1k 2+2 Poast
Pokah Computerz
Instead of writing the standard PSA based upon my poker experiences thus far, I decided to go alternative. First of all, I am decent at poker, but I really don't have much to add that hasn't already been said for all those micro/nano-stakers. Second, the stuff I definitely know a little more about is computing. I use them in my research work, I have done a decent amount of programming, and I have built and upgraded a sizable number of computers. I keep up with tech, and thus I thought people would benefit more from my technical expertise than my poker expertise.
The basic format for the PSA-styled post is going to address each of the major components people are typically concerned about when selecting a poker computer. Further, I will add in some provisos for gaming since that seems to be the next biggest concern among computer buyers/builders. I will also regularly address the differences between laptops and desktops where necessary. On to the post!
Laptop or Desktop?
First question to answer is obvious, do you want a laptop or a desktop? Typically the price-per-performance of a laptop is inferior to that of a desktop at similar price points. It is the price that you pay for mobility. Further still, the lifetime of a laptop is significantly shorter than that of a desktop of similar build due to any number of reasons including the delicacy of the cooling solutions, the lack of upgradability, et cetera. That said, the requirements of a poker computer are not particularly demanding, so it is not difficult to find either an affordable laptop or desktop. Pros of the desktop format are basically as follows:
Desktop
-Good price-per-performance
-Upgradeable
-Better graphics/gaming
-Typically better/cheaper storage options
The only major advantage of laptop has is that it is mobile. If you simply must travel regularly, or prefer playing poker while out and about, the laptop is the logical choice. Most people go both ways (I know I do!), and if that is the case, continue reading.
CPU
Virtually ANY modern CPU (central-processing-unit) can handle any and all basic poker computing needs. The basic varieties these days are limited to dual-core processors and quad-core processors, with the occasional tri-core CPU thrown in for good measure (these tri-cores are only available from AMD at present). If you do not plan on anything more severe than playing poker with a tracker/HUD running, then anything with a dual-core processor or better will do nicely.
Dual-Core
Modern dual-cores include Intel's Pentium Dual-Core and the Core 2 Duo line, as well as AMD's Athlon X2 and Phenom II. In general, the Intel Core 2 Duo's are the most highly regarded, and if you are going the dual-core route, they are almost certainly the ones I would recommend. If you plan on light gaming, you may want a higher-clocked version with better bandwidth, such as an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz.
Quad-Core
If you plan on doing high-end multitasking, video-editing/encoding, bleeding-edge gaming, et cetera, then you should likely go with quad-core processors. Furthermore, if you will be doing massive multi-tabling with the full array of poker software running, such as a tracker/HUD and AHK, you will want to run with the quad-core option. With respect to quad-cores you have three basic choices, Intel's Core 2 Quad, Intel's i7, or AMD's Phenom II. Of these, the i7 is the newest and baddest, gaining as much as 20%+ in performance per clock cycle (at the same clock speed) over its older brother, the C2Q. Of course you will pay a premium for this performance in both CPU and motherboard costs.
The two remaining options are similar in performance and pricing, namely the Phenom II and Core 2 Quad lines. At that point, it is just about preference and cost, as both options are quality. The Core 2 Quads tend to perform better at similar clock speeds, but this can usually be chalked up to differences in architecture. To further complicate the matter, AMD offers “Black Edition” processors (at pretty affordable prices), meaning that they have unlocked multipliers. As a practical matter, this means they are MUCH easier to overclock, and if you consider yourself a computer novice but want your computer to have a bit of extra-value built in, this may be an important consideration.
Tri-Core, i.e. Jermaine Jackson
I call this guy Jermaine simply because he is often overshadowed by all his famous siblings. However, he is a pretty talented performer in his own right, and can often be found in the value-bin at your electronics or music store.
Simply put, AMD takes its quad-cores that have a deficient core (or they simply deactivate a core) and operate only three cores. The upside is that these processors are often priced similarly to top-end dual-core processors while have significantly better performance. To add to their allure, most modern games and applications (outside of some more specialized ones) don't use more than two cores, thus having three cores adds stability/performance when multitasking without resorting to the redundancy of four cores for most casual purposes. It is an especially alluring option for those looking to build a great budget rig that doesn't skimp on performance, particularly with regards to both gaming and online poker play. In this category the ONLY recommendation would be the Phenom II X3 720 @ 2.8 GHz. This is a “Black Edition” processor (and thus OCs like a champ!) that typically only costs on the order of $120 to $140.
Overclocking
Should you overclock? Uhh, yeah!!!
