Display full version of the post: Buying new PC- confused about requirements

tailwind
18.08.2007, 14:23
Hi folks!I am planning to build a new computer which should be able to run AutoCAD 2008. I had a quick glance at the system requirements on autodesk's homepage: [quote]The system requirements for 32-bit AutoCAD: 

Intel® Pentium® 4 processor, 2.2 GHz Recommended Microsoft® Windows Vista™, Windows® XP Home and Professional (SP2), Windows® 2000 (SP4) 512 MB RAM 750 MB free disk space for installation 1024x768 VGA with True Color Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 6.0 (SP1 or higher)Available on CD (Worldwide) and DVD (select countries and languages)

Additional System Requirements for 64-bit AutoCAD

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows Vista 64-bit AMD64 or Intel EM64T processor 1GB RAM, 2GB for Windows Vista 64-bit 750 MB free disk space for installation

AutoCAD 64-bit cannot be installed on a 32-bit Windows Operating System.

The System requirements for Windows Vista or 3D modeling (32 and 64-bit AutoCAD)

Intel® 3.0 GHz or greater 2 GB RAM or greater 2 GB free hard disk available not including installation 1280 x 1024 32-bit color video display adapter (True Color) 128 MB
or greater, OpenGL®, or Direct3D® capable workstation class graphics
card.  For Windows Vista, a Direct3D capable workstation class graphics card with 128 MB or greater is required.[/quote]Now I am a wee bit confused. Do I need 3.0 GHz or greater, or is 2.2 Ghz enough? Are the 3 gigs only required if I use Vista? Are only 2D functions available if I don't have more than 3.0 GHz? I haven't used AutoCAD before, always drawn by hand until now, but I thought that older AutoCAD versions also had 3D functions built in, and they don't have the stupendous 3 gig requirements....Anybody care to explain?

Vladimir Michl
24.08.2007, 22:10
It is not neccessary to take the recommended system specs verbatim - especially for the CPU clock rate. Official requirements are 2.2GHz, and 3GHz for 3D use or larger drawings in Vista. But any 2GHz PC will do.
All AutoCAD functions will run on any CPU.