New PC Specs.

The Dell Precision work stations are about as good as it gets. Add the NVIDIA video card and you will have a champ.
Team it up with their 24" monitor with the USB ports built in and add a 15 in 1 card reader for your SD cards or whatever your data collector uses.
Not really sure about the Fire Wire hook up? I have the ports, but never had anything to use them on.

more Ram, lots more Ram
get a second hard drive, as big or bigger than the primary, for backup of all data on primary.

Make sure you wind up with 2 monitors. I not jokiing!

> Do you have any suggestion on memory and the video card.
Not specifically, just make sure has the maximum available amount of memory of its own, separate from system RAM. Typically 2 Gb.

:good:
Graphics card with dual monitor capability is a must.

How much RAM do you suggest?

All of our project data is on a server and is backed up daily on a tape drive.

The hard drive is 500GB, which I have heard is common.

> How much RAM do you suggest?
>
> All of our project data is on a server and is backed up daily on a tape drive.
>
> The hard drive is 500GB, which I have heard is common.

RAM and Hard drives are Cheap.

I use 16GB RAM on my laptop, I consider that a minimum. seldom do I have a performance lag. I would install more but my 2 year old laptop only supports 16.

Windows likes RAM, lots of it. The more the better. data read/write from the hard drive is slow compared to working from RAM.

I also have dual 750 drives on it as I do with my old backup laptop.

===
I just went to the Dell website and checked out the configure options for an up-scale T3600.
They charge an Insane price for more ram, so I would take delivery as is, buy name brand RAM chips elsewhere (amazon is easy) and install myself.

They do show reasonable prices for secondary hard drives, get one!
Yes, those little drives are common, but it limits you greatly. A 1TB drive is cost effective.
I assume you will using CAD. Those files are big and read/write from the server is slow compared to working locally. Automatic data backup (15-30 minutes is reasonable) to the secondary drive assures that when Windows crashes you will not have to start over on your days work. You can also clone your Windows configuration on it... and you can also keep a copy of important stuff there and not depend on your server. Servers crash and have data loss too!
Tape drives are really old tech... not reliable in my book.

Your time (and data) is worth way more than the hardware.

PS: Dell. the prices do not look impressive, and they do not specify brand names on the hardware. you can probably get more bang for the buck with a local shop custom build and have known high quality hardware.
PPS: it has been a while, but a past employer went all Dell. Two new machines, ordered same day, same specs, but many of the components were not the same inside the box! One had different compatibility issues than the other. The on call Tech Support guy practically live in our office.

Your time (and data) is worth way more than the hardware.

Get a Graphics Card that supports dual monitors wiht max memory.
Put the maximum memory in the PC. If required do it through Dell or have the local IT guy upgrade the RAM.
Get DUAL HIGH RESOULTION 24" Monitors!

> Get a Graphics Card that supports dual monitors wiht max memory.
> Put the maximum memory in the PC. If required do it through Dell or have the local IT guy upgrade the RAM.
> Get DUAL HIGH RESOULTION 24" Monitors!

:good:

or bigger!

It looks like this system easily beats AutoCAD Map3D 2014 specifications. On the video card, make sure it supports OpenGL 2.0 or higher. Although it's for ArcGIS's 3D Analyst extension, there's a topic that discusses video cards here and goes into more detail on options.

Melita

> I assume you will using CAD. Those files are big and read/write from the server is slow compared to working locally. Automatic data backup (15-30 minutes is reasonable) to the secondary drive assures that when Windows crashes you will not have to start over on your days work. You can also clone your Windows configuration on it... and you can also keep a copy of important stuff there and not depend on your server. Servers crash and have data loss too!
> Tape drives are really old tech... not reliable in my book.
>

I would kill my guys if they started storing files locally on their hard drive. A single PC is not better than a real server. Trust me on this. When you have about 25 techs and RPLS's working at one time, local files would be a nightmare.

I am inclined to think that way

The main drive is for operating system and programs

The secondary drive is for temporary storage and downloads of incoming files. They load faster from other devices and as downloads from the internet.

Then the files are transferred from the secondary drive to their appropriate drive and file for storage.

The new operating systems and webpages require more operating ram and graphics ram than ever before 16gb minimum. For Windows 7 and up the DDR3 memory is cheap online for name brand.

Get the name of the motherboard and check online what is recommended for best results.

I like MSI boards and graphic cards, they are like Dell units on steroids.

0.02

16gb ram min, check the specs on the MB to see if it works, go for 32 if it works (why not, right?)
primary drive should be SSD, secondary can be that 500gb 'standard' but they come in TBs cheap enough
NVIDIA, min 2gb

i don't care about 2 monitors
i run one 40" HDTV, but i have not been able to use the HDMI with any success, so have a VGA jack. HDMI tends to output something a bit off, so all the 90's are not square.