Build a PC / coding & development

$1,500 PC for programming, part by part

An Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus with the ASRock Intel Arc B580 Challenger 12GB OC, and the 6 parts around them that fit it: $1,613 all in.

Builds, containers and a few virtual machines at 1440p. Every part here was checked against every other for fit, and picked for cores for builds and containers, plenty of memory, fast storage, and a card for several screens or a local model. A price marked Amazon US is ScoutPrices' reading of the listing its button opens, dated; the rest are typical prices. Not a checkout total: no operating system, shipping, tax, screen, keyboard or mouse.

The Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus has headroom to spare. The ASRock Intel Arc B580 Challenger 12GB OC sets the frame rate at 1440p, so a faster card is the upgrade that shows.

Change the budget or the job

Fit for the job

Sweet spot

$1,613 of $1,500

The ASRock B860 Challenger WiFi White goes onto the NZXT H7 Flow (2024) White's tray: ATX, B860, nine standoffs.

The Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus drops into the LGA1851 socket, lever down: 18 cores, up to 5.3 GHz.

The Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE clamps onto the chip: a tower rated 260 W against the 159 W the chip can pull.

Two sticks of TeamGroup T-Force Delta RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 click into the second and fourth slots: 32 GB at 6000 MT/s.

The WD Black SN850X 1TB screws into the first M.2 slot under the card.

The ASRock Intel Arc B580 Challenger 12GB OC slides into the x16 slot and latches: 310 mm in a case that takes 410 mm, 12 GB of memory.

The be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 750W goes into the basement, 750 W for a build that draws about 500 W flat out.

Side panel on, three case fans spinning. Fit for the job: 71 of 100.

Build order

Eight steps, the way a builder works through the case. $1,496 all in.

ASRock B860 Challenger WiFi White on the tray
Core Ultra 5 250K Plus in the socket
Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE on top
2 sticks of memory
WD Black SN850X 1TB on the board
ASRock Intel Arc B580 Challenger 12GB OC in the x16 slot
750 W supply in the basement
Panel on, power on

Illustration built from this build's parts: the case's card and cooler clearances, the board's size, the card's length, the cooler, the memory sticks, the supply. Shapes are generic, not the products' own.

PartScore for the jobPrice

ProcessorIntel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus

Highest coding & development score the budget allows next to this card: 18 cores, boosts to 5.3 GHz.

2 swaps that still fit

Intel Core Ultra 5 245K-$37, -7 ptsBuy on Amazon
Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF-$18, -7 ptsBuy on Amazon

$217Amazon US, Oct 25

Buy on Amazon

MotherboardASRock B860 Challenger WiFi White

B860 board for the LGA1851 socket, DDR5, 3 M.2 slots, Wi-Fi.

$120Amazon US, Oct 25

Buy on Amazon

MemoryTeamGroup T-Force Delta RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30

32 GB DDR5 at 6000 MT/s CL30; 32 GB or more is the floor for coding & development.

1 swap that still fit

Crucial Pro 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-5600 CL46+$65, -20 ptsBuy on Amazon

$495Amazon US, Oct 25

Buy on Amazon

Graphics cardASRock Intel Arc B580 Challenger 12GB OC

12 GB of video memory, index 30 at 1440p; tuned for cores for builds and containers, plenty of memory, fast storage, and a card for several screens or a local model.

$330Amazon US, Oct 25

Buy on Amazon

CPU coolerThermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE

Rated 260 W for a chip that turbos to 159 W.

3 swaps that still fit