Been currently looking into a Microsoft surface pro tablet. But also been considering maybe getting a notebook which is around a similar size .
After a average screen size around 10" to 15" screen , preferably win 7/8 with a i3 i5 i7 , £400 to £600 price range.
I will be mainly used for pokerstars (4x mtt tables plus HUD) and hem hand reviews etc..

I'm just wondering if any ppl out there can recommend any good devices that would fit my needs , been looking over the net but there's that much out there with different reviews/opinions it's hard to find one I need. So I thought I'd start with ppl who will be using there machines for similar reasons YOU

Thanks guys

Bertz do you have a main laptop/desktop that you grind on?

I was just about to start a thread asking the same thing.. I hope you don't mind if I just kinda hop on here. I have a main desktop that I use to grind, but I will be traveling a lot this upcoming year (as well as starting uni) and I need something that I can take with me to do some grinding, and I thought it'd also be cool if it could double as a tablet for everyday/school use (light stuff, web browsing, MS Word, YouTube, etc.).

I've also taken a look at the Surface Pro (which has a lower price now cuz the Pro2 is out), selling at about 850USD for the 64GB version where I'm at.

But I was wondering, would a cheaper, Atom based tablet such as the Asus VivoTab Smart (Atom processor Z2760 dual-core 1.8ghz, 2GB RAM on a 10.1 inch 1366x768) be able serve the same purpose without too much compromise? It's a lot cheaper at 480USD.

Another option, the Asus Transformer Book T100 got a glowing review here.. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2426771,00.asp

But I guess the real question is has anybody tried multitabling with PT4/HM2 running in the background on an atom based machine with 2GB RAM? Does it even work on paper?

Hi mate of course I don't mind jump aboard , yes I have a main desktop at home , but play a lot on the go atm but it's a iPad 4 I'm using so can't use a HUD / note taking etc on the pokerstars app hence the reason I'm looking .
Yes I was looking into the surface pro and 2 64/128 versions which do sound good but for the same price and not having to purchase a £120+ keyboard add on I'm thinking notebook etc

One I'm looking atm is a Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch - high end but cheaper second hand

I've been looking at a ton of notebooks/laptops/hybrids and in the end I really was never too sure just how much processing power and RAM I'd need to play poker on it. Considering it probably will never be my main grinding computer for longer than 2 weeks at a time (I will also be "vacationing" during that time so I probably won't be putting in cray volume).

This is the main reason I'm looking for a full Windows 8 device as well.


The ThinkPad X1 looks like a bit of an overkill for your purposes esp if you have a main computer at home I think? I started looking at hybrids/tablets because of the portability (for travel and school) and also because I don't think we need that much power to just play poker/skype and stuff.

Well the room that I call my office with the desktop in, may become a nursery for a new edition in the not so near future.
But ye I know what you mean about it being a bit overkill, but I'm still open to all sorts of devices , mainly the point you said about portability.

Can't seem to find any ppl using the surface with hem and poker at the moment

If you're looking for a decent grinding computer I'd stay away from the Atom processors and devices with less than 4GB RAM. Even if they're capable you're just going to get the minimum, and as soon as you start throwing on the add-on programs it's likely to be meh. To say nothing of future updates that could make them more resource-intensive.'

A Surface 2 Pro can do it, it's basically an ultrabook that comes apart. You'd have to really like the form factor though, because configured with the storage and memory you'd want it's $1000+. Even then the processor is just okay...it's efficient and sips power which is great, but it's also a good bit weaker than your "normal" i5 notebook chips. Not necessarily a dealbreaker just understand theres a performance tradeoff.

I usually start with the performance end of it and work from there. A standard dual-core i5 (2nd, 3rd, or 4th gen) + 4GB RAM will get it done. A low-power mobile chip like the i5-4000U should be okay, but the more tables/add-on programs you expect to run the less likely I'd recommend it. In an ideal scenario, a 3rd or 4th gen i7 with four cores and say 8GB RAM would best, but again that's just in terms of performance and generally only notebooks will have a quad-core.

Of course then there's portability and screen (etc). It's not really a one-size-fits-all deal as some people play 4 tables with no HUD, while others play 25 tables with every add-on program they can buy. It's never just poker though it's always poker plus HEM2, Table Ninja, some antivirus, Skype, iTunes, a dozen Chrome tabs...stuff adds up.

