Building an Intel Core i7 based computer – Introduction

I am starting to build a new computer for me and I’ll document the parts and decisions along the path.

Parts required for a computer:

1. CPU
2. Motherboard
3. Memory
4. Hard disks
5. Chassis
6. Power supply unit (PSU)
7. CPU cooler
8. Graphic card
9. Operating system

Based on price/performance ration of new Intel Core i7 CPU line I’ve decided to build the computer around the i7 920 model which is the slowest of the i7 line yet it blasts all the Core 2 Quad line, not to mention Core 2 Duo line. It is a quad core CPU with hyperthreading thus it looks like 8 cores to the OS (albeit hyperthreading cores are not real ones – they can work in parallel only to a certain degree). It also features integrated memory controller which significantly reduces memory latency (lesson learned from AMD). The price of i7 920 is very reasonable as well: 282,8 Euros (all prices I’ll list are VAT included and expressed in Euros- use the currency converter such as Universal Currency Converter to convert prices to other currencies) from mimovrste.com (Slovene online shop). I’ll get back to the CPU when I receive it.