New Computer
In 2007 when I started working full-time, I decided to buy a laptop that excels on being lightweight and having great battery life. My powerbook from university had lousy battery life and was heavy. In the end I bought a Fujitsu P7230 with Intel Core Duo processor. It’s fairly lightweight and lasts over 6 hours on regular use. I used this laptop to its full potential and even programmed one of my contest winning ideas while on a flight from Seattle to Toronto.
Fast forward to the end of 2011, I’m beginning to feel the need for a faster development machine. The P7230 was ok and I’ve done Windows Phone development on it too, but I’m restricted by the processor, the limited memory and slow hard-drive. Over the Christmas break, I ordered a new desktop machine with the following parts:
- Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB
- Gigabyte Z68A-D3H-B3 ATX LGA1155 Z68 DDR3 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 HDMI DVI SLI SATA3 USB3.0 Motherboard
- G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1333 CL9-9-9-24 Memory
- Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 16MB Cache 7200RPM 3.5IN SATA Internal Hard Drive OEM
- Antec Earthwatts Green Series 380W ATX12V 80PLUS Bronze No Pwr Cord
- TP-Link TL-WN722N Wireless USB Adapter 150MBPS IEEE 802.11B/G/N
- Bitfenix Merc Alpha Steel Black ATX Mid Tower Case 3X5.25 7X3.25 1X2.5 No PS Top USB2.0 Audio
I installed Ubuntu 11.10 on it and will be using it to spawn virtual machines to do my development work.
The TP-Link TL-WN722N wireless adapter works out-of-the-box with Ubuntu 11.10. I’m also happy that Antec Earthwatts power supply doesn’t include a power cord. I have over 3 spare power cords lying around and I’m happy that companies don’t produce more waste than needed.
I’m also happy with the Bitfenix case. I like that it has USB interfaces and power switches on top of the case instead of being on the front panel. It also has a lot of places for fan installation and for heat to escape. The thumbscrew is a nice touch and a step up from my older computer cases.
Now off to install virtual machines.