I remember that and I remember saying the same thing about video cards back then. 
<3
Iāve been running AutoCAD 2000i on my systems for the better part of 7-8 years. Never had much of an issue with speed or performance until recently. Going to try Gusās disable / boot sequence to see if it has an effect. Also, my wife and I share the computer and have separate userās setup. If she doesnāt close out of her programs on her screen I would assume that would slow things up as well? I will probably be looking if thereās an emachine setup that comes close to all your base recommendations. I guess if the included video card doesnāt seem up to the task, Iāll consider upgrading. Iāll do some searching and post some possibilities and you can all spin your ābeanieā caps and let me know how wrong I am. Thanks again.
---------- Post added at 07:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:08 PM ----------
With my limited abilities this is what I came up with on a brief search. Whatdya think? I hate when I donāt know about things.
Reinstall windows and everything will run good as new.
exactly. start over first and see what you get, since youāll have to do it anyways with a new computer.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.681890
Do yourself a favor and get that, hex core cpu (6 cores as apposed to 2 or 4 cores) 4gb of ddr3 memory, a 1.5tb hdd (its a green its more of a data drive but it should work fine for what you wanna use it for). everyone is saying just wipe the machine and start fresh, i would like to point out that you shouldnāt do that if you havenāt backed up your data and or donāt have the install cds for your programs autocad 2000i, microsoft office, etc. This looks like the system requirements for AutoCAD 2000i:
AutoCAD 2000i (not supported by Design Master)
Autodesk ended support for AutoCAD 2000i in January of 2005
Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows NT 4.0, or Windows 98
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
Pentium III or later or compatible
64 MB RAM
300 MB free disk space
1024 x 768 VGA with true color
Mouse, trackball, or compatible pointing device
Looks like the computer you have would run autocad 2000i just fine, from what im understanding is that the computer is āslowing downā due to alot of programs open, therefore why the memory should be upgraded, also it doesnāt help that you have vista. windows 7 does a good job controlling memory usage, with the programs you wanna run. you probably have ddr2 memory in that emachines, and ddr3 is newer memory and is a little more zipper then ddr2 (memory is specific to a certain machine, you canāt put ddr3 memory in a ddr2 machine and vice versa) in most cases when im building a computer or upgrading i like to max out the memory or use at least 8gigs where possible, 4gigs is the sweet spot for windows 7.
You may have never had an issue with speedā¦
However if you happen to upgrade your computer you might notice significant performance increases.
Did anyone suggest running malwarebytes? maybe you got some malware doing something evil in the background.
good point i always forget about that, but always install it when i work on a computer
Looks like this will fill the bill and leave me enough money left over for the nitrous kit Iām buying to bitch slap Josh at the track next season. I donāt doubt Autodesk is not supporting my AutoCAD. Itās so old the CD storage case is made out of stone. I got it years ago and have had no need to upgrade it since. Half my day I have a hammer in my hand and the other half a keyboard so Iāll keep going with what I have. I tried the disable and re-boot trick Gus mentioned and so far it crashed within the first two minutes after re-boot but seems OK after that, for now. Memory usage seems to have dropped to an average 60 %, which is probably still high. I back up my important data to and external hard drive whenever I remember, which probably isnāt often enough. (that reminds me) I appreciate all the info. and suggestions. Will update if anything changes.
Seems to be running a little better. My memory usage doesnāt jump much over 60 % and no high disk usage warnings from Norton yet. Will keep and eye on things and may consider updating soon anyway to avoid catastrophic failure. Thanks for the help. Next tower is gonna have twin turbos. Those give you the speed ya need!
make sure you back up everything while the getting is still good!!!
As we type
lol me too
Ok, my turn. My parents said they will give me $500 towards a new computer for christmas. My step mom gets deals through her job on dells, for $780 I can get this:
With these options:
NvidiaĀ® GeforceĀ® GT530 [Included in Price]
AMD Radeonā¢ HD 6670 1GB DDR5 [Free!]
Single 1GB GDDR5 NVIDIAĀ® GeForceĀ® GTS 450 [add $39.20]
AMD Radeonā¢ HD 6770 [add $78.40]
NvidiaĀ® GeForceĀ® GTX560Ti with 1.25GB Memory [add $225.40]
Single AMD Radeonā¢ HD 6870 [add $274.40]
Is that a good deal or should I get them to agree to a build-a-computer through newegg or something.
I want a desktop, donāt need windows/office/accessories. Must be super fast and all that jazz. 3d modeling, large dual monitors, etc.
lol i can do better with finding parts on newegg
You can build cheaper and get whatever components you want. For most people itās probably just worth the money to do a brand name like Dell. You get support, you know they did through testing for compatibility and you donāt need to build anything and spend time. Iād suggest to just go with a brand name.
I donāt need the support nor care for the brand name. I would enjoy putting it together but I just missed most of the technological boat so I have no idea what is the best component per $ to pick and what parts will plug in/work with other parts. I even have a case w/ dvd drive and power supply, although I imagine Iād need a different psu.
Did you want someone to pick one of the options for you? Because youāre not getting all of themā¦
What are your goals with the PC?
Depends on the GPU and other components. Modular PSUs are the way to go. Iād highly suggest a Full Tower case when building. I got a Mid-Tower case (Antec 900) and stuff just became too cramped. Also, the Mid-Tower cases donāt handle the larger Graphics cards very well. Iād wait to bump it up to $1000+ and get some more horsepower.
E-machines are disposable buy a new computer.