CPU and memory recommendations please for building a decent coding and development/testing machine

[Greg_99]

I don't have a price point in mind but I do want to hit the sweet spot between price and performance for my needs. Gaming graphics is not important.

Looking to build a desktop box for home use by a programmer/developer. Will be used for coding with Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, running a test mysql DB with limited data, running a few virtual machines with Linux and MS Server in Virtualbox frequently. May run Linux and Windows Pro. May upgrade to a 4k monitor at some point.

I've always done well with AMD (due to price point) but am open to Intel as well. My current system slows to a crawl with Virtual box loaded and needs an upgrade.

Current System:
CPU: AMD A-10 5800 3.8GHz
RAM: 8Gb RAM

Give me some recommendations please

 

[kanewolf]

What is your current system, so we can calibrate how much of an upgrade you will get?

 

[Greg_99]

Current System:
CPU: AMD A-10 5800 3.8GHz
RAM: 8Gb RAM

 

[Peter Martin]

that's not bad. unless you want it to be fast. Honestly, build a fast box with LOTS of ram for VMs and caches and whatnot. Get a license for vmware workstation and make a build VM. that way your machine can burn up and you never lose your dev environment if you keep it backed up to cloud and external drives. oh yeah, with Workstation, you can save snapshots, so you could in theory start fresh each time (like you should) and save the results off for each build you end up shipping. that way you have a complete build env that matches what got released for support purposes.

I allocate 4 core cpu and 8GB ram. I have VS2008, 2010, 2013 and 2017 including VB 6.0 on Server 2016, fully updated. Solid build vm

at work i have an old FX AMD something with 16 GB ram, it's enough. if you get any modern cpu, it will be good. hell a Ryzen 5 2400g would be super for build machine. get the fastest and most DDR4 dual channel you can pair with it for max performance. you will even be able to game on it if you cared at medium to low settings, depending. you won't need a video card, it's build into the 2400g

there is method to my madness. by using a build vm, you never pollute the base install of windows host. updates goes much faster on the windows host side (if and when YOU choose, remember, use Server OS). Keep host as simple as possible, OS and Office and that should be it, anything else goes in VM where it's needed.

 

[Peter Martin]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($158.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: AMD - Wraith Max 55.78 CFM CPU Cooler ($45.21 @ Newegg Business)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - X470 AORUS GAMING 5 WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard ($161.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($116.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT - H500 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($63.88 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($75.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $787.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-14 08:47 EST-0500

this can do what you want, plus game. still better not to pollute windows with visual studio, leads to really slow boxes in future, go with VM idea, it works, trust me, my box can fry and i can take my vm to another machine and keep working.