Basically overclocking is you kicking up the clock-speed on your processors, for example pushing your Intel i7 from 2.67 GHz (stock speed) up to 3.67 GHz (the OC I am currently running on my primary rig). This is FREE value! Your processor becomes as good (or better in my case) than processors that often can cost 4x's as much, and this value comes just from a little planning and know-how.
Some stuff to know before you think about overclocking. First, overclocking usually takes specialized hardware, in particular the right combination of a motherboard and CPU. If you are purchasing your computer from a place like Dell or HP, you are probably not going to get the hardware/BIOS options you need to overclock. That said, if you are going to overclock, you are either going to have to choose the company you buy from a bit more meticulously (ibuypower, alienware, et cetera) or you will have to settle into building one for yourself. If you buy from a specialized dealer, just make sure your case has good ventilation and that your CPU is being actively cooled by some form of CPU cooler. I tend not to go with water-cooling but these setups can be relatively safe (if not a bit more cumbersome than air-cooled setups).
Now that I have said all this, if you aren't even going to game seriously or perform other similarly demanding tasks, overclocking may not be that high on your priority list. However, if you are a thrifty person that values performance-dollars, it is an option that demands consideration. Also, the specific methods of overclocking vary from CPU to CPU, and are thus beyond the scope of this PSA, though I will say that CPUs with unlocked multipliers tend to be the easiest to overclock by a LARGE margin.
I should add that technically overclocking can damage your computer. This is a technicality that is beyond easy to avoid by being careful with regard to your overclocks. A step-by-step is beyond the scope of this article, but the basics of overclocking are the you add voltage in such a way that you can clock your processor higher. As a result, your CPU gets hotter and thus requires good cooling solutions, such as an active CPU cooler and well-ventilated case (mentioned prior). However, the lifespan of a processor can technically be affected, and the increase in temperature can theoretically affect other components in the absence of adequate cooling. First, as long as you aren't too aggressive in your overclocks (and you are very aggressive in your cooling solutions), a modern processor will become completely obsolete well before it becomes inoperable due to “heat-death” and increased voltages. Second, all CPU manufacturers build in a good amount of head-room for overclocks. They KNOW you are going to OC your processors these days, so you should feel pretty confident that it can be done safely.
For further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overclocking
Laptops: Multi-Core Processors
Laptop processors almost universally only come in dual-core varieties, though some quad-cores are starting to show up. High clock speed processors are very rare in laptops though since these require aggressive cooling solutions (since there is so little space to work with in a laptop) which are prohibitively expensive. Also, you will NOT, in general, be able to overclock your laptop CPU as most of the BIOS options necessary to do so are absent in laptops and because laptop cooling solutions can't take that extra heat.
The processors in modern laptops are limited to Athlon X2s, Core 2 Duos, or (in newer top-end laptops) Core 2 Quads. There are still a few Pentium Dual-Cores and some Celeron Dual-Cores on the market, but they are fewer and farther between. If you won't be massively multitabling with HUDs/trackers and/or gaming these can even be acceptable choices for the budget conscious (as long as you consider other components carefully). However, any decent Core 2 Duo/Athlon X2 should be able to handle a solid amount of multitabling w/ trackers/HUDs and are recommended over their cheaper siblings, especially in conjunction with dedicated graphics (dedicated graphics will be addressed shortly).
Motherboard
For a poker computer, the primary consideration should be the ability to add in more than one video-card for multi-monitoring. There are other considerations, but every modern motherboard has more than enough SATA connectors for connecting Super-Multi DVD-Burners and additional hard-drives, and more than enough slots for throwing in more RAM than your computer will ever need Not every modern motherboard has enough slots to add in additional video-cards though, which are often necessary for those of us that might need a third monitor. Of course if you will never use more than two monitors, you have it made because you will only need to put in your desired video-card.
Most computers these days use PCI-Express (or just pci-e) x16 slots for their video-cards. The x16 essentially specifies the size of the slot as there are also x1 slots (these slots are physically much smaller). If you think it is possible that you might want a third monitor (which most often requires two video-cards), you will want TWO pci-e x16 slots on your motherboard (also, the most modern specification for pci-e is 2.0, which will have twice the bandwidth of the older specification) . If you have two of these slots, you can use two graphics cards, it is a simple as that. If you don't have two of these you will have to be a bit more creative, using solutions such as USB-to-DVI converters (not at all suitable for gaming or video usually, but perhaps OKAY for poker) or TripleHead2Go (a device that allow you to trick your computer into thinking that 2 or 3 monitors are a single display). These solutions are extreme and in some cases, such as with a Dual or TripleHead2Go device, expensive. It is much simpler to simply have some foresight into your future computing needs. Also, for reasons that will be explained in the “Video-Cards” section of this article, you often must use the same type of video-card in both slots.
