PC build for programming

[SpeC5]

Hello guys!

I am a programmer who programs Python. I don't do any 10000 lined programs now though but I think I may do them in the next couple of years. And I don't mind waiting for the "10000 lined programs" to interpret, I can wait for a few seconds for that, no big deal...

I  have configured the following build. I would be building this this summer and I want to use the upcoming H310 motherboard for the Intel coffee lake chipset. I've heard that it would be released this month or the next, so I'd like to keep my choices open. 

 

Please remember that I would like to keep my build as low as possible, that's the reason I chose i3 8100 instead of i5 8400, but if you guys really insist that i5 is better, then I may change my decision. 

Does having more cores do any good for me?

 

All suggestions are welcome.

 

PC Build

 

1. i3 8100

2. 8GB DDR4 RAM

3. 128GB SSD

4. H310 Motherboard (upcoming)

5. Corsair Carbide Spec - 1

6. Corsair 450W 80+ Rated

7. 20 inch DELL Monitor (1366 x 768)

 

Thank you!

[RozRocks]

I would really get at a minimum a 1080p monitor. These days they are relatively inexpensive and when writing code, the screen real estate is useful. Otherwise, pretty much anything modern should be able to run and compile python.

[SpeC5]

20 minutes ago, RozRocks said:

I would really get at a minimum a 1080p monitor. These days they are relatively inexpensive and when writing code, the screen real estate is useful. Otherwise, pretty much anything modern should be able to run and compile python.

Oh, I didn't think much about that...

I'll check the prices of the FHD moniitors, I hope they are inexpensive though

Thanks for your reply

[RozRocks]

2 minutes ago, SpeC5 said:

Oh, I didn't think much about that...

I'll check the prices of the FHD moniitors, I hopee they are inexpensive though

Thanks for your reply

Honestly, I bought a 4k monitor recently and writing code on it has been great. If you don't mind spending the money one one, they are definitely great. I got mine for about $350

[dionkoffie]

Not so sure on the 8gb of ram. Would 12 or 16gb fit in your budget? 

[Mira Yurizaki]

That setup should be fine for a while. And in fact, I encourage you to keep it for as long as possible. Why? In the off-chance that you develop software for other people to use (unless you're doing that already), having a low-end machine lets you see how the software runs on older or cheaper PCs. Any optimizations you can make will then trickle up.

 

There might be some slowness, depending on how large the application is, when getting it compiled or started, but that's about it.

[SpeC5]

Just now, dionkoffie said:

Not so sure on the 8gb of ram. Would 12 or 16gb fit in your budget? 

Yes it would but I have to go with the i3 itself, if I get more RAM, I won't be able to get a better processor though. So, would that be worth? 

Thanks for your reply!

[SpeC5]

13 hours ago, M.Yurizaki said:

That setup should be fine for a while. And in fact, I encourage you to keep it for as long as possible. Why? In the off-chance that you develop software for other people to use (unless you're doing that already), having a low-end machine lets you see how the software runs on older or cheaper PCs. Any optimizations you can make will then trickle up.

 

There might be some slowness, depending on how large the application is, when getting it compiled or started, but that's about it.

That's genius!

I did not think about that...

In fact I actually don't need my PC to be blazing fast, I just need it to be fast enough so that I won't waste a lot of time in front of the monitor waiting for the program to compile.

[SpeC5]

16 minutes ago, RozRocks said:

Honestly, I bought a 4k monitor recently and writing code on it has been great. If you don't mind spending the money one one, they are definitely great. I got mine for about $350

I can get a 1080p monitor and stick to 8 gigs of RAM, but if I want 12 or 16 gigs, I need to go back to the 1366 x 768p monitor.

Would that be worth it?

Thanks for your time!

[dionkoffie]

1 minute ago, SpeC5 said:

Yes it would but I have to go with the i3 itself, if I get more RAM, I won't be able to get a better processor though. So, would that be worth? 

Thanks for your reply!

Looking on Passmark.com I don't see a huuuuuge upgrade to the I5. If you're only gonna be programming the I3 should be fine. 8GB is fine, but you're gonna run into problems once you start using more programs at once. I like to have the ability to open as much as I want without worrying about ram. 

 

My opinion: save the money in the I5 and go with the I3 and spend the money on 4 or 8gb extra ram.  

[RozRocks]

1 minute ago, SpeC5 said:

I can get a 1080p monitor and stick to 8 gigs of RAM, but if I want 12 or 16 gigs, I need to go back to the 1366 x 768p monitor.

Would that be worth it?

Thanks for your time!

No, stick with 1080p.

[SpeC5]

2 minutes ago, dionkoffie said:

Looking on Passmark.com I don't see a huuuuuge upgrade to the I5. If you're only gonna be programming the I3 should be fine. 8GB is fine, but you're gonna run into problems once you start using more programs at once. I like to have the ability to open as much as I want without worrying about ram. 

 

My opinion: save the money in the I5 and go with the I3 and spend the money on 4 or 8gb extra ram.  

That's a pretty good idea. i5 is a bit over my budget too...

I might just get an i3 and do as you said

Thank you!

 

[SpeC5]

1 minute ago, RozRocks said:

No, stick with 1080p.

Oh! Okay

[Mira Yurizaki]

6 minutes ago, SpeC5 said:

In fact I actually don't need my PC to be blanzing fast, I just need it to be fast enough so that I won't waste a lot of time in front of the monitor waiting for the program to compile.

