Help needed to build decent PC for poker!

I built a new PC last year (november 2011), and spent about $1000. I can give you my specs, and maybe will give you some ideas, and you can check prices or whatever. I'm sure the same system would be a at least a couple hundred cheaper now.

Cooler master Elite 430 case
Intel i5-2500k processor
Gigabyte GA -Z68x UD3H B3 mobo
OCZ Vertex 3 120 gb SSD drive
Seagate 1 TB HDD
Corsair TX 850 power supply
Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 video card
16 gb Corsair Vengeance DDR3 ram
Liteon DVD burner.

At the time i built this thing, HDD prices were pretty ridiculous due to flooding overseas or something, and the SSD drives were still pretty expensive. i think prices are down quite a bit on both. And this system is just a bit over a year old now, so prices all the way around are probably a bit cheaper.

But it still runs everything like a champ. i have used all kinds of poker software (HM2, PT4, Notecaddy, Leakbuster, etc ) as well as running all the usual iTunes, firefox, skype, etc. at the same time and it only uses a small amount of the resources. And i only use 2 monitors at the moment, but i think with the "eyefinity" stuff you can run 3/4 + if you wanted to.

So hopefully will give you some ideas. I would definitely recommend going with an SSD drive though.

How can you connect two monitors in one laptop and all share the same screen?

Originally posted by belthazorrrr
How can you connect two monitors in one laptop and all share the same screen?

I do not share same they are extended. Switched laptop screen itself off and connect one with HDMI + another with regular wire (whatever its called)

Originally posted by RobertDaPro
I want it to be decent, but no need for more than poker + run all progs like pokertracker as fast it can and prob. be able to record sessions

We suggest you start with the requirements in our PokerTracker recommended hardware FAQ which I quoted for you below. If you exceed the optimal recommendations (especially with memory and hard drive) then you will get the best results. Share this basic list with your friend, this is all he needs to assure your system is rocking.

===================

What are the Minimum System Requirements to run PokerTracker 4? Computer Hardware

Minimum Requirement: Intel Core 2 Duo (or AMD equivalent) processor with 3GB of RAM

Recommended: Modern quad-core processor with 4GB of RAM or greater. This includes the Intel Core 2 Quad and Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 processor lines (or their equivalent AMD processors).

Optimal: Intel Core i5 or i7 multi-core 64-bit processor with 8GB of RAM or greater.

Not Recommended: Intel Pentium 4, Atom or other low power processors such as ARM.

Operating System

Minimum Requirement: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8

Recommended: Windows 8, Windows 7 or Windows Vista

Optimal: Windows 8 64 Bit or Windows 7 64 Bit with PostgreSQL 64 Bit 9.0.x manually installed.

PostgreSQL

Minimum Requirement: PostgreSQL 8.3.18 or greater / PostgreSQL 8.4.12 or greater / PostgreSQL 9.0.7 or greater

Recommended: Manually install the latest version of PostgreSQL 9.0.x

Optimal: Manually install the Winx86-64 version of PostgreSQL 9.0.x. This requires a 64 bit processor and Operating System, with 8 Gigs or ram or better for optimal performance.

Not Supported: PostgreSQL 9.1.x and 9.2.x are not supported due to potential database errors

Hard Drive

The number one factor for speed performance is hard drive speed, the PostgreSQL Server which powers the PokerTracker database commonly moves gigabytes of data to allow PokerTracker 4 to perform it's reporting duties. PokerTracker recommends at least a 7200RPM hard drive or faster, Solid State Drives (SSDs) are currently the fastest drives available for optimal performance.

I need to say this in caps, it's just really important. Sorry everyone...

GET AN SSD IT MAKES HEM/PT4 NOT RUN RETARDEDLY SLOW.

Everything else doesn't really matter if it's decent. Just get a nice monitor and good video card if you want to dual screen. You don't need a video card over $150 though, depends if you want to game.

What's your budget? Can't recommend anything without that. What's wrong with your current comp (could be that an SSD would make it run fine)?

