need to run autocad please help

You might as well buy a whole new system; you are using ancient technology. As you may have read at Autodesk's website:

AutoCAD System Requirements

For 32-bit AutoCAD 2009:

Intel® Pentium® 4 processor or AMD Athlon®, 2.2 GHz or greater
or
Intel or AMD Dual Core processor, 1.6 GHz or greater
Microsoft® Windows Vista™, Windows® XP SP2 operating systems
For Microsoft Windows XP SP2:

1 GB RAM
750 MB free disk space for installation
1024x768 VGA with true color
Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 6.0 (SP1 or higher)
For Microsoft Windows Vista or 3D modeling:

Intel Pentium 4 processor or AMD Athlon, 3.0 GHz or greater
or
Intel or AMD Dual Core processor, 2.0 GHz or greater
2 GB RAM or greater
2 GB free hard disk available not including installation
1,280 x 1,024 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.
For 64-bit AutoCAD 2009:

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition or Windows Vista 64-bit
AMD® 64 or Intel EM64T processor
2 GB RAM
750 MB free disk space for installation
AutoCAD 64-bit cannot be installed on a 32-bit Windows operating system

And if i didnt want to buy a new system? what would i needto upgrade,and what to?


Thanks

Workstation Cards and Their Mainstream Gaming Equivalents

Some of these cards are only PCI-Express.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/FireGL-Quadro-Works...

You need Ram at least 1GB but 2GB would be much better. Start there and then look at replacing he GPU.

You need a new system in order to run a recent version of autoCAD. That is just a fact. If you are running release 14 and windows 98SE, then you are probably fine. If you want anything like 2000 or newer, then you need a new system. No discussion about that. You need a new system... Just in case this isn't clear, that computer will not upgrade enough to allow for a reasonable perfromance in AutoCAD.

So if i was to change everything, on a budget, what would you suggest?

The computer was built about 3/4 years ago and has served me well upto now, but its about time to open her up and give her a new lease of life.

I am wotking at a civil engineering company that works with AutoCad and LDD and 75% of the computers are running pentium 4's with 2GB of ram. The first thing I would do If I were you is upgrade your ram to at least 2GB.

Would upgrading to 2gb of ram and a 512mb graphics card not even get me by until i have finished college (studying autocad)

I dont want it to be 120% sweet as a nut, just to get my work done and get a few extra hours in here and there would be all i want it for.

If you change video card, you may need to upgrade your power supply also, depending on what you choose and what you have right now.

Imo, you'll need a new PC. Defenently a Dual Core at least, Quad is better. 4GB RAM is very helpful too.

Are you going to use AutoCAD for 3d or 2d drawing? If it's just for 2d, you'd be just fine with an older version like 2004. Still I'd suggest going for at least 1gig of ram and if possible a better GFX card

Your system specs exceed the minimum requirements for AutoCAD 2009, except for RAM:

Minimum requirement = Pentium 4 2.2GHz

OP's CPU = Pentium 4 2.5GHz

We need more information first. What version of AutoCAD? AutoCAD versions prior to 2006 support extremely basic graphics acceleration features, some or all of which are supported by practically all GPUs released in the past eight years. The most common barrier to using the graphics acceleration features in AutoCAD on any GPU released in the past eight years are the display drivers not being fully stable or compatible with AutoCAD's implementation, particularly with Radeon and GeForce consumer graphics products (which aren't intended for professional applications like this).

None of these acceleration features are deal-breakers for any version of AutoCAD up to 2005, since all features can be done in software mode. Its a performance issue only, nothing more. Starting with AutoCAD 2006, there are some additional components or features that require hardware acceleration, but again, its extremely basic and the most common barrier will be the consumer gaming focus of display drivers for Radeon or GeForce.

Radeon 7000/VE is probably a little too ancient for any 3D accelerated features in AutoCAD 2006 or later, but all the classic pre-2006 AutoCAD stuff should work fine. You may have better results using the latest ATI display drivers instead of the in-box Microsoft drivers you currently have installed. Below is the last and final ATI driver for pre-DX9 Radeon products:

ATI Catalyst 6.11 for XP/2000

If the Radeon 7000/VE doesn't work out, it won't be hard to improve on it without spending a lot. Even an old AGP card like GF4 Ti 4200 would be a substantial improvement.

The motherboard info provided by Belarc is next to useless. Install Everest Free Edition and look under motherboard details for a manufacturer and/or model name. Depending on how recent the latest BIOS is for the motherboard, compatibility with 1GB modules could be a little sketchy. A BIOS from 2004 is likely to have received little testing with 1GB modules, if at all. 512MB modules may be a safer bet, depending on what information we can find on your motherboard (such as a memory QVL).

^Seriously if you plan to use AutoCAD 09 for intense work (60+ parts per) you NEED a MUCH better PC than the one for minimum specs.

Seriously, we've already heard plenty from the "AutoCAD can't function without Quad Core, GTX280, and 4GB RAM" crowd. Now go play with the other children and let the adults talk.

^WTF? I use/used AutoCAD 09 at school and at home for my pet projects and my school recently upgraded to C2D PCs for the lab from old P4s and the difference is quite noticeable. I'm not saying you can't run it at all, what I am saying is if you really want to do intense work with out the lag then you need a better PC than the one the OP has. Following reasons:

1. DDR is dead.

2. You can have a much better PC for little as $400 from HP/Dell or build it yourself.

3.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=12311...

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As you see even Autodesk states PC will benefit with Dual/Quad core.

And the OP has repeatedly stated:

1. He cannot afford a new PC

2. He needs AutoCAD to function, period, not function at the performance level that is to the personal satisfaction of you or anyone else


IOW, he is not asking how good or bad AutoCAD might perform in your personal opinion. Repeatedly injecting your unwanted personal opinion does not make it any more wanted or helpful. Questions?

I see....

1. The OP dosen't need a full re-build, but rather a CPU, RAM, Motherboard, may be a case/GPU upgrade.

2. Well functioning and functioning are two different things I agree, but what's the point in hurting your self with lag? A new PC would usually enable OP to work faster and multi-task, thus improving work flow.

You "see" only what you want to see. The OP was asking this question in direct response to being given completely false information:

"You need a new system in order to run a recent version of autoCAD. That is just a fact. If you are running release 14 and windows 98SE, then you are probably fine. If you want anything like 2000 or newer, then you need a new system. No discussion about that. You need a new system..."

Only after being persuaded to believe the complete falsehood that AutoCAD will not function without a total system upgrade, does the OP reluctantly relent on his CLEAR desire to avoid extensive upgrades. Not because he is persuaded AutoCAD will perform better, but because he is persuaded AutoCAD will not run AT ALL without major upgrades, which is a complete fabrication.

Again, he is not asking anyone for their personal opinion of how "well" AutoCAD will perform on his system, or whether AutoCAD will perform on his system to your personal satisfaction. He clearly stated that performance was not his highest priority. In response, he got a bunch of bullsh-t that strongly persuaded him to believe that his system would not be capable of running AutoCAD at any level.

The point is that you don't get to decide what the f-cking questions are, you arrogant jackass. The OP gets to decide what the questions are, and none of the following were among his questions:

"Do you feel AutoCAD will perform to your personal liking on my computer?"

"Will I be satisfied with the performance of AutoCAD on my computer?"

"What upgrades do I need to make AutoCAD perform better?"

He is clearly asking what he needs to get AutoCAD to install and run on his computer - nothing more! There is nothing wrong with informing him that performance will be lacking. There is everything wrong with telling him complete falsehoods, or taking it upon yourself to decide what the question should be while summarily ignoring the OP's actual question.

Get it now?