Programming (Non-Gaming) Computer

[ProgSystem]

I am looking to write programs to put on my resume, so I wanna dedicate a computer to coding programs in multiple programming languages. Mostly just Windows programs and mobile, so I figure it will run Windows 7
Specs:
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 960T Zosma - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103995
Motherboard: ASUS M4A88T-M AM3 AMD 880G - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131657
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231308
Case: COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196
Power Supply - Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016



Currently looking at $388.95 for all these components on NewEgg.com. I have a bunch of ATA harddrives that I figured I could use two of them (Since from what i understand I can only connect two ATA harddrives to that mobo) to start off with then switch to Sata harddrives later, to decrease cost. Id like to keep the computer close to 300.

 

[g-unit1111]

If I were you I'd take a good look at the Intel i3-21xx. If you don't need a quad core the dual core will handle just about everything you can throw at it, you may have to get an adapter to use older ATA hard drives on this system but it is blazing fast for a dual core.

This is what I got for such a similar build earlier this year:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 - $59.99
PSU: Corsair Builder Series CX500 - $59.99
Motherboard: Asrock Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 - $129.99
CPU: 3.30 Ghz Intel Core i3-2120 - $129.99
RAM: 8GB Corsair XMS 3 1600MHz - $49.99

Total: $420.97

 

[COLGeek]

Actually, for basic programming, you don't need a powerful computer. You could go with an x2 (vice x4) CPU and 4GB of RAM and save a few $$$. One HDD will meet your needs.

 

[ProgSystem]

Okay so dumb question

I currently have a Dell Inspiron 1420

Processor 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300
Memory 2GB, 667MHz DDR2
Hard drive 160GB 5,400rpm
Chipset Intel 965

And i find that over a year it just gets slower and slower, thus I have to reformat the harddrive and start from scratch, which returns it to a decent speed. I don't want this yearly thing to happen to this computer I am building, so thats why I figured a high cpu and lots of ram.
Would that not fix that issue?

 

[COLGeek]

Okay so dumb question

I currently have a Dell Inspiron 1420

Processor 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300
Memory 2GB, 667MHz DDR2
Hard drive 160GB 5,400rpm
Chipset Intel 965

And i find that over a year it just gets slower and slower, thus I have to reformat the harddrive and start from scratch, which returns it to a decent speed. I don't want this yearly thing to happen to this computer I am building, so thats why I figured a high cpu and lots of ram.
Would that not fix that issue?

It would help, but systems get bogged down regardless of how much horsepower you have under the hood over time. You could simply add some memory to your rig up from 2GB to 4GB) and install a bigger HDD and keep chugging along with what you have now.

Still, nothing like that "new car" smell......

 

[g-unit1111]

Okay so dumb question

I currently have a Dell Inspiron 1420

Processor 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300
Memory 2GB, 667MHz DDR2
Hard drive 160GB 5,400rpm
Chipset Intel 965

And i find that over a year it just gets slower and slower, thus I have to reformat the harddrive and start from scratch, which returns it to a decent speed. I don't want this yearly thing to happen to this computer I am building, so thats why I figured a high cpu and lots of ram.
Would that not fix that issue?

Actually an SSD would fix that issue - if your computer is at least capable of supporting SATA-II or better.

 

[ProgSystem]

If I were you I'd take a good look at the Intel i3-21xx. If you don't need a quad core the dual core will handle just about everything you can throw at it, you may have to get an adapter to use older ATA hard drives on this system but it is blazing fast for a dual core.

This is what I got for such a similar build earlier this year:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 - $59.99
PSU: Corsair Builder Series CX500 - $59.99
Motherboard: Asrock Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 - $129.99
CPU: 3.30 Ghz Intel Core i3-2120 - $129.99
RAM: 8GB Corsair XMS 3 1600MHz - $49.99

Total: $420.97

I was told to avoid intel because you won't get as much bang for your buck compared to AMD

Also so if I change my CPU to

AMD Phenom II X2 555 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103846

I won't notice much difference?

 

[megamanx00]

Get the quad core CPU. Trust me. Looks like AMD stopped shipping the 955BE or I'd suggest that CPU. You may also want to consider a good 7200 RPM Hard drive with at least 16mb of cache, though you could get by on the old 160gb you have initially. I of course assume that hard drive is SATA and not IDE otherwise you will need a hard drive.

You don't need much to program, but if you want it speedy this is a good machine to do so. Be aware that the more IDEs and tools you put on your PC the more processes you will have running at startup (which makes the extra RAM so useful). I take it you'll be using Visual Studio? If you want to program for android I suggest you also install Eclipse. I prefer Netbeans for Java and while you can use it for Android, it's a pain because everyone else does it in Eclipse and the Android support for Netbeans is not the best

 

[ProgSystem]

Get the quad core CPU. Trust me. Looks like AMD stopped shipping the 955BE or I'd suggest that CPU. You may also want to consider a good 7200 RPM Hard drive with at least 16mb of cache, though you could get by on the old 160gb you have initially. I of course assume that hard drive is SATA and not IDE otherwise you will need a hard drive.

You don't need much to program, but if you want it speedy this is a good machine to do so. Be aware that the more IDEs and tools you put on your PC the more processes you will have running at startup (which makes the extra RAM so useful). I take it you'll be using Visual Studio? If you want to program for android I suggest you also install Eclipse. I prefer Netbeans for Java and while you can use it for Android, it's a pain because everyone else does it in Eclipse and the Android support for Netbeans is not the best

I just realized that most of the harddrives ive used are IDE.. I need to go look them over and see if they have Sata.. I don't know much about harddrives, I just know how to put them together (LOL who doesn't)

Anyway that 160gb is in a laptop, and I dont plan to remove any hardware from my laptop..

