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New Computer

May 15th, 2009 Jonathan Moore No comments

Since I’m going to be studying for my SQL Exams (70-431 or 70-432, 70-433 and 70-448), I needed a new computer to run all the software I need to study (as well as for a little bit of gaming). My old PC was purchased from Wal-Mart about 5 years ago, so it definitely has seen better days. I set up a computer on NewEgg and was actually shocked at the amount of power you can get for relatively cheap. Here’s the specs on my new computer:

Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7400
Memory CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Hard Drive Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5″ Internal Hard Drive
Video XFX GS250XYDFU GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
DVD Drive SAMSUNG Black DVD Burner with LightScribe
Power OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Case GIGABYTE GZ-X3BPD-500 Black 0.6mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

After putting the computer together and making sure that everything was working, I loaded Windows XP Media Center on it. It took about a week to get all the software I needed on it and to get it configured the way I wanted. It was a huge improvement over my old PC. However, I was a little disappointed that XP Media Center wasn’t using all 4 gigs of RAM due to it being 32-bit.

The Lord works in mysterious ways. I attended the PDANUG and at the end they gave out some door prizes. The prize that I won just happened to be exactly what I needed: Windows Vista Ultimate, 32-bit AND 64-bit. So I’ve got my PC loaded with it now, running like a dream on all 4 Gb of RAM!

Categories: Hardware, Misc Tags: , , ,