What kind of rig for a programmer?

[AMDPwred]

Would having a super fast (2ghz, 1gig of RAM) benefit a programmer at all? I know that faster is better but does it really make a difference in programming?

-Edit 1-

I'm really talking about programming big projects that involve major graphics and things. Sorry, I should have said that also

-Edit 2-

It would also be in Windows, for Windows, using Visual Studio.

 

[aUt0eXebat]

id think only benifit would be for compiling whatever you program..

 

[Viper GTS]

Dualie Pentium III 1 GHz on a Serverworks motherboard.
1 gig RAM
PCI Matrox G450 Dualhead (if they exist, I think they do)
Win2K Pro
Dual 18.1" LCD's

You fill in the rest.

Viper GTS

 

[StageLeft]

Not really. A programmer can write code on a 286 using a text editor. Even if you use a graphical development environment like VB you don't need a particularly fast computer. The only time a fast computer is needed is in compiling (and running if your program is crazy), but if you're programming by yourself even a large application for one person is going to be of a sufficiently small size that even a fairly low-end computer will be able to handle compiling it in an adequate time frame.

 

[AMDPwred]

-Edit-

Check top again

 

[coder1]

If you not doing any graphic coding (OpenGL, DirectX) you won't need a killer video card.

oops, dind't see your post. You might want to pick up a decent card then.

 

[ShizNitz]

Not really. I guess it really depends what platform you're programming for/on. Anytime that you're using your PC as a dumb terminal (AS/400 programming, mainframe programming, etc...), it really doesn't matter at all. Since programming is done 95% with a text editor (which is definitely not CPU intensive) most programming can be done on an antiquated machine. As for compiling, it has been my experience that most language's compile time is insignificant.

 

[Descartes]

It largely depends on what kind of applications you write. Are you writing cryptanalysis tools? Well, then the more the better. Are you writing scientific applications, or anything of that sort? If not, really anything else is overkill. Not to mention, doing a build on tons of source files give you a chance to relax while the cpu is taxed

 

[vash]

Programmers almost need a gamers PC:

1. Fast as possible CPU.
2. Large, fast disk.
3. Tons of memory.
4. Large, high resolution monitor.

I have friends who code for a living. Nothing to them is faster, then watching their entire project build in 1/3 of the time with a system upgrade. The CPU does the compiling, but you need the fast disk to grab the source files quickly and you'll need tons of ram for the compiler to finish.

The high res. monitor is a must. I don't know a single coder who doesn't have the highest resolution the monitor supports.

vash

 

[MrMilney]

Let's not forget a rock-solid operating system like Win2K Pro. That may be the coder's best friend; when your buggy app crashes it doesn't take the OS with it.

 

[AMDPwred]

<< The high res. monitor is a must. I don't know a single coder who doesn't have the highest resolution the monitor supports. >>



Wouldn't that kill the eyes? What kind of res are we talking about? I currently run at 1024x768x32.

 

[AMDPwred]

<< Let's not forget a rock-solid operating system like Win2K Pro. That may be the coder's best friend; when your buggy app crashes it doesn't take the OS with it. >>



Got that

Check!

 

[BoberFett]

Code on whatever you want, the faster the better. But have a machine for testing which is your minimum spec.

Also, be sure to run Win2K. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to debug code in Win9x that continually GPFs kernel, causing a reboot every few minutes.

 

[Descartes]

<< I don't know a single coder who doesn't have the highest resolution the monitor supports >>



Well, I know many, including myself. Personally, 1600x1200 is just too damn small. Both my laptop and my desktops support at least 1600x1200, but I usually keep it on 1280x1024 or 1152x864.

 

[StageLeft]

If i'm using a 21" monitor I have it at 1280X1024, otherwise 1024X768. Staring at tiny text all day long sucks badly.

Speaking of operating systems last year I was working on a project in V J++ on a win98 machine. Man that sucked my nards. I would have to reboot on average every hour. It seemed like every compile (which would take a couple minutes I think on this pretty fast machine) it would suck some ram off into never never land. It took them forever to give us Win2k.

