Buying a desktop for poker only

loosecannon

Hey all

Just wondering if anyone would have any advice for me, currently stuck putting in my 8 hours a day on a laptop only and it's driving me mad (+ if i play for circa 10 hours the laptop overheats and turns off!)

so looking to get a desktop purely for poker and the internet

the things i want are

- a v big monitor to fit multi-tables
- XP instead of vista as it's wrecking my head
- as small as possible a tower so it can be moved around easy

the monitor and mini tower i've come up are

http://www.dabs.ie/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=50C4&CategorySelectedId=11014&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11014&InMerch=1#specifications

http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?quicklinx=58C6

any thoughts on that combo - it's cheap with a massive monitor, my main concern will be if the tiny computer will hold up to running a couple of pocker clients etc

thanks in advance boardsies... :-)

DeadMoney

I recently purchased a desktop as I was sick if my 15" laptop screen and wanted a more 'professional' set up for poker. I ended up buying a dell vostro 200 slim tower and a 22" Acer monitor separately. The whole thing came to about 500euro which was quite resonable. The tower is also quite small so doesnt take up much room. I would advise purchasing your monitor separately if you are buying from dell as they quoted a 22" for something like 290euro. The acer was only 170 and is a decent monitor.

ocallagh

energy efficiency is relatively new in PCs. I tend to stay clear of any new technology for at least a few years. Looks good, but to be safe I'd go with a low to mid range Dell or something. Acer have some good compact PCs http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=ECE1605111#spec - It's a lot more powerful and although it has Vista I think it's a much better PC. (edit - I think you can get it with XP Pro)

And for a monitor, the one you selected looks fine. I recently purchased this for 339 in Peats beside Ilac centre and I'd give it 4.5/5. http://www.peats.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi?view_product=1&id=23433&sid=14&cid=139&scid=499

Hitman Actual

loosecannon wrote: »

any thoughts on that combo - it's cheap with a massive monitor, my main concern will be if the tiny computer will hold up to running a couple of pocker clients etc

thanks in advance boardsies... :-)

The chipset looks fine (mobile 945), and the processor speed of 1.6GHz should be fine as well. 1Gb RAM should also be okay for poker. I'd say the spec is similar or maybe even better than your current laptop, so if you're not having any problems with that, then your poker apps should be okay with the Asus. [Maybe post the laptop type if you want?]

One thing: how big do pokertracker databases get? An 80Gb HDD is very small by todays standards. Just be careful on that point.

Also, I would say you have practically no upgrade potential on that system, so if you wanted to add a second monitor at some stage, you might not be able to. I'd need a closer analysis of that Asus spec though; it's the first time I've seen one.

loosecannon

hey guys,

thanks for the replies, i agree with much of it

looking at that acer ocallagh it still looks fairly bulky (as well i think i've made a life choice away from acers - my current laptop is an acer and it's having problems - overheating and i had one before which bluescreened regularly and had me on megatilt 24/7!)

ur thoughts on the isus are fairly sound lenny - but i just read this review of it

http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/asus-eee-box-white/4505-3118_7-33192325.html?tag=mncol;lst

so i dunno where i stand on getting a small but decent desktop with xp for cheap now - the old dell's have been getting a mixed bag of reviews from some (+ i've read some people have waited 3 weeks for delivery!) and their hybrid which is the small one gets a slating from the review sites too

any other ideas anyone?

Grafter

8 hours a day says pro.

Pro's don't compromise. Tools are a necessary expense.

Either buy a proper desktop or a high res laptop (or, if travelling a lot, a good laptop and a high res monitor to hook up with it for when you're at home)

Stick with what you've got until your budget is 1-2K that your bankroll won't miss.

Hitman Actual

loosecannon wrote: »

ur thoughts on the isus are fairly sound lenny - but i just read this review of it

http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/asus-eee-box-white/4505-3118_7-33192325.html?tag=mncol;lst

Yikes, I'm not a fan at all, tbh. Far too lightweight, performance-wise, for my liking. I think you would have "the buyers remorse".

ocallagh's suggestion looks pretty good, although to be honest I've no experience at all with these micro-style PC's (my current rig weighs 15kg and won't fit in the boot of my car!). You could try and build a micro-ATX rig yourself, but it would be a real challenge to build one for under €500 (not including the monitor). Plus, Windows XP is expensive to buy stand-alone these days. Or you could base a build on a HTPC case, but the case itself would be the most expensive part.

Edit: Scratch that HTPC idea, that's just silly!

Grafter

oem xp is about £50 (sorry, I'm in sterling land), just the same as vista.

Having thought about it a bit more, if his laptop can support the screen res of the monitor, buy the monitor, hook it up to the laptop and set the lappy up on a desk where his groin won't overheat it so much

Grafter

lenny_leonard wrote: »

Edit: Scratch that HTPC idea, that's just silly!

Some of those Shuttle barebones kits are great and even I could put them together.

VI_BEAR

i know this don't solve your size or expense issues but i recently purchased a mac G5 with parrelell's and i have to say it is the sickest machine i have ever witnessed...........download speed.......proscessor speed..........no messin with security software.......if you could get a small mac i would recommend it highly.........downloaded two wsop's on wednesday in 20mins for both...... average download speed of 1.12mb/s......

VI_BEAR

am most definately going gettin a mac laptop aswell when i win my nxt tourney.........:eek:......:eek:


have hp vista machine now and everytime i power have to wait nearly 20 mins for vista and security software to do it's thing.......:mad:.....:mad:

newbie2

VI_BEAR wrote: »

have hp vista machine now and everytime i power have to wait nearly 20 mins for vista and security software to do it's thing.......:mad:.....:mad:

Disable your security software - I suspect it's mcafee. If not AVG? You don't need to scan your pc everytime you turn it on. just download the latest definitions file every day and keep virus monitoring on. Do a scan about once a month and you'll be ok. (unless you visit dodgy sites or have a habit of clicking every banner ad you see).
I find vista pretty ok but i do have 4gigs of ram.