Poker PC Ideas (long)

[kvp]

CPU - Don't get the FX, the new Intel Core 2 Duos can be overclocked to outperform the FX. The difference between the sockets are that the 939 is the last gen and 940 (AM2) is the current gen. AM2 can support DDR2 and other things.

I have a AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ AM2 (1.5gig RAM) and I can use PT, Party Planner, 10+ tables, MSN, Firefox, dual monitor, and if I wanted to have a DVD playing on one monitor just fine. I haven't got PAHUD yet for this comp but I can still see everything running perfectly smooth.

RAM - OCZ is good too but they have some compatability issues with ASUS mother boards I believe. You have to turn down their voltage, not sure if and how much it lowers performance. I have 2x 512mb of Kingston DDR2 667 for dual channel. I also have 1 stick (512mb) of some no name brand.

HDD - I run everything off a WD 250gb 7200RPM 16MB cache HD and it all works fine. Some say the Raptor drives work very well.

Graphics - Make sure your mother board has an AGP slot and you should be fine. Also if you're using a IDE drive make sure that your mobo can also support that.

If you're on a budget and only really need to play poker you should be fine with a $500-$600 setup that will last you a good while and be Vista ready.