What kind of specs do I need for programming?

[Veryplayable]

Hello, I have dabbled around in programming for a few years, but never got to serious about it. I have been thinking that I would like to get more serious about it. I will probably be mainly doing c++ but I will try a variety of different langues. I am about to build a new computer and was wondering what kind of stuff I would need. I was already going to spend about $1700 USD not including windows or peripherals. Im not looking for a part list, just tell me what kind of stuff il need, Like RAM, storage ect... Thanks!

[rashdanml]

Honestly, very little. 

 

However, if you're running some serious numerical simulations for complex mathematical problems (often involving 1000s, if not 10000s of iterative calculations), then you'll need beefy hardware.

 

Dual core processor with 4GB of RAM and a standard iGPU should be enough. 

[Veryplayable]

Honestly, very little. 

 

However, if you're running some serious numerical simulations for complex mathematical problems (often involving 1000s, if not 10000s of iterative calculations), then you'll need beefy hardware.

 

Dual core processor with 4GB of RAM and a standard iGPOhU should be enough. 

Oh ok, I heard someone say that it really helps to have a i7 and 16gb of ram.

[rashdanml]

Oh ok, I heard someone say that it really helps to have a i7 and 16gb of ram.

That kind of hardware is only really useful for video rendering, editing, and working with large graphical programs. And numerical simulations. For numerical simulations, an i7 vs. and i5 could make the difference between 10 mins of computation and 5 mins or less, depending on the complexity of the problem and the speeds/number of cores of the processors involved. 

For actually writing and running simpler programs (vast majority of programs fit under this category), that depends on the programs. In majority of cases, the runtime of programs are so low (in the millisecond range) that the difference between and i5 and an i7 is unnoticeable. 

[Veryplayable]

That kind of hardware is only really useful for video rendering, editing, and working with large graphical programs. And numerical simulations. For numerical simulations, an i7 vs. and i5 could make the difference between 10 mins of computation and 5 mins or less, depending on the complexity of the problem and the speeds/number of cores of the processors involved. 

For actually writing and running simpler programs (vast majority of programs fit under this category), that depends on the programs. In majority of cases, the runtime of programs are so low (in the millisecond range) that the difference between and i5 and an i7 is unnoticeable. 

Oh, thanks for saving me a few bucks!

[flibberdipper]

You could do it on an Athlon II X3, 4GB of RAM, and a Radeon HD 6570 and not really notice a difference between that and a super high end system in programming.

[juretrn]

Hello, I have dabbled around in programming for a few years, but never got to serious about it. I have been thinking that I would like to get more serious about it. I will probably be mainly doing c++ but I will try a variety of different langues. I am about to build a new computer and was wondering what kind of stuff I would need. I was already going to spend about $1700 USD not including windows or peripherals. Im not looking for a part list, just tell me what kind of stuff il need, Like RAM, storage ect... Thanks!

Let me put it this way: you need A computer. Nothing more. Everything will do. Especially if you intend to stay at more or less hobby level. 

[CwGoh]

My school has 1st gen Core 2 Duos with 2GB of DDR2 RAM for Java programming inside of Eclipse, just saying.

[Flojer0]

Depends on what you want to work with. To start you could probably get by with a raspberry pi and get by fine. When you feel more comfortable and want to tackle something much more intense then you'll want some more serious hardware.

 

For example I just got started studying machine learning and recently learned how to use SVM's for classification. I spent a couple of days attempting to work with a dataset of just over 6k emails and many of the tasks I tried to run on that set would take 40 minutes to an hour. But in that case you can always remember in most anything you will do you could whip up a small scale test that runs in seconds and let the full job run overnight. With that in mind my four year old laptop would be able to do the exact same stuff perfectly fine.

 

If you want to save money an i3 or an APU with an SSD and 8GB of ram would be a great start. Actually, an SSD would probably make a bigger impact on your work early on than a good machine. 

[Madnessqq]

Well if u plan to run OpenGL or stuff like that ull need a much stronger pc

[Darren]

A computer that boots into the OS. Specs aren't (really) an issue.

[fizzlesticks]

Depends on the type of programming.

 

Going to be making video games? You'll need something that can run them.

Going to be using CUDA? You'll need an nVidia GPU.

Going to do something with AI? A faster cpu will certainly help.

