I know this has probably been asked a billion times but I'm having trouble finding a thread that helps me, so if you can link me to a similar thread I'll be more than happy...

So I'm ordering a new desktop PC as my setup at the moment is mac based and been slow enough to piss me off recently. I've had a look at potentially building a custom PC but I'm not sure whether just a bog standard home PC would do the trick and unfortunately Im a bit of a tech noob and wanna know what I'll need. Read a couple articles but I'm worried some of these are dated/inaccurate. I definitely want to swap to windows and want to be able to run double digit tables of Party, HEM2, and maybe one or two other programs like spotify simultaneously. I also want to be have the capacity to run 2 (preferably 3) monitors at once. If I could run a couple games at low graphics then that's a non essential bonus. Also I presume any old wireless network card these days comfortably handles online poker so it's not worth worrying about?

Can some computer wizard tell me what model/specific parts I should be going for and a fair price estimate I'd be looking at? I'd be very grateful

Cheers

Realistically, the demands of poker - even with multiple tables and HEM - are not very challenging for modern PCs.

Modern computers will have no problems running many tables. Things get trickier if you use a HUD or want to access your database fast for stats review, or if you want to run PIO or similar type of programs.

A lot depends on the size of your database. If your database is 8GB, allow for future growth and get 16GB of memory. Obviously if your database is big, like let's say 130GB, then get as much -and as fast memory (look for combination of mhz speed and low cas latency) as you can afford.

Without question get an ssd, an M.2. NVME would be preferable as it has faster access speeds and that will shave off a few seconds of your database retrieval.

Beyond that, for your GPU it matters what resolution your monitors are. If they are 1080p go for a gpu in the 200-300 range, something like an RX 580 or a GTX 1680 either the TI or no TI version. If they are 1440p,. look for something better like an RTX 2060 or RTX 2070 etc.

CPU wise, I think you can go either intel or AMD; you probably don't need an i7 class of CPU, an i5 will do. AMD just released a new line of CPUs and for the first time in years they seem to be going head to head with the high end intel cpus. Look for Ryzen 3750 and 3850. I think the one going for $330 is the best value for money.

Now it's an excellent time to build a computer as prices on memory, ssds and gpus have dropped to lows after hitting hstorical highs the past couple of years.

Good luck.

I was looking at an i7 8700 as part of a new build but an extra $30 gets me 9th gen 9700. As a heavy notecaddy user, would I benefit from more cores or more threads? 9th gen looses hyperthreading.
Would love your thoughts around cpu choice for pio and notecaddy users.
Thanks

yah, spend the extra money for the newer cpu

Hyper threading has never been that great. Outside of pure gaming where you don’t Alt-tan much and don’t run anything in background, (basically everyone not trying to benchmark their machines) more cores have been very helpful in real world usage scenarios for a long time.

i don't use PIO or notecaddy, so I don't have an answer.

I can tell you that more cores do make a difference if you use a later version of postgresql for pokertracker. however, pokertracker does not support versions higher than 9.3 though I haven't seen any tangible problems so far with the 11.2 I am using.

If you do go intel factor in the cost of a cooler as the AMD ones come with a cooler.