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Desktop Recommendations: 2007-2011 Four Year Specification Overview

2007-2008 Desktop Recommendations

Recommended Minimum Configurations for New Desktop Systems
  Windows Mac OS
Hardware Processor Core 2 Duo E6400 (2.13 GHz)
or Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (2.0 GHz)
Core 2 Duo T7300 (2.0 GHz)
Memory (RAM) 2.0 GB 2.0 GB
Hard Disk 160 GB 160 GB
Monitor & VRAM 19-inch LCD
128 MB discrete video card
17-inch LCD or 20-inch LCD
128 MB discrete video card
Sound Built-in audio & speaker Built-in audio & speaker
Miscellaneous DVD±R/CD-RW drive DVD±R/CD-RW drive
Network
Connection
10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet 10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet
Operating System Windows XP Service Pack 2
or Windows Vista
Mac OS 10.4.x
Support Period Until July, 2011 Until July, 2011
Estimated Price (7/2007) $1,250 to $1,300 $1,150 to $1,450

2008-2009 Desktop Recommendations

Recommended Minimum Configurations for New Desktop Systems
  Windows Mac OS
Hardware Processor Core 2 Duo E8200 (2.66 GHz)
or Athlon 64 X2 5200+ (2.6 GHz)
Core 2 Duo (2.66 GHz)
Memory (RAM) 2.0 GB 2.0 GB
Hard Disk 160 GB 160 GB
Display & Graphics 19-inch LCD
256 MB discrete video card
20-inch LCD
256 MB discrete video card
Sound Built-in audio & speaker Built-in audio & speaker
Miscellaneous DVD±R/CD-RW drive DVD±R/CD-RW drive
Network
Connection
10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet 10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet
Operating System Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Mac OS 10.5.x
Support Period Until July, 2012 Until July, 2012
Estimated Price (7/2008) $1,050 to $1,150 $1,400

2009-2010 Desktop Recommendations

Recommended Minimum Configurations for New Desktop Systems
  Windows Mac OS
Hardware Processor Core 2 Duo E7400 (2.8 GHz)
(Core 2 Quad optional)
or Athlon 64 X2 5600+ (2.9 GHz)
Core 2 Duo (2.66 GHz)
Memory (RAM) 3.0 or 4.0 GB 3.0 or 4.0 GB
Hard Disk 250 GB 250 GB
Display & Graphics 19-inch LCD
256 MB discrete video card
20-inch LCD
NVIDIA integrated graphics
or discrete video card
Sound Built-in audio & speaker Built-in audio & speaker
Miscellaneous DVD±R/CD-RW drive
80% efficient power supply
DVD±R/CD-RW drive
80% efficient power supply
Network
Connection
10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet 10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet
Operating System Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Mac OS 10.5.x
Support Period Until July, 2013 Until July, 2013
Estimated Price (7/2009) $900 to $1,300 $1,250 to $1,700

2010-2011 Desktop Recommendations

Recommended Minimum Configurations for New Desktop Systems
  Windows Mac OS
Hardware Processor Core 2 Duo (any)
or Core i5 (any)
or Core i7 (any)
or Athlon X2 (any)
Core 2 Duo (any)
or Core i5 (any)
or Core i7 (any)
Memory (RAM) 4.0 GB 4.0 GB
Hard Disk 250 GB 250 GB
Display & Graphics 19-inch LCD
discrete video card
21-inch LCD
NVIDIA integrated graphics
or discrete video card
Sound Built-in audio & speaker Built-in audio & speakers
Miscellaneous DVD±R/CD-RW drive
80% efficient power supply
iAMT
DVD±R/CD-RW drive
80% efficient power supply
Network
Connection
10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet 10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet
Recommended Operating System Windows 7 Mac OS 10.6.x
Support Period Until July, 2014 Until July, 2014
Estimated Price (7/2010) $1,100 to $1,350 $1,150 to $2,100
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