comparison and buying decision

[RootFarm]

I bought both Punch AS3000 and HD Pro. AS3000 was the top Punch program at the time.

I thought the Punch software was extremely difficult to use. The company seems proud to state it is 18 separate programs--or something like that--and it acts that way. HD Pro is far, far easier to use.

As I recall, there was no tutorial with the Punch software, and the Punch ocumentation was horrid. I sold my copy on Ebay for more than I paid for it. Punch had raised their prices in the meantime, and people were bidding like crazy.

There seems to be a different emphasis, and perhaps expertise, at the two companies. Punch talks up their 3D rendering, but seemed to me to try and sidestep around the architectural abilities of the programs--at least in the AS3000 and lower versions. I have no first hand information on the AS4000, but I imagine it is just an extension of the unacceptable AS3000. ART, the real manufacturer of the Home Designer series, on the other hand, comes down squarely on the architecural side of things, with 3D rendering a distant second, in my opinion.

I have two primary complaints regarding HD Pro. Considering its price, I think the 3D rendering should be better, and I damn sure think you should be able to lock the walls--but you can't. You can't lock the walls with CA 9.5 either, and it costs thousands. For more information on the locking walls issue, visit the Chief Archtect Forums at http://www.chiefarchitect.com/chieftalk/.

BTW, I don't know if you can lock the walls on the Punch product(s). I gave up in disgust before it became an issue. I don't even know if Punch's drawings are accurate enough for it to matter. HD Pro's drawings are accurate. You just have to double check that the dimensions haven't changed slightly in a way that matters during the design process. As I understand it, the slight changes are due to the wall auto-align feature.

You probably already know that HD Pro is a Lite version of the megabucks Chief Architect software from ART Inc. HD Pro 6 is descended from CA 9.5. HD Pro 7 is descended from CA 10.x. which can lock walls. Unless you absolutely can't do it, or ART indicates a free upgrade path, I would suggest waiting until HD Pro 7.0 comes out this fall.

I have no experience with the CADSoft product.

FWIW, prior to buying HD Pro, I had several years of on-and-off experience with TurboCad and AutoSketch going back to the DOS days. I have also used a couple of other CAD programs whose names escape me at the moment. None of these were used for architectural purposes, though.

Hope this helps.