I need to build a affordable computer mainly for coding and programming for school. I'm able to run all the programs except for blender. I'm trying to do game programming as a hobby and engineering as a profession. the programs I'm starting to learn are Unity, Blender, Autodesk, and Solid Works. are you able to help me find the parts? I have seen how to build them but, lack knowledge on what the specifics of each component means. thanks for any help you can give me, I really appreciate it
dont know what your budget is but give the The PowerSpec G436 its a good solid system that should do what you need and more , you can add another 32gb ram for 64gb and it should work great for all them programs
Hello @DecentDefensiveDave and thanks for posting on the Microcenter Community Forum. For software development you don't need to have a high performing pc, such as a gaming pc. You just need simple components. The main parts to look at is your CPU, you do want to have high quality CPU like a Intel I7-9700K or a I5-10600K. You want to make sure if you choose one of these CPUs or any other CPU, that the motherboard support that cpu. The I7-9700K goes with an LGA 1151 socket motherboard and the 10600K goes with a LGA 1200 socket motherboard. You want to go with at least 12gb to 16gb of ram (memory) and a Solid State Drive (512gb) and a 2ndary drive (Sata 1tb). You can come to the store and a BYO specialist can answer any question you have. Check out the link below as well.
https://simpleprogrammer.com/best-coding-hardware/
my spending cap is around $500
I'd typically recommend a pre-built when your budget is around $500 as they are typically cheaper since the manufacturer typically has a deal with Microsoft and reduces the cost of an OS.
Even so, the cheapest pre-build that I'm seeing available is the HP Pavilion.
Here's a build list that has similar nearly the exact same specs as the prebuilt above. The differences are an incrementally better CPU and an additional 8GB of memory at a faster clock rate.
Unfortunately, I don't think we can offer a build that fits within your budget. With the entry CPU that is $200 and a GPU is $170, this would leave almost no room for the rest of the build. I couldn't recommend a lesser part list as the programs you mentioned have system requirements at these specs and a recommendation with higher specs than these.
I hope this explains this well for you, but please let me know if you have any other questions!
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