Hello

I'm in the market for a new computer. Will be running all main poker sites, pio, hand2note, probably PT4 (legacy), Discord etc.

Leaning towards laptop rather than desktop for convenience and I am confident I can get the performance and durability I need from a laptop.

Can anyone please recommend any good devices on the market at the moment?

Specs I just got from a friend who is v tech savvy and builds computers but doesn't play poker although I described what I needed to him:
CPU > Ryzen 5 3600
RAM > 2X 8GB
GPU > GeForce GTX 1080
SDD > 1 TB

A guy I don't know who does play poker just came back to me in a Discord server and said: "if u wanna use solvers then i'd get 32gb ram. u dont need a GPU unless u play games that have good graphics. can play low end games fine with integrated graphics. if u wanna solve faster ur gonna need a good CPU. idk exactly how good a ryzen 5 3600 is but the 32gb ram is pretty much a prerequisite if u wanna solve for complex trees."

So his point there is that solver is CPU heavy and therefore need good CPU.

Any thoughts please?

Ty

Those specs are for a desktop build, more or less.
AMD is making great procs right now, so is Intel.

1) Do you game or plan to game, or do something that you know leverages GPU compute?

2) What's your honest budget?

3) How much do you plan to use this portably? Is this going to primarily sit on your desk plugged into a keyboard, mouse and monitor/s or will it be used on the road as a standalone device?

Hi there
TYVM for reply.

1) playing and studying poker only + other normal computer use. no other games or gaming.

2) budget around EUR 1k

3) Over the next twelve months, I would say 85% of the time on my desk, plugged into monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Going with this I think https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing...93317-pdt.html

Get a desktop.

+1 for getting a desktop.

Not only will it be cheaper and better, it will allow be better for your posture to have a separate keyboard and monitor.

I am also currently looking into this and am leaning toward a desktop.

What is the best way to go that is somewhat cost effective, but can handle solvers and hold’em manager, etc.?

Any advice is extremely appreciated.

planning to run solvers?

Ya, planning on having PIO on it.
And the other programs that seem essential for mid-stakes+ these days.

You want to get a decent CPU and plenty of RAM.

You can save money by having a cheap graphics card (only needed for gaming).

I’ve read before that 32GB RAM is essential for solvers?
Is that actually a necessity? Will it really be that much slower?

Thanks Josem.

I don't have any specific knowledge about the exact requirements. I'll defer to someone else.

I've never heard of someone sad that they had too much RAM.

if you're keen on laptops, go for one with a proper CPU, not the low powered ones you find in ultrabooks and such. if it ends with U, avoid.

if you're not in a hurry, AMD will be releasing a mobile cpu that scores really close to proper desktop ones. Will prob see devices sporting this chip in the next couple of months, tho I imagine pretty pricey and you never know with corona, could be in short supply

as for desktops, best value you can get for your money, other than building your own new Ryzen system if you must have new hardware, is getting a refurbished workstation with dual cpus. These usually come equipped with plenty of ram too. You can get a system that performs almost as well as a 1st gen Ryzen chip for half the price it would cost you to build a pc yourself. I've seen kick ass workstations for ~300$.

if you need help, leave a reply and I'l try to point you in the right direction

Ionutd,

I have been reading through your posts thanks for your help. I as well am in the market for a desktop, most likely not using for much if any gaming and mainly for cards/solvers. Sounds like a refurbished workstation for running solvers and playing is the best value currently.

Would you mind pointing me in the direction of a refurbished machine that you recommend as you stated in previous post or do you ultimately recommend just building one's own Ryzen machine.

Many thanks in advance.

--BagOfSticks

idk if I'm allowed to post amazon links, not affiliated, just as an example

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Z600-Works...6051482&sr=8-2

depending where you live, you might be able to get a better deal on ebay/craigslist, possibly a local retailer dealing with used hardware

look for systems with dual xeon cpus, check their performance here https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleCompare.php?redirect

there's a lot of variety in these, some are low powered, there are 4/6/8/10/12+ core cpus and they have similar naming schemes, you will have to first find the system being sold within your budget and then do a bit of research on the actual cpus used on sites like the one I linked

You're certainly allowed to help members with helpful posts like this. Keep it up!

Decided to put a rig together from advice I have cobbled together and elsewhere and was curious to hear thoughts. This is again is mainly for solvers with maybe a little gaming thrown in, but likely not.

Many thanks.

-- BagOfSticks

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/zZwLjp

funny, this is exactly what I recommended to another user

with the addition that you will need a better cpu cooler if you plan on overclocking and there's little reason not to go for it with Ryzen chips since you can do it in bios with a couple of clicks

Ryzen chips self overclock as much as their thermal headroom lets them. For example, I can get 4Ghz per core on my Ryzen 7 2700x with the stock cooler (up from 3.7Ghz base) and people are routinely getting 4.2Ghz with better coolers.

Haven't played around with Ryzen 9 but I hear these are much harder to cool and I'm guessing the cooler is as the same one as the 2700x ships with, for maintaining base clock freq under sustained load they should do the job but that's about it.

Oh I definitely cribbed a lot from you for sure. Guilty as charged and many thx for that. I went with the ryzen 9 given its only a 120 bucks more than the 7. For now I don’t anticipate running any super complicated solvers just more basic ones. It’s why I don’t have 64gb of ram. I think once I go down the bigger simulation route is when I’ll look to expanding ram and the coolant.

Does that make sense to you? Thoughts on the monitor?

Thx again for your counsel on this

16gb is alright for post flop solvers, tho you start wanting 32 for bvb srp and deep stacked srp if you go with multiple bet sizes on turn/river

for pre flop solvers, 32gb+ is a must, 64 if you want to be comfortable

for the monitor, I just got a cheap chinese 43 inch 4k tv, decent IPS panel, has hdmi 2.0 and 43 inches is a fantastic amount of real estate for the 200$ I paid. thought it might be too big for a desk but it's just fine, don't need to turn my head to look at the whole thing and my eyes don't hurt.

Thanks again for all the info. What brand was the Chinese monitor that you purchased as I will look into this. Many thanks again.

This one is called Nei, but these generic TVs are OEM-ed by 1 or 2 chinese manufacturers and then re-branded and sold under different names. Doesn't much matter which one you pick, just check some reviews for it to see everything is ok. What you're looking for is one HDMI 2.0 port so that 4k 60hz works (with appropriate hdmi cable) and it has to support 4:4:4 chroma so you get clear text when using in pc mode. Given that literally the cheapest 4k tv I found (for 190$) did support these functions, I'm rather confident almost all 2019+ models you'l find for sale will as well.