How do I select a computer for ArcGIS Pro Spatial Analysis

[RonaldHaug]

Hi I am looking for a used medium level computer less than $1000 to do spatial analysis with. Does anyone have recommendations for a computer with an intel  i7 9th or 10th generation chip, a GPU with CUDA, an adequate power supply, and a terrabyte of storage?  What are the relative merits / drawbacks of using a hard drive, solid state storage, and nvme solid state storage? I'm not an electrical engineer but what I have seen is the faster chips use more power and generate more heat when running programs, and they need an adequate power supply and cooling. I would rather have an adequately fast machine which doesn't use too much power and generates maximum heat around  55 degrees celsius. Is it better to buy a tower rather than a small form factor or laptop?

Thank you! I appreciate your carefully considered opinions and experiences.

[Brian_Wilson]

Earlier I said "I am planning on switching my Win10 desktop to Linux since I will be retired by then anyway."

I decided not to wait until summer (retire in July probably). I did not renew my Esri personal license last year and I have not missed it so far, so I decided that I don't need Windows 10 on my desktop. I installed Linux Mint on Christmas eve. I installed the NVidia driver and QGIS.

What excites me is when I can contribute to projects instead of being only a consumer.

BTW I still think the Esri personal license is super. And I have a Dell laptop that could run Windows software. But right now I am more curious to see what I might be able to do leveraging Esri online services with QGIS on my desktop. Esri on my desktop at home would just be a distraction.