Where to buy a computer?

[Derek69SS]

Looks like a few in here are in the biz... I want a home desktop to run AutoCAD and a few other business type programs on so I can make some side-money doing some freelance drafting.

The IT guy at my work tells me I should get an i7 processor, 24 to 32gb of RAM, an SSD hard drive, and Windows 11.

Any recommendations?

 

[68Chevele]

I buy my new computers at Costco. Have had very good luck with the HP's.

 

[Molly's 70]

Have you considered building your own?

 

[Nashville Cat]

Have you considered building your own?

The video card is the most expensive component and I don't think you need a super-gaming card to run auto-cad ?
I build my own and the cpu speeds have not increased much for several years.
The efficiency has improved, but that helps laptops, not desktops (which don't need to worry about energy use.)
An older I7 cpu with a lot of DDR4 ram could easily handle it. Maybe look on Facebook Marketplace ?

 

[Chevelle_Nut]

I would build it myself but I am a hardware IT person.

Try a local computer shop, they can custom build a box for you with the specs you need. Hardware is cheap, the OS and software will run up the bill. You will need a quality video card for rendering and a high resolution monitor.

 

[kmakar]

Bout as cheap as you'll get and keep some money in your pocket.......

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Optiplex-9010-Desktop-Computer/dp/B099LYRQL1/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=dell+refurbished+desktop&qid=1652988801&refinements=p_n_operating_system_browse-bin%3A23724787011%2Cp_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%2Cp_n_feature_twenty-three_browse-bin%3A13580788011%2Cp_n_feature_fourteen_browse-bin%3A2057441011%2Cp_n_feature_seven_browse-bin%3A18107824011&rnid=3012494011&s=pc&sprefix=dell+refurbished%2Caps%2C448&sr=1-2

 

[1971Chevelle]

The older Dells like linked above should work fine - the newer Dells suck. You could also find one with an AMD Ryzen 5 or 7 processor, as either one would do just fine.

 

[kmakar]

The older Dells like linked above should work fine - the newer Dells suck. You could also find one with an AMD Ryzen 5 or 7 processor, as either one would do just fine.

Newer Dells are way overpriced and the older Dells (higher end) were way more powerful than what was needed to run the software at the time.

I'm still running my Dell XPS 15" 9550 laptop I custom ordered in 2017 ($3,100) with a quad core i7, 32 gigs of ram, M2 sata 512 gig. I've replaced the battery twice and cleaned it out twice (needs it again), but she's still way faster than most out there now.

 

[overpaid]

As much as I hate apple I love my mac book pro. It has the new m1 chip which some programs are not compatible with yet so if you go that route be aware of that.

If you are in Florida ---- I recently bought an MSI gaming laptop becuase I do all kinds of nerdy computer shit. 32 GB, i9 etc. but I just cannot warm up to windows and I am actually selling it or trying to if you have any interest. I bought it for 2200 from best buy around January I think it was ( i have the receipt to prove it all ) I am looking to get 1600 for it. I have everything it came with, like I said I am just going to keep my mac book.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-gs76-17-3-fhd-360hz-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i9-nvidia-geforce-rtx-3070-1tb-ssd-32gb-memory/6466865.p?skuId=6466865