Build a PC / coding & development

$2,000 PC for programming, part by part

An Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus with the Radeon RX 7700 XT, and the 6 parts around them that fit it: $2,039 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 7 270K Plus has headroom to spare. The Radeon RX 7700 XT 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

Enthusiast

$2,039 of $2,000

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

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus drops into the LGA1851 socket, lever down: 24 cores, up to 5.5 GHz.

The Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360's block sits on the chip and its 360 mm radiator bolts to the roof; rated 330 W against 250 W.

Two sticks of G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 click into the second and fourth slots: 32 GB at 6400 MT/s.

The Crucial T705 1TB screws into the first M.2 slot under the card.

The Radeon RX 7700 XT slides into the x16 slot and latches: 280 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 700 W flat out.

Side panel on, three case fans spinning. Fit for the job: 80 of 100.

Build order

Eight steps, the way a builder works through the case. $1,990 all in.

ASRock B860 Challenger WiFi White on the tray
Core Ultra 7 270K Plus in the socket
Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 on top
2 sticks of memory
Crucial T705 1TB on the board
RX 7700 XT 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 7 270K Plus

Highest coding & development score the budget allows next to this card: 24 cores, boosts to 5.5 GHz.

2 swaps that still fit

Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF-$38, -8 ptsBuy on Amazon
Intel Core Ultra 7 265K-$41, -8 ptsBuy on Amazon

$386Amazon 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

MemoryG.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6400 CL32

32 GB DDR5 at 6400 MT/s CL32; 32 GB or more is the floor for coding & development.

3 swaps that still fit

TeamGroup T-Force Delta RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30-$95, -5 ptsBuy on Amazon
G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 White+$50, same scoreBuy on Amazon
G.Skill Flare X5 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30-$10, -5 ptsBuy on Amazon

$590Amazon US, Oct 25

Buy on Amazon

Graphics cardRadeon RX 7700 XT

12 GB of video memory, index 43 at 1440p; tuned for cores for builds and containers, plenty of memory, fast storage, and a card for several screens or a local model.

Buying it opens ASRock Radeon RX 7700 XT Challenger 12GB OC, one of the boards built on this chip.

2 swaps that still fit