Thanks all, As always I received overwhelming response from all of you. Thanks very much. The suggestions were different but all pointing to one thing : Stick with Arc View 3.2a and so I am J My original question is at the end. I am typing the suggestions as is without any editing from my side. Thanks to Ricardo, Eileen, Chen, Bob, Hamilton, Jim, Allen, Mike, Margaret, STROTHE, Lance, John , Tim, Star, for your valuable opinions. The recommendations are as follows: 1. I think your machine is fast enough for either. I'd add another 256mb of RAM since it's so cheap and the more RAM for GIS, the better. I'd also be sure you have an OpenGL capable video card since some aftermarket ArcView extensions (such as 3D Analyst) require it. I've heard that ArcGIS 8.1 is considerably slower than ArcView 3.2A 2. I have a similar computer to yours. A dell P4 1.2ghz, 256mb pc600 (rambus) ram, ultra dam ata100 hard drives (115gb total. I recently installed arcgis-arcview8.1 and is running very well. I have the gis data locally and I have no problems. 3. Some time ago, April or May, there was a posting on system specs for ArcGIS 8. Try getting to the following website and look for a paper called System Design at http://www.esri.com/library/white papers/pdfs/sysdesig.pdf. It lists specs for ArcGIS which are slightly more than the old AV 3.2. 4. I have been using ArcView8.1, ArcInfo8, and previous versions of both. I have had good and bad experiences with the new versions. the new versions are slow on my computer which is 1GHz, 256MB. Also, I have had it kick me out of my project a few times. It is a hugh program taking up a lot!!! of space, but If you are not worried about that it has some really nice features. The tools are better (except for the multiple layout capabilities), the programming language is VBA (FINALLY), and it is pretty easy to use just like the previous versions. to sum up, I like it but If I were you I would get on the esri.com site and check it out more, because it is personal preference and whatever the client wants. 4. If you have an established ArcView 3.2 shop then stay with 3.2. The only this the same between ArcView 3.2 and ArcView 8 is the name ESRI on the box. Everything inside is different. Projects or Avenue scripts in 3.2 need to be re-created from scratch in 8. Also, re-training to learn the new ArcView 8 will take some time. However, once you get there, you won't go back to 3.2, its sort of like moving from standard C programming to C++. As for the machine speed. Get 512Mb RAM. ArcView 8 on Microsoft box is slower in some functions, but overall, its a little faster in basic map display....if you have the RAM. It runs about the same on a 800MHz machine as a 1.4GHz if both have the same RAM and video cards. Get a big RAM packed video card too. Finally, ArcView 8 is new and I'm finding several undocumented features (i.e. Bugs) in the program. If you can wait, wait for ArcView 8.2 next spring. 5. ArcView 8.1 has some good features, but I still think ArcView 3.2 has more versatility and will run on multiple platforms (95/98/NT/2000). It very much depends on what you plan to do with it. If you use multiple layouts and multiple views in one project, then 3.2 is much better (only one layout allowed in 8.1). If you want some of the new editing tools, then 8.1 might be a better choice. If you already have several 3.x installations there is (in my opinion) no real reason to upgrade to 8.1. In general 8.1 is not compatible with 3.x so project cannot be shared etc. 6. I have not had any experience with ArcView 8.1 but I have used ArcMap 8.1 and it is a processor/memory pig. ArcView 8.1 and ArcMap are essentially the same except some of the editing/analysis functions in ArcView 8.1 are crippled. 7. Try ArcGIS ... We are running ArcGIS (Arc Editor) on P3s and P2s (laptops and desktops) with about the same amount of RAM and less hard drive space. It's a little slow but livable for our users. I would recommend, with the configuration you mentioned, that it would run fine. It will be slower that AV3x, but worth it in my opinion. 8. We are using Pentium 3, 500 MHz , 256 MB RAM for ArcGIS 8.1. Our experience tells that the speed is ok. With your machine, I suppose the speed would be a lot faster. BTW, you can get more memory. Of course, this is not the only reason for buying ArcGIS 8.1. You may consider other things to decide whether to buy ArcGIS 3.x or 8.1. For example, if you are comfortable with AVENUE and don't want to change to VBA, then ArcView 3.x is your choice. 9. I am running ArcGIS on a machine similar to yours. Although it is a bit slower than straight old ArcView, it is really not that bad and I certainly like the improvements to the software. It is costlier of course, and if you want to do any editing (which you probably do), you will need to purchase it at that level. Also you need to be on NT or Windows 2000. So, from my viewpoint, if you can afford the upgrade and are willing to learn the new software, it is worth it. Plus, you can still run your old copy of ArcView 3x and gradually make the conversion over to the new software (since your ArcView projects will have to be converted and no doubt you have AV files you still want to use). 10. Jim gave a detailed analysis of what and what not to think before buying Arc View 8.1 “I think that the speed should be a secondary question. Because the two versions are only slightly compatible (they both will read shape files), be aware that scripts written for 3.2 will not operate under 8.1,and you can not open a 3.2 project with 8.1. There is some limited functionality for "importing a view or a layout" from 3.2 into 8.1, but event themes and labels and annotation do not come across correctly, so the view or layout is not reproduced exactly. That said, 8.1 is a good tool and has many improvements over 3.2. The configuration is more like a Graphics package in terms of layout, design and functionality ( Much friendlier to use) and there is a file browser called Arc Catalog that allows you to preview shape files, grids, tables, DXF files, etc and their attributes. It is very handy to be able to see what a file contains without adding it to a project and displaying it. The tool also differentiates between the type of file, indicating what is a point theme, what is a polygon theme, etc, so finding a particular overlay is simplified. There is also built-in functionality for creating metadata, if that interests you. There is a learning curve associated with stepping up to 8.1, and you need to adjust your thought processes (like perceive multiple layouts as multiple "project files" or Map Documents), but ESRI's licensing allows you to keep 3.2 running when you upgrade to 8.1, which lets you access both project files and 8.1 map documents. If you go to 8.1, I suggest that you double the RAM in your PC. Version 8.1 likes to keep things in active memory, and the additional capacity there will eliminate a lot of the speed issues that many people have noted. So, decide based on the following: 1) Do you need to share 3.2 and 8.1 projects with other team members? You cannot interchange them. 2) Do you have customizations in 3.2 that you will want to use in 8.1? You cannot. However, If you are creating stand alone projects, I think that 8.1 has enough feature improvements and additions that it is a good program to choose.” Thanks to all Taruna Taruna Tayal (Associate) Martin Alexiou Bryson, PLLC 2414 Wycliff Road, Suite 101 Raleigh, NC 27607 919 881-1243 ext: 209 voice 919 881-8081 fax web: www.mabtrans.com Original Question: Hi all, We are thinking of buying another copy of Arc View. I am using a Pentium 4.0 1.3 GHz machine with 20GB Hard drive and 256 MB RAM. What version of Arc View do you all recommend us to buy - keeping in mind the configuration of the machine? I have heard that ArcGIS makes the machine really really slow. Thanks Taruna