Need help picking some PC components

A

AAsuited

New Member
Hey guys, I am looking to build a computer for myself and I could use some help picking out some good components. I know enough about computers and the components, have taken apart and put a few together, just not real up to date on specifics about the processors, motherboards, video cards, etc. So anyways, I am looking to put myself together a pretty nice PC. My primary use for the PC will be to play online poker, I will not be doing a whole lot else as I have an Apple Powerbook for a laptop that I do all of my web surfing, email, word processing on. I currently have a PC that I use to play on but it is very slow and I have trouble supporting anymore than 2 tables or the computer is hardly functional. I would like the ability to play up to 8 tables at once on the computer, I would probably want 2 video cards for 2 monitors. I probably don't need a really big harddrive as I will not have many more programs on the computer than the different pokersite applications. I am not looking to spend a whole boat of money on the top of the line components, but I will spend some money to get a PC that will support what I am looking to do without glitches. Any input is appreciated, please let me know what you think.
 
Without an explicit budget, I've come up with this:
Abit KV8 Pro
Sempron 64 2600+
512MB DDR400
Matrox Parhelia something
40GB PATA HD
DVD-ROM

Will find newegg links later, am too sleepy now.
 
AAsuited said:
Hey guys, I am looking to build a computer for myself and I could use some help picking out some good components. I know enough about computers and the components, have taken apart and put a few together, just not real up to date on specifics about the processors, motherboards, video cards, etc. So anyways, I am looking to put myself together a pretty nice PC. My primary use for the PC will be to play online poker, I will not be doing a whole lot else as I have an Apple Powerbook for a laptop that I do all of my web surfing, email, word processing on. I currently have a PC that I use to play on but it is very slow and I have trouble supporting anymore than 2 tables or the computer is hardly functional. I would like the ability to play up to 8 tables at once on the computer, I would probably want 2 video cards for 2 monitors. I probably don't need a really big harddrive as I will not have many more programs on the computer than the different pokersite applications. I am not looking to spend a whole boat of money on the top of the line components, but I will spend some money to get a PC that will support what I am looking to do without glitches. Any input is appreciated, please let me know what you think.
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Online poker? Not the most demanding app. I dont think you need 2 video cards for that;) You could get a comp like that for like $400 without a monitor.
 
ya i think he wants a monitor, 2 as a matter of fact
I would probably want 2 video cards for 2 monitors
Click to expand...
2 monitors is ganna cost you alot.

Also since you have a PC already, it would be better to just upgrade that. If you could post specs of it maby we could tell you wat you need to upgrade.
 
My primary use for the PC will be to play online poker,
Click to expand...
I have an Apple Powerbook for a laptop that I do all of my web surfing, email, word processing on
Click to expand...
Any reason the Apple cant do the job?

I am not looking to spend a whole boat of money on the top of the line components, but I will spend some money to get a PC that will support what I am looking to do without glitches. Any input is appreciated, please let me know what you think.
Click to expand...
Can you pin down some sort of number?


Just to toss out a system,
- AMD Sempron 2500 [S754, Palermo, SDA2500AIO3BX, $60]
- EPoX EP-8KDA3I [nF3-250, $50]
- Xclio 450W [12V@32A, $50]
- LiteOn SOHD-167T DVDROM [$20]
- Chaintech SA5500 [$40]
- pQI Turbo 512MB [CL2.5, $35 after $10MIR]
- Maxtor DiamondMax8 40GB [2MB, $45]
Subtotal = $300
 
Ku-sama said:
budget?
Click to expand...

My budget is not real tight but obviously the cheaper the better if it performs. I would prefer around $400, but $500 I would spend, this would not be including the monitor as I know those would cost.
 
Praetor said:
Any reason the Apple cant do the job?

Can you pin down some sort of number?
Click to expand...

Most poker apps are exe and several poker sites do not offer mac compatible options. I have virtual pc but it runs very slow even if i am only playing one table.

$400 or less is preferred..

Thanks for all your help guys.
 
Mr.Suave said:
ya i think he wants a monitor, 2 as a matter of fact

2 monitors is ganna cost you alot.

Also since you have a PC already, it would be better to just upgrade that. If you could post specs of it maby we could tell you wat you need to upgrade.
Click to expand...

I now realize that 2 video cards will not be necessary as long as I get one with two ports and I also realize how much the monitors will cost. I will most likely still use the one i have until i find a good deal and from there i might purchase one at a time or I will just get both at same time

The PC I already have I would consider upgrading, I will see what you guys think. It is a COMPAQ Presario that was purchased a couple years ago. I see a model of 5BW, 5000T series on the side of it. It had 64 MB of RAM so I added another 64 MB stick that I had and I noticed no change in performance. Let me know what you think.
 
I am looking to get this for a computer, will this give me the performance I am looking for and is it all compatible? Your help has been greatly appreciated.

MOBO:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813130496
CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819104249
RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145026
Video Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814168002
Power Supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817152019
Hard Drive:
Staples has a 200 GB hard drive for $29.95 on after thanksgiving sale
Monitors:
Best Buy has MAG 19" LCD Flat Panel monitors for $169.95 after thanksgiving sale
Case:
Still up in the air...

Do I need anything else, should this all work together and does the video card for sure support 2 monitors? Is the Power Supply big enough at 380w?
 
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Praetor said:
Any reason the Apple cant do the job?
Click to expand...

You should post your powerbook's specs. If it has a graphics card, then you may just need a RAM upgrade. Even with the standard 512 megs of RAM on the Powerbook, you should be able to play many tables of poker at once.

But you probably need a new desktop because I think about 75% of downloadable poker games are for windows. I agree with Praetor about the specs: you only need a 40 gig drive, and that can hold about 500 different poker games. You should get a gig or RAM to be safe, and a sub-100$ video card will handle any basic gaming and poker task. How big do you want your monitors to be? My brother has a HUGE 24" Dell LCD and it is the best monitor I have ever seen. but I guess you should be able to play poker with 2 17" LCD monitors. Those will certianly add to the price of a new PC. :o
 
AAsuited said:
Hard Drive:
Staples has a 200 GB hard drive for $29.95 on after thanksgiving sale
Monitors:
Best Buy has MAG 19" LCD Flat Panel monitors for $169.95 after thanksgiving sale
Do I need anything else, should this all work together? Is the Power Supply big enough at 380w?
Click to expand...
Yea, your PSU should be stable at 380 watts. I would really like to know what staples this is so I can get about 20 of those drives for the price of 3 normal 200 gig drives. The price on those monitors seems kind of kinky too, I can only find 19" monitors for about 300$ at the cheapest. My 3 Samsung 19" monitors were 360$ each!!!
 
I did realize that the motherboard was off so I picked a different one that has compatible sockets.

My powerbook has about 256 MB of RAM, I know if I got about a gig on it, it would be alright but I would like a seperate PC for poker. I already picked up a 512 MB stick of RAM, I can always grab another if I find it necessary.

I picked up two 19" LCD monitors this morning that were $170 each, MAG Innovision brand. They were an after thanksgiving sale, and the store opened at 5 AM. Arrived at 4 AM and had to wait outside as there was already a line, had to wait inline another 2 hours to check out. Staples also had after thanksgiving sales and they had Samsung 19" LCD monitors for $199.99, and the 200 GB drive for $29.99. Just super good deals which is standard for day after thanksgiving.
 
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