4 ms·

Ask HN: Perfect budget PC for software developers

4 points by Murkin 17y ago

Its that time of the year. I need to buy a new PC for my programming needs. And the same questions pop up again, what is the perfect setup. Trying to push it all into 500$, what would you suggest ? Quad CPU / Dual ? SSD for caching ? SSD for system volume ? Amount of RAM ? etc'

matttah 17y ago
we picked up Dell Poweredge 840 boxes earlier this year for around $600. we're running 2.4ghz quad core xeons, 4gb of ram, and two 150gb seagate drives. I think the only thing I would change is maybe drop in a SSD or a 15k drive to make the system a bit more snappy.
gtani 17y ago
Laptops: you can find plastic case Macbooks for $600 or so on craiglist. Generally, we're talking 2G RAM, no option to purchase additional 2 years of appleCare. I would try to get one that's expandable to 4G RAM and was purchased new last year, or this year. If i were going to buy a used laptop, I would insist that the seller be the original buyer and give you a copy of their purchase receipt, so you know it's legit.
riobard 17y ago
I guess that depends on what kind of programming you are planning to do on the machine -- coding some web apps has quite different requirements than coding some 3D games. But in any case, GET AS MUCH SCREEN ASSETS AS YOU CAN AFFORD! :)
- jacquesm 17y ago
  24" is very affordable right now, E 199 a piece, not sure what they go for in the states, but I'd expect comparable or lower.
aw3c2 17y ago
You need to be more specific. What OS, what programming, what other hobbies? If you want to use virtualisation make sure to get a CPU that supports Intel VT-x or AMD-V. I would suggest an Athlon II X2 240. It is very cheap and has a lot of power. If you want to go into CUDA or OpenCL get an NVIDIA GTS or GTX. SSD is overkill in my opinion. Rather get 4GB RAM and use a ramdisk when you need fast IO (is that IO, I have no idea).
- Murkin 17y ago
  I am mainly developing in C for embedded platforms (i.e. use different compilers). So compilation speed is crucial. And the PC is used for references, so lots of open PDFs/Webpages. Virtualization is a good point, Ill keep that in mind. Thanks !
  - TeHCrAzY 17y ago
    Essentially, you want a dev machine set up so you never break your flow/mindset/focus because you're waiting for the PC to respond. Lots of RAM. Once you go 4GB++, you wont go back. The amount of time you spent waiting for a pc with 2gb of ram when developing is more significant that it seems. ON that note, grab two of the best gb per $ drives, raid mirror them, and enjoy similar speed enhancements. Re. The CPU, a Quad core might be a good investment for the future, as it seems muti-core programming is going to become more and more important as time goes on. I don't know if your compiler can use multiple cores, so assess that benefit there. If not, dual core may be a better option, as they tend to have higher performance for each single core compared to the quad cores (IE. Core1 on a dual vs Core1 on the quad, the dual will tend to be faster given similar clock speeds).
yan 17y ago
Whatever you end up getting, make sure to maximize your RAM and your display real estate.

4 points by Murkin 17y ago

matttah 17y ago

we picked up Dell Poweredge 840 boxes earlier this year for around $600. we're running 2.4ghz quad core xeons, 4gb of ram, and two 150gb seagate drives. I think the only thing I would change is maybe drop in a SSD or a 15k drive to make the system a bit more snappy.

gtani 17y ago

Laptops: you can find plastic case Macbooks for $600 or so on craiglist. Generally, we're talking 2G RAM, no option to purchase additional 2 years of appleCare. I would try to get one that's expandable to 4G RAM and was purchased new last year, or this year. If i were going to buy a used laptop, I would insist that the seller be the original buyer and give you a copy of their purchase receipt, so you know it's legit.

riobard 17y ago

I guess that depends on what kind of programming you are planning to do on the machine -- coding some web apps has quite different requirements than coding some 3D games. But in any case, GET AS MUCH SCREEN ASSETS AS YOU CAN AFFORD! :)

jacquesm 17y ago
24" is very affordable right now, E 199 a piece, not sure what they go for in the states, but I'd expect comparable or lower.

aw3c2 17y ago

You need to be more specific. What OS, what programming, what other hobbies? If you want to use virtualisation make sure to get a CPU that supports Intel VT-x or AMD-V. I would suggest an Athlon II X2 240. It is very cheap and has a lot of power. If you want to go into CUDA or OpenCL get an NVIDIA GTS or GTX. SSD is overkill in my opinion. Rather get 4GB RAM and use a ramdisk when you need fast IO (is that IO, I have no idea).

Murkin 17y ago
I am mainly developing in C for embedded platforms (i.e. use different compilers). So compilation speed is crucial. And the PC is used for references, so lots of open PDFs/Webpages. Virtualization is a good point, Ill keep that in mind. Thanks !
- TeHCrAzY 17y ago
  Essentially, you want a dev machine set up so you never break your flow/mindset/focus because you're waiting for the PC to respond. Lots of RAM. Once you go 4GB++, you wont go back. The amount of time you spent waiting for a pc with 2gb of ram when developing is more significant that it seems. ON that note, grab two of the best gb per $ drives, raid mirror them, and enjoy similar speed enhancements. Re. The CPU, a Quad core might be a good investment for the future, as it seems muti-core programming is going to become more and more important as time goes on. I don't know if your compiler can use multiple cores, so assess that benefit there. If not, dual core may be a better option, as they tend to have higher performance for each single core compared to the quad cores (IE. Core1 on a dual vs Core1 on the quad, the dual will tend to be faster given similar clock speeds).

yan 17y ago

Whatever you end up getting, make sure to maximize your RAM and your display real estate.