ThruIT

I don’t think I’ve ever had such an enjoyable process configuring a newly built PC then the experience I just had with my new DIY project/sweet awesome toy.

I decided recently that the time was right to take the plunge into Windows 7, a decision brought upon me by the release of the P55 chipset (with new i5/i7’s from Intel) and the release of ATI’s new 5800 series graphics cards (more about that in my earlier post). The mainstream has never looked so good, with the Intel i5 selling for $199 complete with four cores and low power usage. Benchmarks have the i5 besting the quad Core 2 Duo’s and even the Core 2 Extreme in some benchmarks.

It’s a great time to be a hardware guru…Intel’s recent release of the i5/ new i7 CPU and ATI’s unveiling of the 5000 series GPU’s at the end of September (Reviews: 5870 | 5850) are making more then one would-be DIYer salivate. The opportunity exists for both these manufactures to attack both the mid-range and the high-end markets, with the goal of making the enthusiast community want to rush out and get the latest for their new(ish) Win7 installs. The time to build a new system hasn’t been this good for a while, with this climate allowing many to build modest systems with their GPU as their biggest expense and not suffer a CPU bottleneck.