Well, I went shopping, and here is what I came up with. I like to utilize local vendors whenever possible, but this system had a processor requirement that I could not find cheaply from my favorite vendor. I wanted a Quad-core processor that has Virtual Technology (VT). I also want to be able to assign programs to cores (very cool!). I did a little research and found the Intel Q8400 processor a good match. It has Quad cores, Virtual Technology, and was the cheapest I could find in-stock locally. My first stop was at Fry's Electronics, where I picked up a ...
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400
I then went over to my friends at Technology Partners Inc, where I picked up the rest of the components (less the case, that's coming). Here's the list of parts:
Intel DG41RQ Motherboard |
Buffalo DDR2 PC6400 Memory (2gb x 2) |
Microstar NX8400GS Video Card |
Western Digital 320 GB Hard Drive |
Liteon 24x DVD-RW |
iMicro 500 watt Power Supply |
All these components have standard specifications, except for the motherboard. Considering that I am going to use a 64-bit operating system, I need to have a larger amount of memory. Using a 64-bit operating system, I am also getting past the 4 gigabyte memory limit that plaques 32-bit. The Intel DG41RQ has a maximum memory capacity of 8 GB (2 x 4GB). Since 2GB modules are relatively inexpensive, I decided to go with 4GB of memory (2 x 2GB) for right now.
Since Windows 7 is built on Windows Vista, finding drivers was simple. Intel and NVidia, both have Windows 7 32 and 64-bit drivers on their web sites.
I guess it's time to build this system. But I still need a case. I think I'll see what Antec has been up to.