# Autodesk Inventor Specs?



## cows go moo 4 u (Jan 28, 2006)

Hi guys. Not sure if this is the right forum or not, but it's a start. I am a High School Sophomore currently enrolled in the second course of the Project Lead the Way pre-engineering program. We are offered a student version of the Inventor software we use at school to download to our home computers. I am looking to purchase a computer that can fully run Inventor and accomplish other tasks as well (gaming). The specs for inventor are located at this link: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=8410923 
I have looked into many computers from different companies such as HP and Dell, but have found none that exactly meet the specifications. I need to know whether I can buy a computer that has a faster processor than the ones listed, such as an Intel Core 2 Duo or similar. I am not very computer-smart, so please just bear with me. I realize that this is probably a simple question, I am just not sure. Thanks for any help! (I really need to know by Thursday, as that is when we may go get a computer!)


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## Inactive (Apr 11, 2005)

since you have gaming in mind then a gaming pc will be good enough (RAM, CPU, etcetera). the single issue about pc's today is the graphics card. workstation cards are very expensive and unless you are going to be creating up end latest 3d models using nurbs and or animation with all effects possible then i think they are a waste of money.
compared to gaming cards which are ¼ the price but every bit as fast. the only thing about gaming cards is that they might not have dedicated drivers for some software. i previously have bought 2 workstation cards, but my last purchase was a gaming card. i found the gaming card as capable as the workstation cards.


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## cows go moo 4 u (Jan 28, 2006)

I don't really want to spend over $500 on a computer, as I will probably want to replace it in a few years anyway, or I may leave it behind when I go to college. I don't believe the student version of inventor needs a workstation card, as most students aren't going to have a computer meant to run that knid of program. The problem is, I cant access the system on the computers at school, so I don't know what the specs on everything are...

My main concern is that I can run inventor and MS word. Other than that, I can deal with not having games on it.


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## Inactive (Apr 11, 2005)

i cannot speak from experience about inventor, but the last card i bought was an x800rx which supports directx9c and openGL 2.0. a gaming card purely and yet i run autocad and 3ds max comfortably in openGL mode. i use duel monitor setup and price wise i got value for money with this card.
i'd guess you would be safe with any modern gaming card. post the spec's if you have them of the pc's you were thinking of buying.


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## cows go moo 4 u (Jan 28, 2006)

I actually have a spreadsheet of different ones. We have a local re-sale company that gets new computers, sometimes fine, sometimes with slight damage, etc., and sells them at auctions. They sell $600 computers there for whatever they can get, usuallyno more than $300... I made a spreadsheet of models so I know the value of most computers that can run Inventor. (I'm not sure how to post it though!) I have been mainly looking at the HP and dell computers, from dell the Inspiron 518 (quad core) and 530, from HP the a6500t and a6560t.

Also, whats the principal on dual core processors? Do I multpily the GHZ by the number of cores or what? Im not sure if a dual core 1.6 ghz would run inventor, as it requires 2ghz...


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## Inactive (Apr 11, 2005)

if you look at the bottom of the spec's page from autodesk, you can see they ½ some of the minimum requirements for students use. but to be honest a pc with less than 1GB RAM is not going to go far and i'd recommend 2GB if you can get it. HD space or speed is not an issue for modern HDs.

as for the CPU, a dual core can work twice as fast - only if the software requesting CPU time can issue instructions to utilise both cores. otherwise it'll run at the specified speed. to be safe aim for a 2GHz CPU, dual core or otherwise.

my personal choice has always been AMD & ATI over Intel & nvidia. AMD has always meant to work better with 3d applications and i prefer the drivers that come with ATI. experts will tell you that intel and nvidia are the faster, but only on bench mark testing does it measure up. you shouldn't really notice a difference.

i'm currently using an AMD 3.2GHz, 2GB RAM and a ATI X800RX PCI video card. i would build 3d models using autocad and 3ds max.


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