Development PC - any thoughts?

I need a desktop for software development, mostly using Java or Visual Studio. It needs to be reliable, above all. I'd like to be able to play games like "No Man's Sky" if I feel inclined. Based on a recent similar query, I drew up this. I'd be grateful for any comments.

Case
COOLERMASTER SILENCIO S600 QUIET MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-9700 (3.0GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z390-F GAMING: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
2x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on DVD
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
The case is poor for airflow, if you're aiming for a quiet system then the Define R6 is the go-to.
The 9700 CPU is pretty much dead in the water. The only real reason to consider Intel now is for the OC capabilities and the high frequencies garnered from them. The 9700 doesn't really offer either of those.
ROG Strix Motherboard is VERY expensive for what it is. If you need Intel then the Aorus pro is normally the go-to thanks to it's fantastic VRMs and featureset
With the RAM you really want to be aiming for the fastest possible. With 16GB you also want to use the whole channel (2 chips per channel) so 2x8GB at 3600Mhz would be my choice where possible With Intel the limit may be 3200, I can't recall.
GPU is excellent but it may be worthwhile considering the 1660 Super, it's a bit more money but it will have you covered for 1080p gaming for some time.
The Evo M2 drive is fantastic, blistering speed but I'm not convinced you would notice a lot of difference between it and the SX6000. I would possibly save the money here. If going for AMD I would opt for the silly fast drives... just because.
The WIFI isn't a great selection but unfortunately the AX200 is out of stock. If you need Wifi I would buy the card elsewhere and fit it yourself. If you don't need it, ditch it.... if you think you'll use it sparingly then the stock option is fine.

What is your budget and what monitor are you pairing with? What resolution and refreshrate are you hoping to achieve with the system? I'm thinking AMD build but if you answer the above I can help with some specifics.
 

OryxAndy

Member
Based on my recent research for my development machine, I would suggest:
-You might get a bit more bang for your buck with an AMD chip, such as the Ryzen 7 RX 3700X.
-Maybe not the S600 case. Following a post on this forum I found a couple of reviews that said the ventilation isn't great and it runs quite hot.
-3000MHz might give a bit of a performance boost and doesn't cost much more.
-I didn't bother with wireless.
But bear in mind that I am a software guy, not a hardware guy.

There are a lot of developers. I don't know why companies like PCSpecialist don't have standard developer setups on offer. Fast components, reliable, quiet, no bling.
 
The case is poor for airflow, if you're aiming for a quiet system then the Define R6 is the go-to.
The 9700 CPU is pretty much dead in the water. The only real reason to consider Intel now is for the OC capabilities and the high frequencies garnered from them. The 9700 doesn't really offer either of those.

I really appreciate the input - thank you.

I've looked at the case, and that seems sensible. I'll increase the RAM speed too.

If that's all the intel option gives you, then it sounds like a good reason to go AMD.

I haven't thought about monitors at all, to be honest. I have a couple of older Benq VW2245z which have been fine for development. I'd intended to use those.
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
Not sure how well this fits within your budget but this is a good starting point. It has a couple of luxuries that you could save money on if it was too much. Note the lack of Wifi. This is a near silent system, which includes a PSU that has silent operation when running modest loads.

32GB of RAM might be worth considering depending on the software utilisation. I've selected 16GB of the fastest RAM available along with the fastest drive I've ever seen (It's quite bonkers).

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R6 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)

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Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs

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The Outer Worlds -OR- Borderlands 3 w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
3TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 15 working days
Price: £1,487.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/j7NDjdnZdZ/
 
Thank you very much indeed for your help. The order I made in the end is:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R6 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
WO5DXsnOpRnm3I96_pdmrHtl0BN4ax2q3AWgkWaq0ffxKAjHFfvIK17g_-jqqYPe1NSzSYSkhaA1X2LbQwhFR_jgyrBFUPf6PTlvT45EKEKNUNAI=s0-d-e1-ft
Get 3 Months of XBOX Game Pass for PC w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
WO5DXsnOpRnm3I96_pdmrHtl0BN4ax2q3AWgkWaq0ffxKAjHFfvIK17g_-jqqYPe1NSzSYSkhaA1X2LbQwhFR_jgyrBFUPf6PTlvT45EKEKNUNAI=s0-d-e1-ft
The Outer Worlds -OR- Borderlands 3 w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B450-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
2x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 15 working days
Price: £1,314.00 including VAT and Delivery
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
I would remove the extra fans, you won't need them with the R6. If you fit those fans they will remove the silencing panels as well which will make it louder.

With the RAM, at least go for the 3200Mhz RAM but consider the 3600Mhz, it's a worthy upgrade for the money.

For your storage drive, if it's imperative that you have 4TB then what you have selected is fine, if you can get away with 3TB then I would select that as it's a 7200RPM drive which will make a difference with larger files etc.

The 970 Evo is expensive for what it is. I would select the Firecuda here which is way faster. I would also consider 1TB over 500GB as it will fill up fast.
 
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