gayathri

but i dont want to spend a ton of money, basically because the courses themselves are enough money at the moment.

Goal: take a few autocad classes and get a certificate

So the requirements to run AutoCad LT (or even the more advanced versions of Autocad) on a PC are:

Recommended System Requirements
* Intel® Pentium® 4 processor, 2.2 MHz
* Microsoft® Windows® Vista™, Windows XP Professional or Home Edition (SP2), Windows 2000 (SP4)
* 512 MB RAM
* 550 MB free disk space for Installation
* 1024x768 with VGA display with true color (at least 256 K ram, not onboard)
* Mouse, trackball, or compatible pointing device
* Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6.0 (SP1 or higher)
* CD-ROM drive

Eventually, I'd like to be able to do 3D Autocad, and THOSE requirements are:

The System requirements for Windows Vista or 3D modeling (32 and 64-bit AutoCAD)

* Intel® 3.0 GHz or greater
* 2 GB RAM or greater
* 2 GB free hard disk available not including installation
* 1280 x 1024 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.

Now, I dont need to purchase something that runs the 3D modeling set right now, but if I could get something I could upgrade to that, it would be great.

So taking a look, it seems like I need a PC running:

* Intel 3.0 GHz or greater (would dual processor be ok?)
* 1 GB RAM expandable to 2 or greater
* Big harddrive (80 gig? 160 gig?)
* 1280 x 1024 32-bit color video display adapter (True Color) 128 MB or greater, OpenGL®, or Direct3D® capable workstation class graphics card.
* Mouse, trackball, or compatible pointing device
* Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6.0 (SP1 or higher)
* CD-ROM drive

Can I get this as a laptop? Does it make sense maybe to get a laptop with the first requirements that can be expanded? (Do Laptops allow you to replace the Pentium chips with faster ones? or does it make sense to get it with the faster one to start out and just ugrade the memory as needed?)

The cost differential is likely what will stop me. I can afford at the moment about 500$ for a new laptop at the moment.

Any advice?