We recommend going with the NVIDIA Quadro series to ensure that you will be able to get full support from Autodesk if you ever have a software issue. The application vendors will only offer support if you have hardware that has been certified by them. Autodesk and Avid) test the functionality and performance of their applications with specific hardware (usually designated for professionals), then certify those specific series' or models. NVIDIA offers the GeForce series graphics cards for consumers and the Quadro series graphics cards for professionals.

You can opt for a Xeon if you prefer to stick with enterprise-class components developed for 24/7 operation and intensive workloads. Since the clock speed impacts AutoCAD performance, a Core series CPU is perfectly fine. the Core i7-10700K) have the highest clock speeds, while the Xeon models maximize the number of cores. Core-series processors, especially with the 'K' designation (e.g. Today, however, there is little functional difference between the two Intel product families for workstations. In the past, Xeon CPUs were more powerful than their Core-series counterparts. Intel offers the Core i5/i7/i9 processors as the consumer series and the Xeon processors as the professional series. The CPU will function between 3.8GHz and 4.6GHz depending on the number of processing cores utilized. If the system is utilizing 1 core, the CPU will function at the 4.6GHz turbo. If the system tasks are utilizing all 6 cores, the CPU will function at 3.8GHz. An example is a CPU model with 6 processing cores with a 3.8GHz base frequency and a 4.6GHz turbo frequency. Processors have base and turbo clock speeds.

If you will be multi-tasking with a variety of applications, go with a 6- or 8-core processor. Since Windows operating system also utilizes a couple cores, we recommend a 4 core processor. Thus, a CPU with less cores, but high operating frequency (clock speed) will offer the best overall performance.

2D design and 3D modeling within the AutoCAD software are single-threaded (frequency bound) tasks, meaning they rely primarily on a single processor core. Selecting the number of processing cores and frequency in your AutoCAD workstation is critical.

Autodesk recap 360 free