Need new PC, Basic Requirements?? Brand??

[Joey68tc]

My home pc is 10yrs old, time for new.  What are the basic needs pc wise??  I do some complex parts, only basic assemblies, but do FEA at times.   I am certainly not a pc expert!!!   Do want to continue with a laptop. 

Recommended brands??  (Autodesk may not appreciate me asking this but....)  I use Geek Squad for any assistance.   Thnx

TP in VA

[akash.nawghare]

Hi Joey,

Good time to upgrade — a 10-year-old PC will struggle with today’s Fusion, especially FEA.

For complex parts, basic assemblies, and occasional simulation on a laptop, aim for this (not just minimum specs):

Component	Recommendation
OS	Windows 11 64-bit
CPU	Intel Core i7/i9 or AMD Ryzen 7/9 — 8+ cores (helps FEA)
RAM	32 GB (16 GB minimum; 32 GB much better for simulation)
Storage	1 TB NVMe SSD
GPU	Dedicated NVIDIA RTX 4060+ (4 GB+ VRAM)
Screen	15–16", 1920×1080 or higher

Laptop tip: Prefer a mobile workstation or strong creator/gaming 15–16" laptop — not a thin ultrabook with integrated graphics only. FEA needs CPU + RAM; complex modeling also benefits from a dedicated GPU.

Brands that work well: Dell Precision, Lenovo ThinkPad P, HP ZBook — or RTX-equipped creator/gaming laptops if budget is tighter. Geek Squad can support any of these; specs matter more than brand.

Tell Geek Squad: “Windows 11, 32 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 8-core i7/Ryzen 7, NVIDIA RTX 4060 or better, 15–16 inch.”

Official reference: Fusion system requirements

Rough budget: ~$1,500–$2,200 for a solid 5+ year machine for your workflow.

If you share your budget and whether you prefer lighter vs maximum performance, we can narrow it further.

Best,
Autodesk Fusion Community

[Drewpan]

Hi,

To be honest, any good gaming spec machine without the bells and whistles will do.

CAD will always be Processing, Memory and Graphics. Core i5/i7 or Ryzen 5/7 with

multi-cores (at least 8). No less than 32GB RAM, 64GB better. Any NVidia 5000 series

video card with at least 8-12GB RAM, a 5060 is more than adequate. Any equivalent

video card, not sure what is equivalent to 5060. I have seen machines that have these

specs for well under $2000. You don't need pretty coloured Keyboard, Rodent, RAM or

fancy case for CAD.

I WOULD however lash out on a good monitor. I have found screen real estate makes

my life so much easier. Forget fancy curved gaming rubbish and look for resolution

over speed. As in 4k is better than 2k but <5ms resolution. I personally use a Dell U4320Q

which is a 42 inch 4k monitor. It sells as an LG monitor and Apple also use the same

panel. This monitor is more than good enough for CAD but has the advantage that I can

run fusion in a largish window and still have notes, browsers or other things easily

accessible and visible while I am working. This monitor is about AUD$800 so it is not

that expensive. Buy a $20 keyboard and mouse instead of the Gaming ones and the

economics work out the same.

Also check out the recommended AutoDesk System requirements for Fusion.

Cheers

Andrew

[matthewZYM62]

I would second the recommendation that you want dedicated rather than integrated graphics, but I don't think you necessarily need a 4060 or better. In my experience on a recent Dell desktop, Intel integrated UHD Graphics 770 was terrible, and NVIDIA RTX 3050 6GB is good. On a different PC I still have NVIDIA GTX 960 2GB and that seems fine too.

[loveforcircuits]

What's your budget?