Quote:
Originally Posted by CBorders
I have a laptop but I'm not sure if it suits my needs. It has a Core i3 2.2 GHz processor and 4gb ram which can be upgrade to 8gb. If this doesn't work I'd rather just build a PC since I can get components for less than a new laptop.
I have a Sony VAIO with the same specs and it starts lagging if I'm playing mass tables (16+) and HEM. My computer lagged considerably with HEM2 - but only tried it in the beta phase and not sure if they fixed the performance issues.
Since then I've built a desktop with an SSD and its ridic difference in performance.
Current build is
750w Corsair PSU
64gb Crucial SSD
ASUS P8P67 LE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 motherboard
Intel i5 2500k 3.3ghz
8gb ram
ATI radeon 6870
RAIDMAX|HELIOS BK ATX-819WB tower
I initially bought a DIY bundle from newegg that was on sale but the PSU was cheap and dead on arrival so I decided to upgrade a few components - I bought a 750w in case i wanted to add another another Radeon 6870 for crossfire and I opted for the SSD. I have a fairly large HEM database and the reports are nearly instant. Computer boots up relly fast maybe ~15 secs. I have a 2TB external HD I use for all media.
The i5 2500k CPU is a nice sweet spot for price/performance in the intel lineup and can be overclocked with stock cooling. The raidmax case case comes with 4 extra fans and I've managed to overclock to 4.2ghz with the built in mortherboard utility. This doesn't really matter for poker but if you want to squeeze every bit of performance out of the CPU.
If you aren't going to do any gaming you can get a cheaper video card and lower wattage power supply. Also 8gb ram isn't really neccesary but I'd recommend it. If you have any questions about the build process shoot me a PM.