Desktop

Dual booting – Kubuntu Feisty 7, Windows XP

Note: All prices quoted are via Newegg as of 8.15.07 (and will hopefully decrease). Detailed specs via link (usually to newegg)

  • Motherboard
    • Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 $125 [link]
  • Processor
    • Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz $295 [link]
      • Alternate -- Intel Core 2 Duo [link]
  • Memory
    • (2x) Crucial 2GB Kit (1GBx2) - DDR2 PC2-6400 (2x$136) [link]
  • Video Card
    • EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 320MB $300 [link]
  • Sound Card
    • Creative SB Audigy SE 7.1 $28 [link]
    • Creative SB X-fi 7.1 $90 [link]
  • Hard Drive
    • (2x) Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB (2x$80) [link]
  • DVD
    • LiteOn SATA DVD+-R 20X $35 [link]
  • Case
    • Antec Nine Hundred $130 [link]
      • Alternate Antec P182 Black [link]
  • PSU
    • Seasonic M12 SS-500HM 500W $130 [link]
    • Corsair CMPSU 520HX $124 [link]
  • Monitor
    • (2x) Samsung 204BW Black 20" 6ms LCD (2x$245) [link]
  • Accessories
    • dLink DGL-4100 10/100/1000 Router $111 [link]
    • ColoVision Spyder2 $57 [link]
  • Other
    • Creative Inspire 7.1 90W speaker set $87 [link]

My current thought is to keep my existing mouse and keyboard. I’m not sure if I should keep my existing 4.1 Creative speaker set or jump to the 7.1 – considering size of apartment. But for $87, its not a bad deal.

I’m going with a 500W PSU because of the graphics card and processor. The quad plus a GeForce 8X series would probably be a bit much for a 400W PSU. I’m torn between the cases. The Nine Hundred (stupid name) has the external front ports on the top for nice easy access. The P182 is supposed to be very quite and I think looks a bit better (cleaner lines). Also I’m not sure how I feel about the Nine Hundred’s blue led, though I suppose I could disconnect that.

Overall I like the system. Its a bit pricey, but its about what I budgeted for this purchase. I didn’t go with a top of the line sound card and I definitely wanted a dual head setup. Hopefully the overall price comes down a hundred buck or so in a few weeks.