Source: built many comps

Optroot

I think your only problem is getting a video card that supports multiple monitors. Other than that any sort of new computer you can buy will do the job. Think about other things you want to do with your computer, not poker, since it's not that resource heavy.

You might want something more fancy if you want to run PokerTracker on cascade tables.

I remember i could 4table+elephant on 800MHz CPU, 128MB RAM, 1999 computer ♦

Originally posted by andreibalint
I think your only problem is getting a video card that supports multiple monitors. Other than that any sort of new computer you can buy will do the job. Think about other things you want to do with your computer, not poker, since it's not that resource heavy.

You might want something more fancy if you want to run PokerTracker on cascade tables.

I remember i could 4table+elephant on 800MHz CPU, 128MB RAM, 1999 computer ♦

I have multible monitors working even with laptop and that is no prob at all... just think that laptop is not ment for that and i do not want it "just to work" but work good and quick and if u scroll up to see that pokertracker reccomends pretty decent machine

Anyone used seagate momentus xt ? Seems to be cheaper option of SSD but I'm not sure how good they are.

Originally posted by AwaysRemember
Anyone used seagate momentus xt ? Seems to be cheaper option of SSD but I'm not sure how good they are.

This type of drive has similar issues as the new Apple Fusion drives, they are not optimal for the type of hardcore database usage that online poker needs. We recommend you use an SSD drive for your PostgreSQLdatabase... the OS and all other applications can live on any other drive you have available.

Thanks for your input, PokerTracker.

You give good advice.

As long as I can remember the rule for hardware has been:

♦ Determine what software you're going to run
♦ Get -- or build -- the hardware that will run it.

It isn't just your poker client and the tracker either.
♦ You will have AV software running (I hope)
♦ Skype
♦ Hotkey scripts, table managers etc.

I need a new machine. I'm currently running everything on a single-core AMD box that is 7 years old. It still does everything I ask of it, but sooooo sloooowwwwllllllyyyy

Cheers,
--VS

There is a seller in ebay who has only dell products. He made over 30k sells with 100% positive feedback. I bought a laptop from him which consists of

-i5 2.8ghz
-2gb Amd
-HDD 5400 RPM
-8gb RAM

It cost me 700 euros with the shipping cost. He has many products with good prices. I highly recommend

I can play 27 tables with HEM1, ninja, ahk and skype open without having the pc slowed a bit

Originally posted by belthazorrrr
There is a seller in ebay who has only dell products. He made over 30k sells with 100% positive feedback. I bought a laptop from him which consists of

-i5 2.8ghz
-2gb Amd
-HDD 5400 RPM
-8gb RAM

It cost me 700 euros with the shipping cost. He has many products with good prices. I highly recommend

I can play 27 tables with HEM1, ninja, ahk and skype open without having the pc slowed a bit

no idea where you are but this seems way too expensive and I don't recommend buying used computers off ebay.

tigerdirect.com has very good deals on computers right now.
if you get anything with i5 or i7, ssd, and a good video card, you will be golden.

Originally posted by belthazorrrr
There is a seller in ebay who has only dell products. He made over 30k sells with 100% positive feedback. I bought a laptop from him which consists of

-i5 2.8ghz
-2gb Amd
-HDD 5400 RPM
-8gb RAM

It should be noted that a 5400RPM hard drive is not ideal, you will find speed issues with PostgreSQL queries over time when using any of the popular tracking tools. 7200RPM or SSD is advised for the best long term performance.

Originally posted by VorpalF2F
Thanks for your input, PokerTracker.

You give good advice.

As long as I can remember the rule for hardware has been:

♦ Determine what software you're going to run
♦ Get -- or build -- the hardware that will run it.

It isn't just your poker client and the tracker either.
♦ You will have AV software running (I hope)
♦ Skype
♦ Hotkey scripts, table managers etc.

Since you are mentioning AV software we should point out that some Anti-virus solutions may conflict with the HUD and/or import processes of tracking software. here is a great guide that is frequently updated as we discover new issues that may help -

https://www.pokertracker.com/guides/PT4/troubleshooting/anti-virus-firewall-and-security-software-configuration-guide