 

[Ameesh]

dual monitors is a blessing theres nothing like have msdn up on one side while having VS on the other, i agree with alot of ram and hard drive space, if you dont mind waiting for the compiler you dont have to get the fastest proc but i would reccomend at least a ghz machine now adays.

 

[stingbandel]

<< Dualie Pentium III 1 GHz on a Serverworks motherboard.
1 gig RAM
PCI Matrox G450 Dualhead (if they exist, I think they do)
Win2K Pro
Dual 18.1" LCD's

You fill in the rest.

Viper GTS >>



Viper, that's one heck of a scary system for a programmer. I think you don't really need that superior system. I use my system for programming mostly and what I have is Celeron 433 with 384 MB of RAM. I think it should be enough.







Darno

 

[AMDPwred]

<< dual monitors is a blessing theres nothing like have msdn up on one side while having VS on the other, i agree with alot of ram and hard drive space, if you dont mind waiting for the compiler you dont have to get the fastest proc but i would reccomend at least a ghz machine now adays. >>



I saw that you work at MS. I'd love to work for them after I get out of college. Do you program for them? If so, what do you work on? Also, could you list the specs of the system you code on? Thanks!

 

[bunker]

933 PIII Xeon
1Gb rdram
20 gb scsi drive
Matrox g400 32mb vid card (with dual monitor support)
Win2k pro

I can't tell you enough how much better it is than the old PIII 600 I was using here!

As was already said, please use Win2k. The headaches caused by any other flavor of windows will make you tear your hair out!

 

[vash]

<<

<< The high res. monitor is a must. I don't know a single coder who doesn't have the highest resolution the monitor supports. >>



Wouldn't that kill the eyes? What kind of res are we talking about? I currently run at 1024x768x32. >>

For all the coders I know, 10x7 is not acceptable. We're talking starting at 1600x1200 to start. My best friend codes at 20xx by something (I forgot what). I don't code, but I'm used to a high-res monitor so much, I can't use my main pc with anything less than 16x12.

vash

 

[Ameesh]

<<

<< dual monitors is a blessing theres nothing like have msdn up on one side while having VS on the other, i agree with alot of ram and hard drive space, if you dont mind waiting for the compiler you dont have to get the fastest proc but i would reccomend at least a ghz machine now adays. >>



I saw that you work at MS. I'd love to work for them after I get out of college. Do you program for them? If so, what do you work on? Also, could you list the specs of the system you code on? Thanks! >>



try for an internship during college if you get you'll have a great chance to work full time as long as you dont blow it.

yeah i program for them, i Work on IPSec which is a security standard that resides at the IP layer, it will be the new way things are secured. (yes it is an open standarded and many companies are builind their versions of it)


they give us pretty nice systems i have a few ghz boxes with nice monitors, theres about 15 test boxes in my office including a couple of itaniums which run really hot. my dual monitor setup is on oreder and a few people have three or monitors set up on one system.


once you work here you'll never want to work any where else (mostly cause you'll be addicted to allt he free soda and juice you get )

 

[AMDPwred]

<< try for an internship during college if you get you'll have a great chance to work full time as long as you dont blow it. >>



Do they have any offices located in the Richmond, VA area? What kind of requirements do they look for in an applications programmer? And I have to ask, is the campus anything like the movie Antitrust?

 

[Ameesh]

<<

<< try for an internship during college if you get you'll have a great chance to work full time as long as you dont blow it. >>



Do they have any offices located in the Richmond, VA area? What kind of requirements do they look for in an applications programmer? And I have to ask, is the campus anything like the movie Antitrust? >>



nope, redmond, WA or san jose, CA but i reccomend Redmond casue its where its at,

know C/C++ well and be smart

and yes but much much bigger

 

[Cattlegod]

dual amd palimino 1.2 gig
1 gig of 266 mhz ram.
geforce 3
21" sony G520 monitor
24x cd burner
4 100 gig ibm drives in raid 1

 

[notfred]

I program on a 300mhz P2 laptop just fine.