Unless a tablet/hybrid is just the perfect device for your life I'd probably wait a couple more generations before committing to one as your go-to poker machine. For the same money as a Surface Pro 2 you could buy a decent poker laptop plus a decent 7" Android tablet like the Nexus 7 or maybe an iPad5/mini.

Thank you for the reply , I'm going of the idea of the hybrid tablets and considering a ultra net book .
For the top end of my budget I'm looking at a spec of
Specifications :
Lenovo x1 carbon
Processor – Intel Core I7 2.8GHZ
RAM – 8GB
Hard Drive – 160GB SSD (Solid State Drive - Intel SSDSA2BW160G3L)
Optical Drive - Yes
WiFi – Yes
Ethernet – Yes
USB Ports – 2 ports, one is USB 3.0
HDMI Port – Yes
Sata Port - Yes
Charger Included – Yes
Operating System – Windows 7 Pro
Case – No
Other - Fingerprint Scanner
This is the earlier model which comes with win 7 that I prefer. I have a iPad 4 and touching screens is all good and that but I'm oldskool.

What do you think to that spec for the price £600

Well that's an i7 from last generation which you'd be happy with. Note that it's a dual-core version and sort-of lower power, so not a quad-core beast i7. However if you're looking for an ultrabook that's not a bad compromise between performance and power draw. Rest seems fine, SSD always a nice plus to get stock and 160GB will generally cover you.

Can't comment on the price as I'm in the US the overall specs look fine. As long as you're not going to use it as a gaming rig or something it would do the trick. Looks like it has HDMI and mini DisplayPort so you can run out to a display or two, plus 1600x900 is reasonable.

@Gonzirra

I already have a main desktop that I built about 6 months ago that I do most of my grinding on.

Specs: CM Storm Scout II, Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB SSD, Intel Core i5 3570k (overclocked to 4.3ghz), Sapphire HD7950 Vapor-X OC Boost 3GB DDR5, 8gb Corsair Vengeance RAM, on an Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 with a Corsair TX850M PSU. With an aftermarket liquid cooling system. I salvaged a 1TB HDD from my old Compaq (about 6-7 years old).

I think my desktop should be pretty future proofed for gaming (the purpose of this PC was so I could switch to PC gaming and avoid consoles entirely as well as play poker) and pretty much just about anything I can throw at it.

So, my purpose for this second machine is: Mobility, I want to be able to travel with it, and use it on the planes and on the go (hence why I was looking into hybrids). I also want to be able to play some poker on it when I travel. Also using it for low power stuff like MS Office for school. So mobility is a pretty big concern for me as I probably will be bringing it everywhere I go.

You don't think the new Atom Bay Trail quad core processor can handle 4-6 tables with PT4 running in the background? There are other higher end hybrid options with core i3 and core i5 processors like the Surface Pro and Acer Iconia W701 etc but those are twice the price of the Asus Transformer Book T100. Wasn't sure if it'd be worth it for the extra $$$ since I'm really not going to be any heavy duty stuff on it.

Hay SoN did u get anywhere in your search for a new device ?
I popped in to a local megastore checked out the surface pro personal it's not what I thought , heavyish for its size , some type of furry carpet feel keyboard.
Currently still looking into the x1 carbon just waiting on 2nd hand ones to come along as there quite premium. Was even looking into a MacBook Air 2013 average the same price 2nd hand .

im looking for a tablet for about £200 to take the casino for browsing films tv etc and wondered anyone got any recs?

maybe even a used ipad2?

dunno what do?

Based only on that price point, I'm going to suggest this.

https://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultra...mer_Book_T100/

You might also look into this if you are not going to play poker on your tablet.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/nook...ble/1110060512

I think you can buy the tablet, the keyboard, and a few other accessories and stay under your budget.

thanks for the reply but i have a macbook air so wasnt needing a keyboard or anything was looking at galaxy tab and similar maybe used ipad2.

i just want it for the casino and travelling and things like that for watching maybe skygo / rojadirecta / browsing etc

didnt really know what the diff specs meant for the tab/ note / or whteher there was better out there

thanks

One of the things you need to decide is what OS you want. There are Windows tablets, Android tablets, and Mac tablets.

I wouldn't sell the possibility of having a keyboard short.

When people talk about multitabling on a tablet or a small form factor convertible, I hope they are talking about cascading the tables. I am pretty confident that if someone tries to multitable by tiling the tables on a small from factor device, the tables will be too tiny to play because you won't be able to see. Especially if you add a HUD into the mix.

Personally, I tile the tables when I multitable so when I'm using a small form factor device, I don't multitable.