Need opinions on best computer for architecture

I don't know much about computers and I need to buy one for school. I am studying architecture and need a computer that will run smoothly with heavy programs such as Revit, AutoCAD, photoshop, 3d max and others. I am trying to compare two cpu's I was referred to and see which is better for me. My minimum requirements are: quad core, 2.6 GHz, 4 GB RAM, and a video card of 512 MB.
These are the two are comparing.
http://www.compusa.com/application [...] ompare.asp

Does CompUSA have good prices for this kind of thing?

I'm also looking for a large monitor to display my architectural projects and renderings.

I apologize ahead of time if I wrote something wrong in the terminology used. I appreciate any opinion.s! My budget is no more than $1500.

Another thing... I saw a computer package at Costco that looked good, should I take something like that into consideration???

Thanks

CAD programs are usualy very efficient in utilising available computer power, the more you put in your PC the faster they run. I am using ArchiCAD and it's performance scales well with faster CPU and more RAM, but it does not need a powerful graphic card. My wife works on Revit and from my observation it is the same case. Definitely focus on fast CPU and sufficent amount of RAM for your OS. You should check with software vendors what are optimal hardware requirements. What is the bulk of your work, plan creation or rendering/animation? Intel processors are faster in majority of rendering programs, but for your budget it may not be such an important factor. Some graphic cards may have issues with your programs, it may be just a case of using particular driver revision for chosen graphic card. You should not have any problems running your software on a hardware that you set out as required minimum. You may have some dilemmas when it comes to monitors.

^I think he meant having Dual LCDs,etc.

Any ways, like I said before you will need at least $1k for a decent OEM PC for CAD. For $1k you can build a PC 2x as fast for CAD work. Seriously.