The table below compares 3 models of Raspberry Pi for use as a basic programming workstation. Use it to evaluate the cost of constructing a new workstation, taking into account components you might already have lying about.The upper rows are the most essential. Several components are interchangeable between the setups, and some components are common enough that they may be found outside of a Pi workstation.
Purpose
Latest
Previous
Cheapest
SoC (CPU, RAM, GPU combo),
WiFi, USB slots, HDMI output