What is the tech boards recommendation for a workstation to run AutoCad?

You don't need anything special to run straight Autocad.

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Core i7.

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LINK

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AutoCAD only supports multi-core technology in specific areas of the product, including:

2D regeneration
MentalRay rendering

To fully benefit from multi-core processors, you need to use multi-threaded software; AutoCAD is predominantly a single-threaded application.

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From your link

Due to the lack of multi-threading, AutoCAD is not capable of using more than 50% of the CPU on a dual-core computer, so there is no significant performance gain over a single CPU computer except for the areas noted above.

If I understand this (if being the key word) a dual processor doesn't really add much? I was under the impression that dual processor was needed for AutoCad. I will also need to run Civil 3D in AutoCad which may change the original parameters.

Thanks for your input and please correct me of I'm wrong on the above statement

And by the way with this weekend coming up please remember to Geaux 2 L O Miss.

To the first response I'm looking to run full Cad not AutoCad LT.

I have Autocad 16 installed on 5 different computers some running Autoplant 3d. These computers vary from an 8 year old laptop with a Pentium to a 6 year old HP workstation with Intel Xeon to a brand new mid level Asus with an i7. They ALL run Autocad just fine. Now the old laptop won't run huge 3d models cleanly, but that more of a graphics card limitation.

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If I understand this (if being the key word) a dual processor doesn't really add much?

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Right, mostly a single-threaded application. That is to say, you don't need to spend the extra money on the i7, because the benefits will be hard to notice over an i5. The main benefit of an i7 would be the fact that they tend to offer higher frequencies without the need for overclocking (e.g., the 4.0 Ghz i7-6700K vs. the 3.5GHz i5-6600K). Just keep in mind that there's a $150 price difference between the two, so the i7 is about 60% more expensive and would offer no more than 20% more performance even in the few multi-threaded tasks supported by AutoCAD. I'm not sure why the i7 is $400 right now. Must be some yield issues from Intel. Not a big deal if you're sticking to your rather large budget, though.

In my opinion, a sensible AutoCAD build under $1,000 amounts to no more than the specs of a mid-range gaming PC with a few enhancements. It would look something like this:

PCPartPicker part list: LINK
Price breakdown by merchant: LINK /

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A PC MATE ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($109.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX200 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $926.60

If you want to double that budget, it would be more of a matter of upgrading to "premium" parts that don't add performance, maybe upgrading SSD/HDD storage, i7, etc. The value declines considerably past the price point of the above build.

EDIT: I always harp on the merits of assembling your own PC vs. buying prebuilt, especially when it comes to workstations or any other use case that would benefit from tailored performance/prioritized hardware. The biggest barrier to learning to assemble the components is a fear that it's more complicated than it really is. If you're interested and have any questions about this, let me know. But for now, I'll spare the lecture. If you want to buy pre-built, the main criteria to look for include: i5 or i7, 8 to 16GB of RAM (preferably 16), a solid state drive (preferably one large enough to store your project files when you're working on them), and a dedicated GPU (preferably GTX 750 or better).