There are still a few older slot-types out there, most prominent among these being the AGP slot (in some Pentium 4 computers and older). If you are looking to upgrade this computer, it would often be cheaper to simply purchase a new low-end computer. No motherboard has more than one AGP slot, so you often have to co-opt older slots with even less bandwidth than the last generation AGP slot, which of course results in even more mediocre performance. Plus, since these parts are old and in short supply anyhow, they are expensive compared to their performance value. Do yourself a favor and just get a new computer.
If you will be doing advanced things, such as RAID, overclocking, or using multiple video-cards in tandem, you will need to make certain your motherboard can handle these things. A brief overview of these processes (excluding overclocking, which was addressed earlier) is covered below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Link_Interface (Nvidia's multi-GPU solution)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATI_CrossFire (ATI's multi-GPU solution)
From my limited reading into the subject of RAID, the kind of software RAID that comes with most motherboards isn't the most reliable, and thusly is not often recommended. For most serious RAID setups, a hardware add-in controller is recommended for its stability. I leave the reader to study this more in depth though because I am no RAID expert and this is more of a general purpose guide and RAID is something of an advanced topic.
Finally, if you plan on using multi-GPU setups, particularly for gaming, you will also want a motherboard that supports either Nvidia's SLI or ATI's Crossfire multi-graphics card solution. Both of these solutions allow you to use multiple graphics cards to boost your graphics processing power. To this end there are a VAST number motherboards, but at least a few general things to look out for. Earlier in the article, I discussed video-card slots as being “x16”. Electrically these typically run in “x16”, which we refer to as full bandwidth. However, when running in Crossfire or SLI, some motherboards (usually the slightly cheaper ones) run in x8/x8 mode, meaning that each slot only has half the bandwidth as when only a single-slot is occupied. This is typically not an issue as most video-cards, even high-end performance cards, only barely max the bandwidth on an x8 slot. To be fair, there are many motherboards that do offer video-card slots in with x16/x16 bandwidth (or some that can handle three video-cards in x16/x8/x8 or x16/x16/x8 in ultra-modern motherboards). These will typically cost a good bundle more than an x8/x8, so unless you know you will be using a top-of-the-line dual-GPU graphics card (more on these in the “Video-Card” section), you will save a bundle by choosing a more appropriate motherboard suited to your needs.
Laptops: Motherboards
If you are getting a laptop, motherboard choice isn't an option typically. You simply find a laptop that otherwise has the features you need and accept the product as given. If you get a laptop that doesn't have SLI/Crossfire right off the bat, you can't get it later. Know your needs!
Video-Cards
There is some real spice and variety in modern video-cards. If all you want to do is run multiple monitors for poker though, just find the ones that output to your desired resolution (higher resolutions may require dual-link DVI or particular kinds of HDMI connectors, which are covered further below in the laptop section on video-cards) and that fit a pci-e x16 slot, simple as that. If you need more than one, you will typically want them to be the same since Windows Vista only allows one video driver. It is unconfirmed how Windows 7 will handle these issues but preliminary reports indicate that you should be able to use multiple types of video-cards. Since Windows 7 is still just in Beta there is plenty of time for this to change though.
That said, there are special requirements to use SLI and/or Crossfire. First of all, there is no need to use SLI/Crossfire unless you plan on gaming or using the stream processors for general computing of some sort (wherein you write programs that use the stream processors, such as within the CUDA framework). Now, if you find you do have specialized needs that are well-served by SLI/Crossfire, and/or you are a big gamer, then multi-GPU setups might be for you.
