OK!
For the processor, AMD is the bang-per-buck option right now. Ryzen processors give you more cores and threads at any given price point. AMD boards are also considerably more economical. Intel is what you need for outright performance, but you pay for it both for CPU and board.
You'll want a decent graphics card to drive two big monitors, if only to get two HDMI outputs. Something like an Nvidia GTX 1060 or an AMD RX480 will be more than fine. These are a couple of generations behind, but still plenty good. But cheaper!
Windows 10 is fine unless you're one of those panty-waisted individuals who gets all bent out of shape because this car has the air con controls on that button and it's JUST NOT THE SAME. tl;dr: get over yourself, and do some work. I will brook no argument on this point. Anyone who gets religion over their inability to adapt to a UI should shut up and DO SOME WORK. None of them are perfect, all of them will annoy you. Do some work!
RAM is still at stupid prices, although slowly falling. 16GB is more than enough for regular office work and compiling stuff; if you're editing video then you need all the RAM and all the CPU. If you're running more than one VM then 32GB is likely advantageous, but spendy. Others will be better-placed than I to advise on database RAM requirements in 2019. If you're looking at 64GB you need to carefully check that your chosen CPU and motherboard will support this configuration, and also that your wallet has an emotional support animal, because it's gonna get traumatised.
SSD is mandatory for at least the OS volume, and likely also the volume you're building on. It's still very spendy for bulk storage, so consider something like a Seagate Firecuda hybrid SSD/HD, with costs per TB at about a quarter of SSD prices.
The best part about a desktop is that you can eschew the mewling of Apple-ites who are trying to keep the dust out of their butterfly keyboards and buy a proper mechanical chappy, for great typing! I have a Logitech G512 Carbon, with Romer-G Linear keyswitches - they provide mechanical travel without the click, which is what makes all the noise. Other keyboards and keyswitches are available.
You can fit all this (or, better, pay someone to fit all this) into a modestly-sized box that's still large enough to have nice big (aka quiet) fans. Liquid cooling is the definitive low-noise solution, but it adds cost and complexity and can leak.
You'll want a decent graphics card to drive two big monitors, if only to get two HDMI outputs. Something like an Nvidia GTX 1060 or an AMD RX480 will be more than fine. These are a couple of generations behind, but still plenty good. But cheaper!
Windows 10 is fine unless you're one of those panty-waisted individuals who gets all bent out of shape because this car has the air con controls on that button and it's JUST NOT THE SAME. tl;dr: get over yourself, and do some work. I will brook no argument on this point. Anyone who gets religion over their inability to adapt to a UI should shut up and DO SOME WORK. None of them are perfect, all of them will annoy you. Do some work!
RAM is still at stupid prices, although slowly falling. 16GB is more than enough for regular office work and compiling stuff; if you're editing video then you need all the RAM and all the CPU. If you're running more than one VM then 32GB is likely advantageous, but spendy. Others will be better-placed than I to advise on database RAM requirements in 2019. If you're looking at 64GB you need to carefully check that your chosen CPU and motherboard will support this configuration, and also that your wallet has an emotional support animal, because it's gonna get traumatised.
SSD is mandatory for at least the OS volume, and likely also the volume you're building on. It's still very spendy for bulk storage, so consider something like a Seagate Firecuda hybrid SSD/HD, with costs per TB at about a quarter of SSD prices.
The best part about a desktop is that you can eschew the mewling of Apple-ites who are trying to keep the dust out of their butterfly keyboards and buy a proper mechanical chappy, for great typing! I have a Logitech G512 Carbon, with Romer-G Linear keyswitches - they provide mechanical travel without the click, which is what makes all the noise. Other keyboards and keyswitches are available.
You can fit all this (or, better, pay someone to fit all this) into a modestly-sized box that's still large enough to have nice big (aka quiet) fans. Liquid cooling is the definitive low-noise solution, but it adds cost and complexity and can leak.
