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How good is this computer build?

PrintLn

Onyx user!
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Boogeyman said:
 Thanks man, first build ever. Going to school for programming so thought I would build a pc. Trying to sell my Macbook Pro for some money.

I was worried until I read this.

First, both builds are great and will more than suffice for anything you do within the next 5-8 years (excluding gaming if you plan to play the MOST graphics intensive games at the highest resolutions).

Having said that, I would like to point out that you can spend MUCH less and still have everything you need and then some, Both builds go way above and beyond your needs.

For development machines, the most important parts are the CPU and RAM capacity. GPU is the least important. Definitely go with the second build for the better processor. One thing to note is that you might want to upgrade your heatsink if you plan on overclocking. You might not plan on overclocking now but if you seriously get into development, you might change your mind later. 

Unless you know you're going to use that HDD, I wouldn't get one. Realistically, people that don't have special storage needs don't use more than 256 GB ever. If you really want more space I'd recommend getting a cheaper 500GB SSD such as the Samsung 840 Evo. Any SSD will be better than a HDD and realistically you won't notice any difference. You did mention the possibility of gaming so perhaps a large game library will demand a HDD.

On the subject of gaming, I want to point out that if you seriously plan to get into software development, you won't have any or much time for gaming. Your hunger for knowledge and thirst for learning and determination to write the best code will consume for time than you have. Plus university yatta yatta.. However, if you want the possibility of playing some video games then you will likely more than happy with a less powerful video card. The most popular games don't require or even utilise those cards. Buying them is mostly a waste of money because the extra power won't be used.

And do you actually use optical drives? I put one in my current computer because I had a spare from an old HP and I haven't used it once. Unless you know you'll use it, I wouldn't bother with an optical drive, just get flash drives. The Superior Storage Technology™.

The power supply is more than you need, especially if you don't game or overclock. The power efficiency they advertise is at 90% load. So unless you're using 90% of the PSU, you're not getting that efficiency. In fact, efficiency goes down with load. A 80+ Gold (or Platinum) 1200W power supply @ 25% load will actually be less efficient than a 80+ Bronze 600W power supply @ 50% load. This means the 80+ Gold PSU in this example costs more in electricity than the 80+ Bronze PSU. I would recommend a 600W PSU or 650W if you're feeling adventurous. Also I see no advantage to paying more for a fully-modular PSU. You need the main connections anyway at minimum like the motherboard and the processor so semi-modular is perfectly fine.

P.S: HTML and CSS are not programming languages therefore it it impossible to write programs in those languages. Do not judge software development by the difficult of these as both are extraordinarily simple and straightforward. 
P.P.S: It sounds like you're about to make a big life decision by attending university for computer programming (computer science). You said you know C++ somewhat. Spend a few days (a week if you're distracted/busy) learning the basics and syntax of C++. After that, spend a few hours learning pointers and recursion. If you can't grasp those two concepts, don't worry, neither can most kids that wrote games in BASIC/VB at the age of 5. Whether or not (and how quickly) you grasp these two concepts is an AMAZING predictor of whether or not you'll be happy and successful in a programming career.
 

Boogeyman

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@println can you put a build together for me on pcpartpicker? That would be much appreciated. Basically using it for gaming, editing shit, programming, and other things. One of my good friends IRL put this build together for me, I don't know if I'm looking to spend $1,300 haha!
 

PrintLn

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Boogeyman said:
@println can you put a build together for me on pcpartpicker? That would be much appreciated. Basically using it for gaming, editing shit, programming, and other things. One of my good friends IRL put this build together for me, I don't know if I'm looking to spend $1,300 haha!

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xwDjwP

Notes:

  1. [font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]I've included thermal paste in the build. It's a little bit better than the stuff the heatsink comes with. [/font]
  2. [font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Since this is geared towards software development I would recommend getting 32 GB of RAM. Not a necessity, but definitely nice to have. Just buy two of the items in the list. If your budget can't handle it, 16 GB will be perfectly fine. [/font]
  3. [font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]I included a 480 GB SSD. Unless you plan on downloading tons of games or videos, you could easily get away with 240-256 GB. I've only included the 480 GB for extra padding. You can always buy a HDD later if need be. If budget is an issue, getting a smaller SSD will shave off a good $50+[/font]
  4. [font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]The video card is also a compromise between gaming/bragging and necessity. For development, you can easily get away with something cheaper like a GTX 750 and less. I'm biased towards Intel/Nivida so if you want to shave off even more $$ then ask your friend about Radeon cards.[/font]
  5. [font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]The case is very subjective. Pick something you like, just make sure it supports ATX. Even if it doesn't have a 2.5" bay, it'll undoubtedly have a 3.5" bay and you can buy an adapter for it. I prefer minimal, black cases, with a side window; so you'll notice that's what is in the list, except it's white because judging by the previous builds I'm assuming you prefer white. Note: the case in the list has no place for an optical drive. If you need one, you might as well get an external one. [/font]
  6. [font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]I also didn't put an operating system in the list because you'll probably be using Linux anyway. [/font]
[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]P.S: Don't actually expect to learn anything practical that you can use at a job while you're in university. You'll learn useful stuff by reading and actually writing code.[/font]
 
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