XPS 200s (like this ). I knew someone that had a computer just like the picture. It was maxed out and he had what I think was a 21” monitor at a very high resolution. It was such a good computer.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Ryan A.
09/12/2015 at 22:13

Solid Works and Inventor are both full 3D, if you find out what he’s going to be using, go to the publisher’s website and they’ll have the recommended specs

Frank Grimes > Ryan A.
09/12/2015 at 22:53

get one of these for super cheap

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi…

Add more rams and a cheap video card

like this for $40

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc…

and a cheapo hard drive.

Under $300 for the PC.

Also I had the exact computer in the photo. I painted it black and put a opel emblem on it. It worked ok but I threw it in the trash.

Phyrxes once again has a wagon! > Ryan A.
09/12/2015 at 22:54

I have Inventor installed on a 15” Dell XPS ultrabook (I5) that is a year or two old at this point. It runs okay but I think I would hate myself if that was my primary machine for Inventor due to the horrible integrated graphics.

michael bleggi > Ryan A.
09/13/2015 at 00:05

i brought a beautiful 15” macbook retina to engineering school and quickly realized my mistake... however, i downloaded windows 8.1 PRo for free (anyone can download it free from windows..) and it works flawlessly. i had a pc for a year or two but honestly plastic pcs tend to break in my hands.... I am a heavy user and tend to bring my laptop everywhere. My macbook lasted 7 years and worked until the day I upgraded until a 15” retina! i think macs are given the image of being overpriced for no reason... Name a pc in the same price point that is made out of a metal unibody and as well engineered as a macbook.

uofime-2 > Ryan A.
09/14/2015 at 11:45

Just for modeling a laptop with 8gb ram and decent discrete graphics will suffice

If he ends up doing long simulations (FEA/CFD) you’re going to want a desktop following a similar methodology because you need better thermal management than any laptop has.

I had several friends who did CFD on their laptops (nice laptops) and they all burned them out.

TylerLinner > Ryan A.
09/17/2015 at 18:08

Any gaming laptop should do just fine. I ran Autodesk Alias on a Qosmio all through college until it finally killed itself. We use powerful desktops at work, though. You could always find a decent used desktop.