Which Computer Tower?

I am looking to purchase a computer tower for Revit, Sketchup, and AutoCAD. I dont have any technical knowledge to construct a tower from scratch so I need something I can go to BestBuy or Amazon and buy it completely ready to go. I plan to plug the tower into an old TV monitor I have with an HDMI cable. Unfortunately, I really only have $1,500-$1,800 to buy it. What tower do you suggest?

If this is How you plan to make a living I suggest you find a way to raise your budget.

I agree it’s a low budget but I am a student working part time. That’s all I have and even that I only have because of tax returns. Im looking for a budget option to help me get through school and then I will upgrade it once I’m actually working.

If that is what you need, I would suggest finding the best computer for Revit that you can for that price. Revit is far more demanding than SketchUp…

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You can get a decent entry comp for 1500-1800, looking at the requirements, Revit seems to be the dimensioning factor.
And yeah, Ccaponigro is right, bigger budget would be better, but short of selling body parts, you’re a student with a student budget, you’ll find something.
Many of us have been there, and unless you’re in a country where it’s normal to start adult live super in debt, you’ll do with what you can get. Good point of a tower is that you can upgrade as you go (and as you make money), so you might start with 16Gb RAM and use first paycheck to go 32, or evolve your processor in a year. Start where you can, and grow, like a business.

Apparently, looking at medium specs for revit 2023 (link above) :
You’ll need a 4gb graphics card, no need for a super top high end 4090 of some kind, since you’re not talking about rendering. 16+gb ram, you can stay with DDR4, no need for DDR5 (it’ll cost a lot more and we’re on budget here)
Processor, it seems you’ll be ok with 2,5+ GHz, i5 might be cheaper than i7/9

I mean, I’m finding medium level compositions in your price range, on a french website I’ve used in the past. Not saying this IS the composition you should take, I’m not a PC expert. But yeah, there are PCs that’ll do the job in your price range.
There are also gaming laptops that fits the requirements and the budget. Granted, they’ll be less powerful than a tower, more noisy too, and harder to evolve (you’ll end up reselling it in a couple years), but then again, you have to start somewhere, and it has more mobility

You can also consider a second hand one, gamers tend to be obsessed by having the lastest most powerfulest gear, yet a 2-3 years old machine will still do the job.

For one thing, don’t buy a PC from Amazon. It’s a bit of a gamble. Best Buy (or MicroCenter, if you live near one) is good because you’ll actually get to see all the specs and there will be staff there to answer any questions you may have.

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well… I think we should first ask @vmorris5714 … where do you live ? (country)
Because we can’t exactly recommend a good supplier (online or brick&mortar) until we know where you are :slight_smile:

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Start here… Dell XPS

Hurry, it’s on sale.

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Hmm, almost, Revit 2023 requires 2,5 GHz or more, and this is 2,1

But yeah, this type of machines works, the rest is fine.

My 8th gen i7 runs Revit 2023 just fine, well fine for my needs. :wink:

Not bad. Another line that should be checked out are the so-called “gaming” series of desktops from vendors like MSI Codec, Asus, Lenovo Legion. Looking at what is offered in our parts, I think a passable machine could be found starting at $1200…1300.

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Oh yeah OP could go that low for sure. I just like to over spend to get a bit more. :wink:
Dell has served me great for years, I stopped using Lenovo a while ago. Personal choice

The clock will speed up as needed for the application. This CPU will run at 4.9 if needed.

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Same here with Dell over the past decade - I’m on my 3rd XPS tower.

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