As a SW user I would agree with the Fusion rec from what little I've seen of it. Also CAM capability comes with Fusion it if that's of interest, which SW does not. If I were starting my journey, knowing what I know about 3D Cad, parametric design etc. it would be hard not to justify Fusion for the price. Whether that means its free or modest hobby/small business level subscription price I haven't kept track of. But its certainly not 4-5K + annual subscription fees like SW. I cant comment on how robust it is, or how well it handles larger assemblies, or the cloud based pros & cons ... there are lots of opinions out there in Internetland. Maybe someone can comment but I think the way it mitigates OS is because it is cloud based? What I wonder out loud is a few years from now the rug gets pulled and the 'free' software becomes 'fee' software overnight & you are somewhat pooched. I ope it never happens & have no basis to assume this will ever happen, but things do change for reasons we cant control. Just say the word Photobucket & that should start some cuss words. Almost everything Adobe is subscription based. Microsoft, same direction.
OTOH if he can get SW for $20, that is pretty hard to pass up. Now whether its for a year or forever, he didn't say. If its a short fuse teaser deal, may as well invest the time once & go straight to the program you ultimately intend to use. In terms of PC hardware, I echo what others have said. You can do relatively simple parts & assemblies with small processor + RAM + video card. Once they start getting more complex, you need more horsepower regardless of the Cad software.
Another important aspect to consider is learning resources. If you can find your CAD software well represented on e-learning web sites (ideally low cost or free) that will dramatically expedite your proficiency & make it a positive experience. If you are confined to a sparse vendor forum & or the odd YouTube video or a text book, the opposite is true.
