Optimum confiiguration for 4 tabling
Now with poker tracker PAHUD and 4 tables going my computer sometimes slows down to a crawl. I"m looking for a few upgrades speed this up. Obviously the first is memory (i've got 256 right now). Is one GIG enough or should I go for 2? I will probably also get a fast HD dedicated to poker programs. I defrag often so that isn't a problem. I've got a 19 inch flat screen monitor but that will be my last upgrade.
Comments
Do you run much else while you play? That can have an impact too. Have a look in the task manager to see who's doing what.
If you have a rudimentary graphics card, you might find an upgrade here would help but I wouldn't guarantee that.
CPU probably doesn't matter unless it is already crawling under plain Windows stuff already.
Hard drive won't make much difference unless it is almost full and you don't have enough free space for adequate swapping. I'm not sure how much PokerTracker consumes but it shouldn't be much.
Monitor wouldn't really matter. Just whatever you want for your viewing preference.
However, XP still leaves a bunch of garbage lying around from different program install/deletes, patches, etc. If you've been running your system for over a year, personally I'd recommend formatting the hard drive and reinstalling from scratch (not reinstalling over the existing installation). With most systems, this will give you and immediate 10-15% performance increase. WARNING: Backup everything first!
With XP, in Control Panel -> System, got the the Advanced tab and select Performance->Settings. Under "Visual Effects" you can change a few "pretty" settings that will help performance depending on your graphics card. The important part is under the Advanced Tab. Some people think Windows is effective at managing your virtual memory - I disagree. You can allow Windows to manage it, but I never do. If you choose to change it, it should be 2-3 times your RAM if you are under 1gb, and 1.5 times RAM if you have 1gb or more (I have 1gb and my virtual memory is 1536), and set initial/max the same. Again, different opinions on this, but this is what i do
Another hard drive is a good idea, but not just for poker programs (you can leave most stuff on your primary c: drive). The important part is to move the virtual memory (from above) off your primary harddrive. If you have 2 hard drives (physical hard drives, not partitions), move it to the second. If you only have 1, try picking up an old hard drive from a computer shop (you can get by with little drives, i/e/ 4gb, mine is 6gb). For your primary hard drive, choose "No Paging File", and put it on the secondary drive (d:, e:, etc.), either by choosing "System Managed size" or by setting it manually as noted above. IMHO, this is a big performance gain due to the way the second hard drive allows Windows to manage your swap file.
Joe - if you need a hand or have any specific questions, call or PM me and I'll give you whatever help I can (I'm sure Jeff/Greg don't mind either
If space is tight on the hard drive, there are some clean up options windows will give you to get rid of temporary files and such. You can also delete old programs you haven't used in a while.
The other thing I neglected to mention earlier is to be careful of what you download. Get a good spyware checker as there are lots of subtle things that will run in the background and suck the life out of your computer. But you would notice this when you are doing more than just playing poker.
If you back up reformat and re install aren't you re installing a lot of the crap you want to get rid of? If you re install from scratch is there a problem re activating windows etc?