For Nvidia's SLI, you simply need an SLI-compatible motherboard and two (or three for Tri-SLI) of the exact SAME SLI-compatible Nvidia video-cards. Yeah, both cards must be the same. Not the same manufacturer, but the same specs, as in both must be 9800 GT or both must be GTX 260's. For Crossfire, you can mix and match a bit more, but not much, as both cards must be of the same generation and the better card “slows” down to be roughly equivalent to the worse card in the array. It is thus advised that you use the same cards in a Crossfire setup as well. Of note, when both SLI and/or Crossfire are enabled, you can only use two monitors at a time, though when disabled (no boost to graphics processing) you can use as many monitors as you have slots to accommodate (and yes, you can disable and enable SLI/Crossfire as necessary to go between gaming and general purpose use, though it often requires a reboot).*
As noted prior in the motherboard section, most modern top-end enthusiast graphics cards won't max out even a slot operating at x8 bandwidth. These would include ATI's Radeon 4850 and 4870 (probably also the 4890, but I am not absolutely certain of this) and Nvidia's GTX 260 and GTX 280/285. These are all single-GPU cards, which just means the have one graphics processing unit. There are cards out there that have two graphics processors, or dual-GPU cards. These include the Radeon 4850 X2, the 4870 X2, and the GTX 295. While the prior cards won't max out an x8 slot, the just-mentioned cards will and easily so. As such, if you plan on using the cards, you must operate them at x16 bandwidth. If you plan on doing Quad-SLI (two GTX 295's) or CrossfireX (two 4850/4870 X2's), you MUST get a motherboard that supports x16/x16 lots when using Crossfire/SLI (and a BEEFY power-supply, but more on that later). Most people don't have these requirements, but far too often a nOOb will go buy an x8/x8 motherboard and then pop in two 4870 X2's and wonder why it is not performing as expected. More importantly though, is that often people will never need x16/x16 slots but they purchase a motherboard supporting the feature (because they don't know better) when they could have saved a bundle by taking a step-down while still having a great pokering/gaming rig.
Laptops: Video-Cards
If all you are going to do is play some poker, you can usually get by with integrated graphics (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integra...hics_solutions) in a laptop. This is not recommended though because it is just a little more dough for a dedicated graphics solution from either Nvidia or ATI. Even a crappy dedicated graphics card will almost always outperform integrated graphics.
Another consideration for laptop buyers is how to multi-monitor. Most laptops in years past had only one VGA out for an external monitor, but the needs of modern poker players/gamers require MORE POWER! If you want to attach up to two external monitors, you simply make certain you have at least two monitor outs (I have yet to see one with three monitor outs, sorry guys!), and luckily most modern laptops are starting to carry extra monitor outs as a standard feature. In particular, many laptops these days have one HDMI and one VGA out (some have one DVI and one VGA, but these are getting rare). More information on these plug types can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Graphics_Array
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface
There are limitations to the resolution any of these can accept, so you should certainly make sure that the resolution you want will be capable of being displayed, as some HDMI (not all though) can acceptably display up to 2560x1600, while you must have dual-link DVI in order to display up to that resolution.
If you plan on gaming on your laptop your options are more limited and significantly more expensive. First, don't expect to be able to get at all close to the performance dollar you get with a gaming desktop versus a gaming laptop. There are also precious few gaming cards in laptops, most of which are from Nvidia. These include the 9800M GS and the recently released mobile versions of the GTX 260 and 280 (called appropriately the 260m and 280m). There are also SLI laptops available for each of these, but the prices on those approach ridiculous levels. In terms of gaming cards for laptops, the best card on offer from ATI seems to be the 3870.
Finally, I should mention that some people buy laptops with two monitor outs and expect to be able to use both external monitors and the LCD screen on the laptop. This does NOT work. You can only use two screens at any given time (this could change of course, I am simply addressing the current state of affairs in laptop graphics). If you are using your laptop as a desktop replacement in general, this may be important obviously if you are used to using three or more monitors.
A Quick Note On Resolution
First, for pokering, it far more important to be conscious of resolution than monitor-size. Too often a player will buy a 32” LCD TV and wonder why they can't fit more tables on their TV despite it being bigger than their 19” computer monitor. The point is that the higher your resolution, the more stuff you can cram onto your screen. If you plan on massively multi-tabling poker, you must have both a monitor that supports your desired resolution and you must make certain your video-card can output to that resolution. It is as simple as that.