Going to be compiling Android? You'll be needing at least 16gb of RAM.

 

For general programming an old computer you find at a garage sale for $20 will do.

[faszinierend]

With C++ an i7 and a SSD can be money well spend depending on the project size. Compilation times with stuff like QT can be really long and annoying on weak hardware.

[JacksGT]

You could just get a Raspberry Pi and that would actually be enough :-)

[Arndroid]

Pfff, from my experience, get more RAM! (Especially when doing Java/Android, or other editors based on Java such as NetBeans.)

And a multi 16:10 monitor setup.

A decent CPU for compiling speed.

 

And an SSD to put all your editors and projects on. (this will increase loading and maybe compiling speeds)

[flibberdipper]

My school has 1st gen Core 2 Duos with 2GB of DDR2 RAM for Java programming inside of Eclipse, just saying.

The Junior High where I am has some 3.2GHz P4's (LGA 775), 4GB of RAM, and Radeon 3450 video cards for 3D rendering (mainly SketchUp). Just saying.

 

Luckily I had one of the ones with a Core 2 Quad.

[alpenwasser]

With C++ an i7 and a SSD can be money well spend depending on the project size. Compilation times with stuff like QT can be really long and annoying on weak hardware.

^This. Personally, I've never written something truly large which would have

required some proper compilation power.

But, as faszinierend says, if you start writing programs which have a large

codebase to compile you might indeed noticeably benefit from more horsepower.

However, as is the general consensus in this thread: For most things, a very

basic machine will do just fine.

[voaz]

2GB Ram and any dedicated GPU with 512mb+ vRam.

[5tephenm1o5]

depends on what but if it turns on and can run programs ur good

[wing2k5]

For most programming environments, a decent Windows workstation would do. I would guess a $1000 PC is good enough for most tasks.

 

If you are looking at different languages other than C++, do you have a particular one in mind?

Mobile app developement, maybe? Android? iOS? How about web application development with PHP or ASP.NET?

 

If you are looking into iOS mobile app development, then you would need to invest in a Mac or a Macbook as Apple restrict development to only their platforms.

If you are looking at web development, specifically PHP, then you could go Linux and save hundreds of dollar in software requirement to develop with.

 

If C++ is the language you want to start with, then get:

1. a good CPU (maybe an Intel i7 or AMD FX?)
2. 8GB of RAM (minimum, but go for 16GB if you got the cash)
3. a good capacity hard drive (you could get an SSD for added performance, but I don't think you need it)
4. a good video card (moreso if you are looking into game development using C++)
5. two 27" monitors for added productivity value (and make sure your PC can support both in dual monitor mode)
6. 64-bit Win7 (personally, I'm not ready to jump into Win8)
7. Visual Studio IDE software (this is like the defacto software for C++ programming)
8. At least one good C++ book to learn from
9. At least one good C++ reference book (I suggest a book called "Effective C++" by Scott Meyers...great book that describe some of the Do's and Dont's of programming)

[brob]

Multiple monitors - because more display space means higher productivity - large and high definition - at 4 am things tend to blur a little  .

 

An SSD because programming involves opening & closing lots of relatively small files and when one is learning lots of browsing.

 

By todays standards programming itself doesn't require a great deal of computing power but the programs developed have to be able to run on the system along side the development environment.

[loganryan99]

All you need is a PC capable of running the applications you write. All Android phones (unless you're running ART) compile apps as you open and use them. Raspberry Pi was created to teach kids programming. I know this is basically repeating what everyone else said, but don't buy special hardware for programming.

[PC_Master99]

if it is just small console programs then any PC will do, if you are getting a bit more serious you want a beefy CPU for fast compiling times and 16GB of RAM

[Nallown]

Depends on the type of programming.

 

Going to be making video games? You'll need something that can run them.

Going to be using CUDA? You'll need an nVidia GPU.

Going to do something with AI? A faster cpu will certainly help.

Going to be compiling Android? You'll be needing at least 16gb of RAM.

 

For general programming an old computer you find at a garage sale for $20 will do.

That and also are you going to run vm's in the background? if so then 16gb ram would be recommended but 8gb will do

[BustinJustin]

Let me put it this way: you need A computer. Nothing more. Everything will do. Especially if you intend to stay at more or less hobby level. 

What this guy said. A computer. You could write programs on a $20 used Dell you get off eBay.