Adequate PC hardware for programming

Sumen

Sumen

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Hi,

So my sister is starting her first year in college in feb and will be doing programming as part of the course.
Currently we have an i3-4030u with 4GB RAM but noticed it started slowing down after she did a few practices.
She will be needing her own Laptop before she starts so I need to know:

What hardware, in terms of CPU and RAM,is adequate for programming ?
 
This depends on how intense the the requirements are going to be. I normally use a Xeon workstation for this, but have successfully used an i5 laptop with 4GB RAM and an SSD in the past. This was for relatively light weight work and with no VMs involved.
 
garyc said:
This depends on how intense the the requirements are going to be. I normally use a Xeon workstation for this, but have successfully used an i5 laptop with 4GB RAM and an SSD in the past. This was for relatively light weight work and with no VMs involved.
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Thanks
 
We need more info, what is she programming in?Visual Studio?
 
Sumen said:
She will only be told once she starts.
But I managed to find out the programming languages, C#, C++,JAVA
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Told? So this is the first time she is programming ever?
 
evilskaap said:
I coded for years on an i3 second gen. She will be fine.
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Was yours the normal or the "U" variation?

Edit: second Gen Intel "i" didn't have a ultra-low-power variation.
 
Last edited:
Sumen said:
Was yours the normal or the "U" variation?

Edit: second Gen Intel "i" didn't have a ultra-low-power variation.
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Your edit is correct. I also did some code on a u. It was not that nice, but that is with multiple VMs running and multiple IDEs.

How large a part of the course will be actual coding, usually theory is a larger part?
 
evilskaap said:
Your edit is correct. I also did some code on a u. It was not that nice, but that is with multiple VMs running and multiple IDEs.

How large a part of the course will be actual coding, usually theory is a larger part?
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Not sure, but either way she still has to practically do the tasks if she really wants the work to stick with her.

She could end up finding that she enjoys coding and might want to try out examples in her free time
 
Back in the day we did a comparison to see which upgrade would increase productivity the most. Hands down an SSD, even for compiling.
If the laptop only has room for one hard drive, then I would say at least 512GB SSD, otherwise a 256gb and another hard drive.

Next in line is RAM. 8GB minimum, but when she starts running some version of SQL on it, maybe with a VM, then she would want more. This can always be upgraded, so getting 8GB for now is probably fine.

Display. Nothing less than 1080p. I would probably have killed myself by now if I had to dev on some 720p HD Ready pos.

I love a fast CPU, but think it's the least important part for general development. Just get at least an i3 2.0Ghz I would say.
 
If she is purely coding, she should be fine but Ram and SSD never hurts ( especially ssd with compiling tons of small files ). Cpu only really comes into play when emulating environments: VM's , mobile etc. As a student she should be fine, otherwise look for a i5 with 8Gb ram at least and a small ssd, or have a hardrive and a large usb ( 64 gig ) as a repository/build. I really wouldn't overspend on a learning laptop.

What ide do they code c++ in these days (tertiary) ? When we were learning it was dos based and even later things like notepad++ with compilers for other languages. None of those were intensive.
 
evilskaap said:
Your edit is correct. I also did some code on a u. It was not that nice, but that is with multiple VMs running and multiple IDEs.

How large a part of the course will be actual coding, usually theory is a larger part?
Click to expand...

Barbarian said:
Back in the day we did a comparison to see which upgrade would increase productivity the most. Hands down an SSD, even for compiling.
If the laptop only has room for one hard drive, then I would say at least 512GB SSD, otherwise a 256gb and another hard drive.

Next in line is RAM. 8GB minimum, but when she starts running some version of SQL on it, maybe with a VM, then she would want more. This can always be upgraded, so getting 8GB for now is probably fine.

Display. Nothing less than 1080p. I would probably have killed myself by now if I had to dev on some 720p HD Ready pos.

I love a fast CPU, but think it's the least important part for general development. Just get at least an i3 2.0Ghz I would say.
Click to expand...

Kosmik said:
If she is purely coding, she should be fine but Ram and SSD never hurts ( especially ssd with compiling tons of small files ). Cpu only really comes into play when emulating environments: VM's , mobile etc. As a student she should be fine, otherwise look for a i5 with 8Gb ram at least and a small ssd, or have a hardrive and a large usb ( 64 gig ) as a repository/build. I really wouldn't overspend on a learning laptop.

What ide do they code c++ in these days (tertiary) ? When we were learning it was dos based and even later things like notepad++ with compilers for other languages. None of those were intensive.
Click to expand...

DrJohnZoidberg said:
Just make sure the system has an SSD and at least 8GB of memory.
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Thanks everyone for your inputs.
So this what I have gathered:

Try and avoid the "u" variation of Core I.

Consider upgrading the hard drive to SSD, I probably will settle on SSHD.
 
Kosmik said:
What ide do they code c++ in these days (tertiary) ? When we were learning it was dos based and even later things like notepad++ with compilers for other languages. None of those were intensive.
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First year used codeblocks. Now using Qt for oo design.
 
Sumen said:
She will only be told once she starts.
But I managed to find out the programming languages, C#, C++,JAVA
Click to expand...

Most women dont take very well to programming - especially if they only start in uni.Dont spend big bucks on a fancy laptop.
 
Batista said:
Most women dont take very well to programming - especially if they only start in uni.Dont spend big bucks on a fancy laptop.
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Wah, that's quite a sexist remark. I've known quite a few very good female developers, not many true ( rare things, women in IT in general :D ) but your comment is a bit over the top.
 
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