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So i decided that the best/ most accurate way to draw a good design for a computer case which i want to build is by drawing it in Autocad.

So i have a few questions about this program if anyone here had experience.

First, are there places on the internet where i can download models of PC components like motherboards, heatsinks, PSUs, videocards cables etc. I am looking for them on the internet right now but maybe some of you guys know a good source, i would be greatful.

Also, if i do download the models of hardware, i dont care much about detail but correct scale of the model is important to me, like if i get a motherboard model, all of the big parts of it (usb portds in the back, length and width) should at least match a standard size ATX board. Is there a chance some models might not match according to the real scale?I would really hate to overlook an error of a few millimeters somewhere causing me to fix the cad design again or something.

Another question is about models of cables and stuff. Is it possible in autocad to emulate actual behavior of a cable in terms of length and flexibility? For example if in AC i have an HDD attached to a mobo via IDE cable, Can i move around the hdd with the cable still attached to it (and the mobo) to see if i can find a good place/position where an HDD can be placed? This i need for fuguring out the limits to where i can place the hdd/mobo and make sure the cables are long enough and stuff like that.

Also, if i have an autocad design, of my thing, i can easily ask my design to be manufactured in some factory or workshop out of better quality materials which i dont have the tools or experience working with.

Also if you guys have any general tips for autocad noob, I would apreciate it. I played around with the program for a while now and i really like it.

Sorry if this doesn't help, but:

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/

or

http://www.turbosquid.com/

As far as i know Autocad dosent support Sketchup models. Maybe there are some plugins for it.

Also i think i ran into my first problem. THe program after a while screwes something up somehow, i dont know what it screwes up but after i cant import models and start new templates because the filebrouser window dosent pop up, instead there is some line with a directory and says like (type in the name of the file) Where did the browser window go?

[EDIT] Solved it. I needed to type "FILEDIA" in the console and then set it to 1 when it prompts me. I am still not sure why it turns off in the first place, but now that i know an easy way to fix it, it dosent bother me anymore.

Also what supported Cad formats are the most memory-friendly because my 4 gb system is choking on it. I should proboly lower the settings.

For hardware components I believe that the Google Sketchup warehouse (as listed) is the best place to go.

You are right, After a whole day of searching for hardware part models, I realised that Google Sketchup had the biggest PC hardware collection and its all free (most of the CAD models were either for sale or you had to register in their site to download them and i hate registring in sites.

As for Cad, I had a little experience playing around with it back in school but i would still call myself a noob at it. My knowlege of general 3d modelling (on a much easier level than CAD) helped me get around the program and do some basic stuff. My goal was just to get familiar enough with some of the basics which will help me with my design. but, the lack of computer-part models for it turned me off of it. (and the plugin for google sketchup models was kindof expensive for just a plugin that allowed you to do 1 thing which was importing 1 format) and the Plugin didnt even work anyway.

I still had a bunch of frustrations to work out like, i couldnt figure out how to manage the materials and textures on the model as they always loaded without a texture even if they came with it. (Textures and materials are the hardest thing i always find in all 3d modelling programs i tried. Also, most models, i got didnt follow any kind of scaling standard so some looked bigger than others nad stuff. Because i want to use Cad to aid me in building a real thing, Correct scale and dimentions are important to me. Finally the distance Units used in Cad, didnt have any real name, they were just numbers, (this videocard is 451.57 long) and since i had no correctly scaled model or any idea about the autocads measurment system, i felt like i was waisting time

Also Autocad really took a toll on my computer. Despite having a quadcore Xeon, and dual 9800m GTX AutoCad Often crashed and 4GB of ram was barley enough to run a decent set of models. I guess Cad is a program that you want to buy a high end Quadro GPU for.

i finally gave in to google Sketchup and it turned out to be really great. I was hoping to take advantage of some advanced Autocad features but... ohh well. Sketchup did have really weird controls, but it was much easier to learn and had a lot of really cool modeling features. Another reason i didnt like it was because of the way you couldnt create an object with exact measurments easily. Since google didnt have the model of the PSU i worked eith in my project, i had to make one myself. Now Sketchups system was based on metrics, and the modelling community folloed scale standard which made my life a lot easier. So when i tried making a box 150mm x 100mm x 40.5 mm, it was a pain to get it right by hand as i couldnt find any other way. I kept slipping a few mm back and forth. After a few tries i made a box with correct dimentions using just straight lines as boxes were too hard to make them accurate to a millimeter as you might always slip on either of the 2 axis. So i built my box but then i zoomed out, it was crooked and i coult fix it so i started again. I guess this is a nice toch even if it is annoying because it feels like you are actually making the model with your hands. Altho i always thought it was more common sence to have a build box button where you enter the correct dimentions and you got yourself a box.

So this was a kinda fun day for me, and sketchup turned out to be really great design tool. (altho even in sketchup i have tons of trouble figuring out the textures/materials color codes system. i spent the last hour painting a 40mm Fan dark grey (it was white) For a while i couldnt even figure out how to paint it but then i did something and i dont know what i did but i can finally finish painting the fan now. and untill net time i get a textureless model which i will just poke my mouse into and all over the materials menu untill something works lol.

A small suggestion for if you plan on doing heavy CAD work, I would recommend you get some ECC RAM which should reduce crashes.

I figured that lol. I guess both me AND my computer could take on Cad. I thought because i had a PC with a Xeon CPU, it could handle it. But yes 4 gigs of DDR2 ram didnt do the xeon any justice and made it out to be just a regular quadcore CPU.

Also i might have underestimated myself as well, I will continue to learn Autocad but at a slower pace i guess because its a really useful tool to know. I think i will actually buy the full professional version of Sketch-up, because the free one is already really fun to use and and awesome and it actually gets stuff done that i wanted to do. The custom case i am designing with Sketchup will be a wooden one (prototype to see how everything fits and if there are any problems with the heat.) if it turns out good and i will attempt to stop any heating issues from happening (via good ventelation) and if i will be successfull with this wooden prototype, I can use the Sketchup model of it, to get some manufacturing shop to make a few of these for me oiut of better materieals which will make it even better.

Just in case they only take CAD designs, i think it would be a good exercise for me to remake a copy of my thing in Autocad (this time using 8 gigs of ram no ECC tho )