3DS Max for Architecture?
821571
well Max  is a very good software and it has lot of tools to help u do ur architectural work.\n- starting from importing 2d DWG files then extruding these lines to get walls but don't forget to setup ur units first in both acad and max ( i won't tell every detail of course this would take pages and hours to tell so u have to do some search in the help files on your CD if u didn't already set it up on your hard drive)\n- you can open windows and doors using booleen \n- or you can draw from scratch in max using lines and rectangles ect. then extrude it OR draw elevations for every wall specially when it has windows and doors if not u can use boxes and cylnders for columns and maybe tubes for arcs walls.\n- my own very best way for closed walls is drawing a single line for the wall then insted of making an offset to give it thikness i'd extrude the height then apply Shell modifier to make the thikness.\n- so Think like u are using cad but with different tools use lot of  Help search and you'll find all that u need.\n- for materials and maping, as a start try to use materials from the library till u get to edit your own material. and for the texture size ( starting from max 7.5 ) you have an option in the material editor in the bitmap "use real world units" this will make the texture file u r using fit in the units you specify.say like a tile 50 x 50 ( and again make sure u and ur whole team you all use the same appropriate system units ) so u can exchange objects and scenes easily.\n- lights ? u can find lot of tutorials for lights and materials too on the net start searching at http://www.3dvalley.com or http://www.3dtotal.com\n- furniture !! buy models :o)\ngood luck
224587
If you want only 2D, you do not need any library: GDI functions such as LineTo, Polyline, FloodFill, etc. will be enough. For more complex tasks, use OpenGL: it is powerful 3D library.
381294
System Requirements\n\nHardware\n\nIntel® Pentium® III or AMD® processor, 500 MHz or higher (dual Intel)\n\nXeon® or dual AMD Athlon®or Opteron® 32-bit system recommended)\n\n512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended)\n\n500 MB swap space (2 GB recommended)\n\nGraphics card supporting 1024x768x16-bit color with 64 MB RAM\n\n(OpenGL® and Direct3D® hardware acceleration supported; 3D graphics accelerator 1280x1024x32-bit color with 256 MB RAM recommended)\n\nMicrosoft® Windows®–compliant pointing device (optimized for Microsoft IntelliMouse®)\n\nWacom™ Intuos® or similar pressure-sensitive tablet recommended for vertex paint\n\nDVD-ROM drive\n\nOptional: sound card and speakers, cabling for TCP/IP-compliant network, 3D hardware graphics acceleration, video input and output devices, joystick, MIDI instruments, three-button mouse\n\n\nSoftware\n\nMicrosoft Windows XP Professional SP2 (recommended), Windows XP Home Edition SP2, or Windows 2000 SP4.\nMicrosoft Internet Explorer 6\nDirectX® 9.0c (required), OpenGL (optional)
1018966
3ds max and maya \nflash for 2d animatioin
2988
I almost entirely agree with the previous answer.\nThe only possible thing to watch out for is the next version of Windows, dubbed Windows Vista.\nThis OS is going to come packaged with a new drawing API that uses the capabilities of your 3D card.\nThe quality of what your OS displays is going to be correlated to the specs of your 3d card.\nNvidia keeps a list of GPUs expected to work to some extent with Vista. Obviously, the more recent chips are likely to yield better rendering quality.\n\nIf you don't feel the need to always run the latest software, you don't need to worry about it.\nOtherwise, you may want to plan for the future.
1080126
I have a couple of workstations like that where I work.  They are used in autocad and 3-D rendering for engineering drawings.  The calculation power and graphics are awesome.  There are a lot more powerful and pricy ones out there, but the ones I work with get the job done.  Wish I could afford a SGI machine; you can easily drop over 30 grand for one of those.
1110854
Basically, if you have the cooling capabilities to handle it, I would suggest the 256MB card.  The more memory, the better it is capable of handling difficult graphics.
370895
just use 3d max 8...since u already to how to use all function in 3d max.\n\nI personally used 3d max 7.5, solid work, and maya 7...still learning!!
44029
3D Studio Max all the way for any high end graphics.  Autocad's primary function is for architecture, but for any 3D designs that will be used for graphical use 3D Studio Max is the way to go.
67440
well if you're going to use 3DMAX , as an experience i don't recommend to use a large monitor. insted you can change your screen Resolution.\nthat would be better when you render your job
960675
i've been using autodesk's 3Dstudio Max for almost 5 years now and i've been more than satisfied with my models and the ease of doing them. I had my own zero ( from megaman ) model. but none else from the series. \n\nfrom modelling, rendering, rigging to animation and production. you've got all of that in one smooth package. and better yet if you get the version 8 ( which i am currently using ). that's hell cool. you'll be making garments/ clothing and hair in no time at all.
346757
Plenty.  I was going to say any of the Radeon X series or NVIDIA 6000/7000 series.
325759
Well, it really depends on the speed of the laptop. I have ran 3DS Max on a pentium 4 laptop with no problem.\n\nHowever, 3DS Max is a resource hog. Try these four steps to free up resources on your system. Since you didn't state what type of OS you are using, I'll just assume it's XP.\n\n1. First off, search for an update for your graphics card.\n\n2. Disable any startup programs from your machine. Click on "Start", "Run" and type "msconfig". Click on the "Startup" tab and then click the button saying "Disable All". Don't worry, you can always go back and re-enable them. Next, click on the "Services" tab. Next, click the checkbox that says "Hide all Microsoft Services". Uncheck everything except for anything that says something like "C-Dilla" or close to it.\n\n3. Free up hard drive space. You'll have better performance if your hard drive is atleast 50% empty. Delete all your Internet Explorer temp files. The easisest way to cleanup that hard drive is to serach on the Internet for a program called X-Cleaner. Or just right click on your C:&#92; drive in My Computer, select "Properties" and then click the "Disk Cleanup" button.\n\n4. Increase your page file size. Right click on "My Computer", select "Properties" and then click on the tab that says "Advanced". Click the button that says "Settings" under the "Performance" groupbox (first one). On that first tab, select the radio option that says "Adjust for Best Performance". After that, select the tab that says "Advanced" and click the button "Change" under the "Virtual Memory" groupbox. Make sure that the "Custom Size" radio option is checked and then set the "Initial Size (MB)" value to match the "Maximum Size (MB)" below. Once done, click on the button that says "Set". Click "OK", "OK", "OK" and reboot.
468994
There are a lot of 3D imaging/designing software that designs specific area of your home, like 3D Kitchen Architect. Or you can use a general 3D imaging software like 3D Studio Max or an open-source version like Blender 3D (http://www.blender3d.org/). The general 3D imaging softwares will require a lot more work on your end, which software like 3D Kitchen Architect is more drag and drop.
993766
www.3dcafe.com\nhighend3d.com
969082
Minimum Requirements for Graphics\nVRAM 64MB, (128MB recommended)\nNVIDIA GeForce4 series, or better (recommended)\nATI Radeon 8500 series, or better (recommended)\n\nGeForce 6100 series chip specifications\nBoth the 6100 and 6150 support Shader Model 3.0 and DirectX 9.0c. \n\nNVIDIA GeForce6 will be okay.
576098
Hard to suggest a good one unless I know what you are intending to use it for.  If it is for on-line gaming that is a different configuration then if it is for Internet research and college class work which would be completely different from AutoCad design work.\n\nBest thing to do is figure out what you want to do with it and approximately how much you are willing to spend.  Then check out the sites:\n\nwww.dell.com\n\nwww.ibm.com\n\nwww.gateway.com\n\nwww.hp.com\n\nThen price compare for what you want.