Computer Recommendations?

Once we get settled into the house, I am thinking about upgrading my rig to run more engineering-oriented programs. I currently have a Dell Inspiron 1200 dinosaur from 2004 that has been had its onboard 256k of ram expanded with a 1g stick. It is decent for browsing, but using it for EVERYTHING I run has slowed it down to the point that its almost useless. Thinking about dumping it and using it is for datalogging and internet browsing. Tried loading a SolidWorks design from work the other day and it literally took an hour to render. Not good.

We bought an HP back in 2008 that my wife somehow crashed, and I spent about an hour a week for 6 months with HP Support trying to diagnose, and when they finally pinpointed it to the motherboard being faulty, the warranty had expired and they wanted $500 to replace. So I tossed it in the closet and forgot about it.

Now that I am moving, I was cleaning out the closet and found it in the back, collecting dust. Debating between taking it somewhere and repairing it, or just getting another. It has 3 gigs of ram, expandable to 16g, has a 400g hard drive, DVD writer, etc. The only downside is that in replacing the motherboard, if I upgrade I will then have to buy a different video and graphics card, since they are integrated into the board.

If looking to get a replacement, what should I look for in today's technology? Been out of the loop a while, so I don't know the big things.

I need to be able to run SolidWorks, so atleast 4g of ram. 8g would be nice, but I can expand that later. What processor, etc.?

Anyone got anything they have sitting around that they would sell? I already have mouse, keyboard, an an LCD monitor, though a second monitor wouldn't be bad.

I was building one for myself until work decided to buy it for me. But basically I had speced out a monster for under $850 at NewEgg.com. Keep in mind this does not include monitors etc.... I have a 30 inch and a 24inch monitors along with a box, fans, etc. This was only the guts. My main reason for building it was for video editing and creation. Editing software and auto-cad like programs are memory hogs to say the least.

-6x's 4gb SDRAM DDR3 (24 gb total)

-WD 1TB SATA HD

- GeForce 1GB video card

- I7 2600k 3.4 Ghz Processor

- GIGABYTE Motherboard

-Sony Blue ray Burner

BMMC1 wrote:

-6x's 4gb SDRAM DDR3 (24 gb total)

holy lots of memory! didnt know there were motherboards that supported that much

I still like my mac. Plus by being able to run both operating systems at once, it really gives you two computers in one and a butt load of software. You will spend more for the mac, but from experience, the mac has been one of the best computers I have ever owned. They are simple to use, the store is friendly and helpful if you have questions, the user interface is intuitive.

Mac's really are designed to run CAD type programs and they do it well. If you dont mind spending a little extra coin, I think you would be very happy with it.

medrick wrote:

BMMC1 wrote:

-6x's 4gb SDRAM DDR3 (24 gb total)

holy lots of memory! didnt know there were motherboards that supported that much

I remember when 1gb was the end all be all....

My laptop was $900 when I first bought it with 256k...

Jerry, my wife already has a Macbook PRO, and after spending $1300 on it, I don't want to spend that much on another. I am over the laptop stage, have one for work already, and I have been a fan of Dell for a while.

My company uses SolidWorks, and since that's what I know, I'd like to stick with it. Don't know that I want to have to use bootcamp and Windows XP to be able to run it on a Mac.

03.sonicblue wrote:I still like my mac. Plus by being able to run both operating systems at once, it really gives you two computers in one and a butt load of software. You will spend more for the mac, but from experience, the mac has been one of the best computers I have ever owned. They are simple to use, the store is friendly and helpful if you have questions, the user interface is intuitive.

Mac's really are designed to run CAD type programs and they do it well. If you dont mind spending a little extra coin, I think you would be very happy with it.

Macs use to be the machines to beat. However, with win7 (64bit) and the new generation of processors, that's not the case anymore. I can build a machine that will blow away anything the mac has and for 1/2 the price.

Don't get me wrong, I love macs... But PCs have caught up. Same can be said of iPhone vs Droid. The 4gs didn't raise the bar. It just caught up. And with the ice-cream sandwich coming out soon, the iPhone will once again be behind. With Jobs gone and not driving the innovation, I do worry about Apple. Hopefully he put the right people in the right places.

In any case, I remain platform agnostic.

If you're working from home... have your company buy you a machine.

They bought me a laptop. I want a desktop for personal fun.

+1 to Newegg.com. Spec it out, and if the cost is reasonable but you don't want to assemble it, take the parts to Aktek Computers and pay them to do it.