Build a PC / coding & development

$5,000 PC for programming, part by part

An Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus with the GeForce RTX 5080, and the 6 parts around them that fit it: $4,981 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.

Everything past this costs far more than the speed it adds, so the build stops at $4,434 rather than spend the rest of the budget on a bigger number. $566 is left for a screen, a keyboard and a mouse.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and the GeForce RTX 5080 are well matched at 1440p.

Change the budget or the job

Fit for the job

Flagship

$4,981 of $5,000

The ASUS ROG Maximus Z890 Hero goes onto the Lian Li O11 Dynamic Evo RGB's tray: ATX, Z890, 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 Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB screws into the first M.2 slot, the WD Black SN8100 4TB into the second.

The GeForce RTX 5080 slides into the x16 slot and latches: 310 mm in a case that takes 422 mm, 16 GB of memory.

The Super Flower Leadex VII XG 1000W goes into the basement, 1000 W for a build that draws about 800 W flat out, one native 16-pin cable to the card.

Side panel on, 7 case fans spinning. Fit for the job: 90 of 100.

Build order

Eight steps, the way a builder works through the case. $4,434 all in.

ASUS ROG Maximus Z890 Hero on the tray
Core Ultra 7 270K Plus in the socket
Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 on top
2 sticks of memory
Two drives on the board
RTX 5080 in the x16 slot
1000 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.

3 swaps that still fit

Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF-$38, -8 ptsBuy on Amazon
Intel Core Ultra 7 265K-$41, -8 ptsBuy on Amazon
Intel Core Ultra 9 285K+$99, -1 ptsBuy on Amazon

$386Amazon US, Oct 25

Buy on Amazon

MotherboardASUS ROG Maximus Z890 Hero

Z890 board for the LGA1851 socket, DDR5, 5 M.2 slots, Wi-Fi.

2 swaps that still fit

MSI MAG Z890 Tomahawk WiFi-$159, -12 ptsBuy on Amazon
ASUS ROG Strix Z890-A Gaming WiFi-$144, -6 ptsBuy on Amazon

$434Amazon 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.

4 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
G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30+$10, -3 ptsBuy on Amazon

$590Amazon US, Oct 25

Buy on Amazon

Graphics cardGeForce RTX 5080

16 GB of video memory, index 77 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 GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming OC 16G, one of the boards built on this chip.

4 swaps that still fit