Hard-Drives
This might be the touchiest topic of this entire PSA. In reality, I have no problems at all using a 7200-rpm hard-drive for all my data and pokering needs. However, for the heavy guys, with their multi-million hand databases and massive loathing of I/O slowdown for tracker/HUD updating, read/write speed is of paramount importance. That said, the price-per-gigabyte of storage for solid-state-drives is as much as 10x's greater than hard-disk-drives, which makes the decision pretty easy for the budget conscious among us. Moreover, other limitations in current computer systems prevent the theoretical superiority of solid-state-drives from rearing themselves completely, as many tests reveal read/write speed superiority for SSDs that are only between two or three times (usually like 2.2 to 2.5 times as fast specifically) as fast as 7200-rpm hard-disk-drives for random I/O. I concede that this is more a limitation of the computer's other components than the SSD itself, but people are usually more concerned about practical read/write, not theoretical. In a few years, when prices are closer and other components in the computer aren't bottlenecking the hard-drive performance, this will be a MUCH more difficult decision. For now, I would easily go with a standard 7200-rpm drive. Now you could go with HDDs as fast as 15000-rpm, but these approach the price-level of solid-state drives (and sometimes use weird connectors when then the standard is SATA), in which case I would obviously just go SSD. In the very least I would NOT shortchange yourself and get 5400-rpm drives. The cost difference is minimal between 5400-rpm drives and 7200-rpm drives anyhow, thus going at LEAST 7200-rpm is a no brainer. I will note that a popular choice is to go with WD Velociraptor Drives @ 10000-rpm, which offer a pretty decent performance boost over their 7200-rpm brethren at an acceptable price difference. But basically, if you really need speed at any cost, go SSD. Otherwise, HDDs still offer a much better price-per-GB than the alternative.
A quick (and recent) reference article on the topic:
http://www.computerworld.com/action/...icleId=9134468
There are other solutions for those that wish to have speed, but it comes at a cost. If you go with a RAID 0 array (to learn more about this check out the link in the motherboards section) you can improve read/write speed significantly, though you incur double the chance of hard-drive failure. Moreover, one incurs the cost of either purchasing a hardware controller for the RAID array and/or dealing with software RAID, which is generally viewed as being much less robust. Again, a full discussion of RAID arrays is beyond the scope of this article, but it is an option that can be explored for those that have a stronger need than can be provided by standard HDDs.
Lastly, use SATA 3.0 Gb/s connections. IDE hard-drives are dying out and are more complicated to place in a system and provide lower bandwidth anyhow, so just go the advanced route and stick with SATA connectors.
Other General Computer Considerations
RAM
For general gaming and poker play, 4GB of RAM is the sweet spot. Most applications won't tax this much RAM at all, and if they do, you can often just add in more. You must have a 64-bit OS to use more RAM than 3GB though, and the computing world is going the way of 64-bit anyhow, so it would be wise to adopt. These days you can get motherboards that accept DDR2 or DDR3 so just make certain you are getting the right RAM for you motherboard. If using a laptop, there isn't too much difference, just make sure when upgrading (adding in more RAM) that you are using the correct RAM.
PSU
If there was one place where people skimp that they shouldn't, it would be the power-supply. It is far too common for people to buy a kick-ass system, top-end processors and multiple video-cards and the like, and then buy a crappy, underpowered PSU. Do NOT make this mistake! Buy from a reputable company (Corsair and PC Power & Cooling are arguably the best) and always OVERestimate your power use, particularly if you might add in components in the future, such as a Blu-ray drive, an extra hard-drive, or an additional video-card. Moreover, doing things like overclocking taxes the power of your system even more than normal, so you can never go wrong by overestimating your power requirements. Basically, get a good brand and get a bunch of power!
Case
Nothing fancy here, get a good case with some fans to keep your parts cool. If you take care of your computer, it should last years and years to come. If you are overclocking getting good ventilation is necessary! Good brands include Antec & CoolerMaster.
DVD-Burner/Drive
Uhh, no recommendations here, choose what you like. Wait, I do have one thing, usually get it with a SATA 3.0 Gb/s connection though, as these are the most common on desktops these days, provide great bandwidth, and are less complicated to deal with than the older IDE standard.
Conclusion
Basically, all of the above should assist you in getting your computer needs down. The biggest consideration for the hard-core guys with regards to their tracker/HUDs and massive multi-tabling will usually boil down to read/write speed on hard-drives, so decided how much you value speed over cost/size. Other than that, get a Core 2 Duo CPU or better, make sure you have two pci-e x16 slots if you might want a third (or fourth) monitor in the future, and make sure your parts stay cool.
Nothing to see here otherwise, just want to say thanks for reading and hope you guys benefit from this as much I have from reading hand-histories and learned basic pokering strategy from forum veterans here. This is my thank you, I hope it does well by all of you!
*The rules change a little if you are using Nvidia's SLI with an additional card for Physx processing (hardware physics acceleration). In this scenario you can run more than two monitors (two attached to the primary card in the SLI array and as many as can be added to the one doing Physx processing). However, Physx processing is not particularly widespread in most popular games, which opt for their own physics solutions, so it may be impractical. Moreover, this requires motherboards with three video-card slots that does support SLI as well, which are usually expensive, so it isn't a particularly economical multi-monitor solution.
Last edited by Nsight7; 06-29-2009 at 08:30 PM.