As I said, it really depends on how big the project is. Also depends on what compiler you use. A good compiler can shave a large percentage if configured right.

 

But unless you're working on an app developed by a team, it's likely you won't get to something that's huge and takes a long time to compile.

[dionkoffie]

Just now, SpeC5 said:

That's a pretty good idea. i5 is a bit over my budget too...

I might just get an i3 and do as you said

Thank you!

 

Or like @rozRocks said. Def get an 1080P monitor. If you have to spend the money on the 1080p monitor instead of the RAM, go for the monitor first. RAM is ezpz to upgrade and can be done any time. 

[SpeC5]

Just now, dionkoffie said:

Or like @rozRocks said. Def get an 1080P monitor. If you have to spend the money on the 1080p monitor instead of the RAM, go for the monitor first. RAM is ezpz to upgrade and can be done any time. 

Right

 

[SpeC5]

2 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

As I said, it really depends on how big the project is. Also depends on what compiler you use. A good compiler can shave a large percentage if configured right.

 

But unless you're working on an app developed by a team, it's likely you won't get to something that's huge and takes a long time to compile.

BTW, I almost never multitask anything heavy while programming..

I atmost open couple firefox tab, nothing else...

Thanks for the reply!

[M. Rizzi]

Most programming is coding and math based development among other things.  There is not a lot of drive coming from the PC when programming so anyone who is telling you that you NEED anything, such as more than 8GB, is wrong.  Basic requirements of a programmer is:

• Operating System: Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 (Please note that Windows XP is no longer supported)and is not allowed on the network.
• Processor: Intel Pentium dual-core or AMD A4 APU
• Memory: 2GB RAM
• Hard Drive: 80 GB Hard Drive with at least 15% free space
• Networking Hardware: 10/100 Fast Ethernet Adapter / 802.11g or higher WiFi adapter
• Current Firewall Program
• Current anti-virus software package from this list
• Current Internet web browser

You can see how little you need so in reality your system exceeds what is required for basic programming.  Now is what you plan on doing in the future going to be more demanding...I can't say for sure since I don't fully know what 10000 lined programs are but judging from what I do know, you don't need to go wild.  Does what you have chosen get the job done...in a word, yes.  Will it exceed expectations and be able to handle a whole lot...likely not.  Those i3's can handle more than people and i do believe in only buying what is needed.  In this case though I would suggest getting an i5 only because it is a good middle of the range CPU where you won't need to upgrade as you advance.  Let alone a programmer building a PC I would think would want to plan  head a little in case it does go somewhere bigger and more demanding.

 

I would suggest going with the i5 and the 8GB of RAM starting.  You don't need to but it's better to have the extra power when you need it than stretching your PC thin under load because you undercut yourself.  What I DO suggest is that when you do build to be sure you have at least one more open slot for RAM in case you need/want to install.  Otherwise if you start running into RAM issues that will require a partial or entire rebuild.  If you do stick with the i3, I still suggest that for the RAM.

 

 

 

 

 

[0ver]

I feel like the parts that you have are pretty cool, on my current pc setup (i5 3350p, 8 gigs of shitty ram, and an r7 260x - gtx 1060 6gb), my pc would almost instantly load any programs I would throw at it , even 2000 line program (don't ask , uni assignment).Visual Studio, android studio, Java, C, a Virtual machine running Linux were running pretty sweet.The only thing I would recommend as the fellow comrades suggested is 16gigs of ram and a higher resolution monitor. If you can get your hands on 2 monitors that would untie your hands as we like to say in Greece.

[brob]

8 hours ago, SpeC5 said:

I can get a 1080p monitor and stick to 8 gigs of RAM, but if I want 12 or 16 gigs, I need to go back to the 1366 x 768p monitor.

Would that be worth it?

Thanks for your time!

 

Memory requirements depend, in part, on the development environment being used. None the less, 8GB should be enough.

 

More ssd storage is needed. At least 240GB. Compilations and builds typically do significant amounts of storage i/o. Using an hdd increases the time taken for these activities.

 

Get the highest resolution, biggest affordable monitor. It is really nice to be able to have a source window beside a form, or a debug window beside an executing instance.

 

[SpeC5]

7 hours ago, 0ver said:

I feel like the parts that you have are pretty cool, on my current pc setup (i5 3350p, 8 gigs of shitty ram, and an r7 260x - gtx 1060 6gb), my pc would almost instantly load any programs I would throw at it , even 2000 line program (don't ask , uni assignment).Visual Studio, android studio, Java, C, a Virtual machine running Linux were running pretty sweet.The only thing I would recommend as the fellow comrades suggested is 16gigs of ram and a higher resolution monitor. If you can get your hands on 2 monitors that would untie your hands as we like to say in Greece.

 

5 hours ago, brob said:

 

Memory requirements depend, in part, on the development environment being used. None the less, 8GB should be enough.

 

More ssd storage is needed. At least 240GB. Compilations and builds typically do significant amounts of storage i/o. Using an hdd increases the time taken for these activities.

 

Get the highest resolution, biggest affordable monitor. It is really nice to be able to have a source window beside a form, or a debug window beside an executing instance.

 

I was thinking about getting a 21.5 inch FHD monitor first, then buying a secondary one sometime later.

As of RAM, I will get the 8GB RAM first, then I will upgrade it later.

And I will think about getting the higher capacity SSD, if the budget fits me...

Thanks for the reply!