Using old drive in new computer

Layback Bear said:

A $3000.00 CAD program will probable chew up all the laptop you can install it on.

You have not priced cad/cam recently I presume. Solid Works full with inventor is near $20k now, mine is considered an entry level program in todays world of cam. Even BobCad full is over $5k now. It was $2300 when I bought it 5 years ago.

If the requirement you advise above are minimum requirement for a W7 environment then why pray tell are machines of lesser quality sold by (supposed) manufacturers like Dell, Acer, Asus with less qualifications? Pre-planned obsolescence?
The machine I am running 7 on with all its shortcomings is a store bought package, and at the time with my limited knowledge of what i would need for future use seemed adequate.
As I said, I will take the requirement you advised in your first link to someone who can or will build a machine I can use, or shop some box store for something similar,,,, unless you are willing to build it.

Layback Bear said:

I do understand the cost of CAD programs, only because I Google do to curiosity.

That is the only reason I suggested to get as much computer as you can so what ever CAD program you got will work to its best.

I have no personal gain one way or the other what computer you use.

I just highly recommend doing a lot of research before buying a computer.

Please don't misinterpret my replies, I really do appreciate not only you but everyone who has chipped in on this, and I am sure there will be a consensus reached and something better done with my resources. You guys have no idea how much i have learned from this endeavor.

talking to a fellow here in Lexington who builds computers, at this point he says a Intel Core i5-4590 @ 3.30GHz rated at
7,251 by passmark is plenty for all I want to do, what is the opinion here, enough? Only a $200 cpu.
I did specify a min of 16G ram, and W7 - 64. Video he is using claims to be a 2g unit, but I have not seen the model number of what exactly he proposes yet.

Bob Myers said:

talking to a fellow here in Lexington who builds computers, at this point he says a Intel Core i5-4590 @ 3.30GHz rated at
7,251 by passmark is plenty for all I want to do, what is the opinion here, enough? Only a $200 cpu.
I did specify a min of 16G ram, and W7 - 64. Video he is using claims to be a 2g unit, but I have not seen the model number of what exactly he proposes yet.

What is your budget?

Have you made contact with any other machinists who use the same software you need to use? What PC components do they use? I'm guessing you know other people who use CAD/CAM.

You may or may not be able to benefit from an Intel i7, which would have hyperthreading. Some applications can take advantage of that and some can't. That would add maybe $100 to the cost.

There's a major difference between a PC that will "run" certain programs and one that will run them well. Night and day. You can install and run Windows on slow machines with less than 1 GB of RAM, but it's agony.

The 4590 is a strong processor, but there are stronger ones available if you need even more strength. Do you? The 4590 was introduced within the last year or so, so you are in the ballpark with it.

If you need more than 16 GB of RAM, now or in the future, you have to go with Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate.