PC for programmer.

[Pierre3400]

Hey guys,

My friend is looking to build a rig for programming.

He hasnt said much, apart from needing SSD and 32gb ram.

I know more or less where to go and what to look for, but my question is, CPU wise.

What should he be looking at?

 

[trents]

At an i5 or an i7 for the CPU. I think lots of RAM is more important than a super powerful processor for programmers.

 

[Lochekey]

At an i5 or an i7 for the CPU. I think lots of RAM is more important than a super powerful processor for programmers.

This may not always be the case depending what he is programming for. Some of the programming we do at work requires compiling down for machine code and fpga bit files and for that you want all the cpu grunt you can get to speed up compile times.

Do you know what type of programming he will be doing and if he will need to compile will he be doing it on his machine or sending the code out to a compile farm to run?

 

[EarthDog]

Depends on the program he is using really... if you know that and can look up if its multi threaded capable or GPGPU capable, you will know where to put the money into the rig.

 

[Pierre3400]

I dont understand his work now maybe this info makes sense to you guys.

4 to 8 solutions in visual studio (C# - mvc) with emulation software and javascripting, while often also running andriod studio and/or xamarin studio.

 

[Leegit]

He will want something that is multi-threaded for sure, probably just go for the standard i7 6700K; it'll help speed up compiling times, working with multiple IDEs at once (large solutions/projects?), and future proofing is nice (there is nothing really great about Kaby Lake). Using 32GB and C# + javascripting. I bet he is working with very large databases, server/client-side applications and emulating Android apps connecting to them. Guessing though, more details would help

 

[JrClocker]

Agree with Leegit.

He wants something with a lot of cores for compile times.

He also wants a fast SSD for compile times.

If he is going to have 4 to 8 solutions open in Visual Studio, 32 G memory is probably good for now. But he will want something that he can increase later (especially if doing a lot of database programming and emulation.)