designer1980

Hello Kbird1, Yes, my Dell laptop (Inspiron N5050, 8.00 GB Ram, 64 bit, 2 cores) is the culprit. My graphic card is integrated (Intel® HD Graphics Family) and doesn't appear to have a driver update (I checked with Dell). I don't remember if I checked the Intel site, but I will as you suggested. When I first began to use the CA Home Designer Suite 2015, I knew that I did not have the suggested specs to run HD Suite 2015 at its optimum, but it performed well enough for a beginning design hobbyist. As the CA updates were added, my equipment could not handle it and it got to the point that a floor plan would not be visible (forget about a "dollhouse view") etc. I keep getting error messages about the inadequacy of my graphics card. I had to borrow a friend's windows 8 computer which he used for gaming to initiate a new plan which on screen came out great, but I could'nt get my older Dell (1320c) color laser printer to communicate with his laptop computer due to the fact that there was not a updated driver for that either .In short, I had to copy the plan to a flash drive and run that off an enhanced windows 7 laptop (not mine) and then connect it to my old laser printer. The print was cartoonish and "fuzzy' so I am definitely upgrading as my meager budget will allow. I am trying to follow CA's gudelines on purchasing new equipment given the fact that my understanding of this specialized verbiage is scanty. Mr. J. Potter was kind enough to point me in the right direction. I have been looking at some desktops, ex. HP with AMD A10 quad core processors, windows 8.1, 12 GB memory and 2TB hard drive for about $700.00. Would this be fairly adequate for my needs and upgradable? I am also planning on getting a wide format printer whose manufacturer will offer updated drivers.I welcome any and all direction! Thank you for taking the time to help. Sincerely, designer1980 windows 7 Home premium, 8 GB Ram Home Designer Suite 2015 (hope this is what you meant by signature)

Thank you Mr. Potter! Sincerely, Designer 1980

Hello All, I purchased Home Designer Suite 2015 for fun, but soon ran into problems because my equipment was not adequate for the task. Can anyone recommend an affordable desktop computer wherein I can continually upgrade the graphics card? I would also need a color printer, preferably a color laser or a wide format inkjet. I used a Dell i3 windows 7 prior (with a integrated graphic chip ) which was barely adequate, but every time I accepted an update for Home Designer Suite 2015, I progressively lost the ability to to view even the floor plan. My print outs using a older Dell laser printer were cartoonish. My monitor showed a fairly decent rendering, but did not reflect the output of my printer. I realize that most of you are professionals, but I would be most appreciative to get your advice. My budget for both items is around $900.00. Any hope for me? Thank you, Designer1980