lookin for a new pc

[edenbensal]

im looking for new pc for autocad and revit. im student for architecture and next year im gonna learn revit. right now im working only on autocad and im using my macbook air 2015 and my mac mini (i7 3720QM, 4GB ram, intel HD4000)

first off all i dont know if to buy a laptop or desktop. second i dont know if buying pc with nvidia quadro graphic card or geforce series?

thank for your help 

[Ilic.Andrej]

My boss bought new comps recently. The comp which i'm using now is fast like crazy....  If you want, I can take a look tomorrow and write you the spec. Its price is not above 1k eur...

Choosing graphic card depends on the type of rendering. There is CPU rendering and GPU rendering. CPU rendering demands processor and ram. GPU rendering demand something like quadro graphic card. 

Some render machines like "V-Ray LT" are GPU oriented, but many other (including basic V-ray, Mental Ray, default Revit renderer) are CPU oriented. In my humble opinion, it is much better to choose CPU rendering because you need a good processor anyway,  You will be spending money on that either way. The question is, will you be doing raster image processing anyway. You will use vector processing most of the time (or at least untill you learn to use Revit). So, don't be worried to much.

Visit BOXX . For these things, its a very good place to find some general info. Don't get scared when you see prices. For example, you can try to find much older Quadro card. It will fulfill what you need. Yeah, its not the newest, but hey, Quadro is still Quadro.... If some older model was one of the best cards for rendering 5 years ago, then I don't see a reason why it cant serve today. You can find a good quadro card for like 200 eur, you just need to dig....

[barthbradley]

If you happen to have an extra $1399.00: ASUS ROG GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB DDR5 

[Corsten.Au]

Check out this..

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit-products/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/S...

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit-products/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/S...

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/syscert?id=18844534&siteID=123112&

Cheers!

[edenbensal]

thank for your answer.

it will be nice if you can write me the spec of your pc in your work

[Ilic.Andrej]

@edenbensal,

Hard drive: Transcend SSD220 240GB (this is not our server though)
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7400 CPU @ 3.ooGHz 3.ooGHz
RAM: 16gb
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620

Basicly, be sure to by SDD hard drive and don't go bellow i5 processor. We have one machine here which has i7, but we don't see much difference between the two. Maybe this is because we re avoiding raster image processing. I'm sure i5 will be a good start for what you need.

As for graphics, I've noticed that very very old cards cause glitchy behavior in views. For example, if the geometry is very thin, you will see edges of other objects which are beneath it and very close to it (even though model display: wireframe is off). Anyway, even this junk that I have now doesn't cause these problems.

[cc4535]

REALLY, Autodesk system requirements. Sorry, but that is so fing funny Those requirements are so wrong it's not even funny. You go get a system with those requirements and see how long it takes to open up an average size project. See how long it takes to do anything other than drawing a line in a drafting view. I am sorry to sound like an a-hole but Autodesk simple needs to man up and tell the truth about what type of system people need to truly run their software so that people can actually work and not watch their pc think about what you want it to do.

[edenbensal]

so what is your suggestion? can you show me an example for good pc spec?

[cc4535]

Personally, I build my own so that I can have exactly what I want. If you give me a budget I will send you some specs. 

This is a good website to go when you really know what hardware you want. https://pcpartpicker.com/

But I usually stick with Dell for office/business PC's and customize them to what I want.

examples:

Budget PC = Intel I7-8700K CPU with GTX GPU ( GTX 1050Ti - 1080 Ti )  and 16 GB RAM and SSD with 2TB HD

Better PC = Intel I7-8700K CPU with Quadro GPU P2000 SSD with 2TB HD

Best PC = Xeon E7-8890 v4 with Quadro GP100 32GB RAM 1TB NVMe 

No need for Xeon unless you are doing High-End Rendering with MAX or Lumion for example

[ToanDN]

Below is what I am currently using and it is faring okay for working simultaneously on multiple medium sized projects plus whatever else keeping me from actually working (like posting here):

i7-7700 CPU @@ 4.2GH

64GB RAM

GeForce GTX-1060 6GB Video Memory

512GB SSD (not sure SATA or NVMe)

(3) 24" @ 1920x1200 Monitors

Logitech G602 Mouse

[dgorsman · Accepted solution]

The minimum specs are just that - minimum.  They'll work for basic learning projects, maybe not well for something more advanced but should suffice in a pinch.  The problem is what constitutes a "real world" project can be different between different companies, so what is considered mandatory at one place would be overkill for another.  For example, getting that GTX 1080 Ti GPU is waaay overkill for students.

For school projects that require a laptop, find a good low- to mid-range gaming model.  Since this is a Windows-only program, best to get a PC rather than a Mac as you'll be dual-booting anyways.  If you need to save money, or they require you to do some rendering on your own computer, get a desktop with similar specs.

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @edenbensal

Check this AU class on A Hardware Wonk's Guide to Specifying the Best BIM and 3D Workstations, 2017 Edition

Tips and Tricks on Mobile and Desktop Workstation Selection Plus New Technologies

If you find posts have solved your problem, please click on 'Accept as solution' to help others with similar questions. 

Thank you,

[barthbradley]

 IBM PS/2 Model 30

Act now, and I'll throw in a color dot-matrix printer for free. 

[Viveka_CD]

@barthbradley  isn't the IBM PS/2 older than 20+ years? 

[Anonymous]

this is the best post I have read here.  It feels like a gamble to buy a suitably spec'd computer for Revit.  I can only guess that the boffins at Autodesk don't really test the software in the way it is actually used.