So you think I should stick with my original specs?

and yes I plan on using Visual Studio and Eclipse

 

[megamanx00]

Well then make sure you get a Hard Drive and DVD burner that are SATA. The Hard Drives are a little expensive at the moment though. If you would rather just get a board that has 1 IDE connection for your old hardware you could go with

ASRock 880GM-LE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157199

 

[ProgSystem]

Well then make sure you get a Hard Drive and DVD burner that are SATA. The Hard Drives are a little expensive at the moment though. If you would rather just get a board that has 1 IDE connection for your old hardware you could go with

ASRock 880GM-LE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157199

Yup I just checked, the two harddrives I was gonna use are IDE .. ugh.. I looked at that mobo and it doesnt have core unlocker which I dont like.. Also i have an external dvd burner so I wont need to install a dvd burner inside..

So I cant use IDE on the mobo I picked? It has an IDE connector, I don't see why I couldn't.

 

[g-unit1111]

I was told to avoid intel because you won't get as much bang for your buck compared to AMD

Also so if I change my CPU to

AMD Phenom II X2 555 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103846

I won't notice much difference?

Certainly true in some cases but I've built AMD systems that have failed within the first few weeks and wound up replacing them with Intel systems anyways. That happened with my build. I wound up replacing it with a Z68 system and it's been rock solid and completely stable ever since.

 

[ProgSystem]

Okay so I think I got the specs down.. I just need to know if it is all compatible

Processor: I need to buy this off of amazon.. I want this:
AMD Phenom II X4 960T Zosma 3.0GHz - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103995

I need to buy it off Amazon but when I search Amazon for it .. I get this

AMD Phenom II X4 960T Processor, Black Edition, 3.0 4 Socket AM3 - HD96ZTWFGRBOX
http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Phenom-Processor-Black-Socket/dp/B0056D5AMY/

Whats the difference? Does it even matter?

Mobo:ASUS M4A88T-M AM3 AMD 880G - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131657

Ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231308

PSU: SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

Original Cost: 363.95

My Cost: 313.95

Saved: $50


Is everything compatible and is that a good price?

Case: COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196

 

[brucek2]

You haven't told us about your monitor. For me, having an easily readable, high resolution, large monitor is one of the most important development productivity tools there is.

This goes double if you will mainly be working on projects of the size that a single person can do by themselves. It is doubtful they will soon get so large that a lower power computer would not be to build them in a timely manner.

As to your yearly slow downs, a portion of that may be due to needing to defragment your drive (which will be true in any system that does not include an SSD), and to the accumulation of malware and/or bloatware (which happens on any system.)

Your 5400 RPM drive is painfully slow and will likely be a bottleneck in many tasks, especially startup, application launch, application switching, and builds/compiles. At a $300 total system budget you probably can't splurge for an SSD, but I would try to beg or borrow a faster hard drive. This change alone may be what you notice first/most.

 

[ProgSystem]

You haven't told us about your monitor. For me, having an easily readable, high resolution, large monitor is one of the most important development productivity tools there is.

This goes double if you will mainly be working on projects of the size that a single person can do by themselves. It is doubtful they will soon get so large that a lower power computer would not be to build them in a timely manner.

As to your yearly slow downs, a portion of that may be due to needing to defragment your drive (which will be true in any system that does not include an SSD), and to the accumulation of malware and/or bloatware (which happens on any system.)

Your 5400 RPM drive is painfully slow and will likely be a bottleneck in many tasks, especially startup, application launch, application switching, and builds/compiles. At a $300 total system budget you probably can't splurge for an SSD, but I would try to beg or borrow a faster hard drive. This change alone may be what you notice first/most.

No monitor... I have an old dell monitor and I also have 27 inch HDTV that I figure Ill just hook the computer up to for now (since the mobo has a hdmi port).. I have this hard drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144392

That I figure I will use until the cost of hard drives goes back to normal (late next year) and I have the money to buy it.. Id go for a 500 gb sata @ 3 gb/s

 

[megamanx00]

Yup I just checked, the two harddrives I was gonna use are IDE .. ugh.. I looked at that mobo and it doesnt have core unlocker which I dont like.. Also i have an external dvd burner so I wont need to install a dvd burner inside..

So I cant use IDE on the mobo I picked? It has an IDE connector, I don't see why I couldn't.

Actually it does have ACC to unlock cores

http://asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=880GM-LE


Anyway yes the ASUS has one IDE connector so you can use that, though the ASRock is considerably cheaper so up to you.

 

[ProgSystem]

Actually it does have ACC to unlock cores

http://asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=880GM-LE


Anyway yes the ASUS has one IDE connector so you can use that, though the ASRock is considerably cheaper so up to you.

The things I didnt like about that mobo was that it only has 2 memory slots and theres no core unlocker..

Btw is it worth it to unlock the cores or OC if im not gaming?

Is it also true that unlock cores > OC, as in increased performance ?

 

[megamanx00]

Core unlocking relies on ACC. The ASRock board can be used to unlock cores by adjusting the settings in BIOS. The ASUS board simply has a very convenient way to attempt to unlock the cores without you having to go into the BIOS. Remember, with core unlocking it's not a certainty that you will get those extra cores so it's always hit or miss. As for the memory slots it's a good option to have if you might get 16GB in the future, but of course if you never plan to add that RAM it's a bit of a useless feature . I'd go for the extra memory slots too though ^_^, but then I'd also be using discreet graphics .