Hardware Reviews

Murderer's Setup : Hardware Review

murderer — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 04:20:45 GMT

The Joy of Multiple Monitors:

When I first started playing online poker, I always stuck to just one table. I was learning the game, learning the quirks of each sites software and generally being totally absorbed into what was happening at the table to ever consider opening a second table. As I got more skilled and more comfortable with certain situations and my decision making become faster, I found myself becoming slightly distracted by other things. This led me to start multi-tabling in order to keep focused. The only problem with this was not being able to watch both tables at the same time.

I found that I was missing certain information that if I had been playing just the one table I would've picked up on and would've made more money as a result. A perfect example of this would be not seeing a player lose half his stack through a bad beat. A lot of players will be extremely loose after this and will sometimes shove all their money in with junk (NL games). Not having this information affects what sort of cards I would play against him and also how I would play those hands against him. This was just something that I put up with as I found that my earnings while mutli-tabling more than made up for these occasional lapses in information.

I first found out about the possibility of having dual monitors from ESPN's coverage of the 2004 WSOP. I saw someone, I believe it was a member of "The Crew" playing on a dual monitor set up (it may have been our very own Gank?). My jaw dropped when I laid my eyes on it and my mind boggled with the possibilities. At the time, I assumed that it would be ludicrously expensive and difficult to set these up and I put the idea out of my mind.

Earlier this year I stumbled upon an article about how easy it was to have a dual monitor set up and I realized it was a lot simpler than I first thought! With the knowledge in this article (sorry I don't have a link) I set about looking at what monitors to buy for it. I checked a few different sites via google and read a few reviews. Naturally, Pocketfives had some great info posted on this subject (use the search tool in the forums and you'll see what I mean) and it was from a P5s post that I found out how highly recommended "Dell" monitors were - particularly the FP series. I looked on Dell's website and found they were having a sale (this was the UK/English site). I managed to pick up 2 Dell 17inch 1704FP monitors for around the equivalent of $500. My experience with Dell was a pleasant one and they even phoned me to make sure that I did in fact want TWO monitors not the usual one! Delivery was swift and more importantly - turned up when they said they would.

I was like a kid at Christmas when I got my hands on the boxes and couldn't wait to get them set up. After I got them out and set up in the correct position, I went to connect them up only to find out I had forgotten one important piece of the puzzle. The need for a "dual output graphics card". If you do not have one of these then you cannot have a dual set up. Most new(ish) computers should have a graphics card with dual outputs already installed but unfortunately mine did not! I rushed straight out to my local PC World to get one.

This was much easier and cheaper than I anticipated. In fact - it couldn't have been much easier. I entered, walked straight up to an assistant, explained to him what I was doing and the problem I had encountered and within 1 minute I had a cheap (not even $50) but sufficient graphics card in my possession. The only thing you may need to bear in mind, is that if you play a lot of PC games you may need to fork out a little extra for a graphics card capable of running the latest games.

Once I had inserted the new graphics card, the system was INCREDIBLY easy to set up. All I did, was follow the instructions on the driver CD set up wizard and it was all done within 5 minutes. I was honestly shocked at just how easy it had been to configure the monitors. I adjusted my mouse speed to enable me to cover the extra distance on the extended desktop and I was ready to go.

The first thing that must be said about having a live working dual monitor set up, in front of your own eyes is that it looks amazingly cool. From a style standpoint, it really adds something to what would otherwise be just another boring computer station. However, the style aspect is nothing compared to what it brings to, not only your online poker experience, but your entire day to day general use of your computer.

From a poker point of view, it allows you to keep a closer eye on the small subtleties that you would've otherwise had missed due to the table being out of sight. I can comfortably play 3 tables whilst picking up most (not all) of the information that I was previously missing. I can play 8 at time with a little overlap but personally I am not a big fan of playing this many, but if you are, this is defintely the way to do it. Those pesky wrong table mis-clicks are a thing of the past, in fact I have probably saved myself a small fortune by eliminating those.

One benefit of the extra room you have is that it allows for multiple instant messenger conversations to be in plain sight, so you don't have to keep clicking the toolbar at the bottom to select the conversation. You can view the internet (Pocketfives.com of course) on one screen while you have a table or two open on the other. You can drag things from one monitor to the other in one smooth motion. One screen can be playing a video while the other be running a table. Dual monitors are to multi-tasking what Lubrication is to the porn industry - It's not a necessity but it makes things so much easier.

I have so far only talked about having 2 monitors. As you can see from the pictures, I actually have three. The third monitor is connected to a second computer and operates independantly from the other 2. I have 2 mice and 2 keyboards to control both computers.

I have only just got my second computer, so I am still adjusting. I mainly use it for programs/tasks that would normally slow down any poker windows open, such as DVD ripping, compression tools, CD/DVD writing etc. etc. At the moment I only have room for 3 monitors but I am probably moving home soon which should allow me to set up 4 monitors!

It would really, really REALLLLLY kill me to go back to just one monitor in my home set up, it's bad enough lumbering around with just one screen at work.

I cannot recommend dual monitors highly enough especially if you are in a position financially to do it. They have defintely made a difference to my overall profitability and have pretty much paid for themselves.

If you have any questions about this subject then feel free to private message me and I will do my best to help but there is also a wealth of information in the forums about this.

GL at the tables!

Murd

Inspiron 9300 : Hardware Review

Phatsac — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 03:50:12 GMT

Dell Inspiron 9300

If you are in the market for a new laptop or desktop replacement and love to multi-table, then the Dell Inspiron 9300 is for you. I’ve had mine since September and it is an absolute jewel. My last laptop was the Dell Inspiron 600m and when it basically blew up on me, I swore I would never buy another Dell laptop. However, a friend of mine sent me a link for a Dell coupon for 40% off so I couldn’t turn that deal down.

There are so many great things about the 9300 I don’t know really where to start.

The 17” wide-screen display is brilliant and allows for easy 4 tabling. I recommend upgrading ($125) to the Ultrasharp UXGA Display with Truelife. Both DVDs and games come to life with the vivid picture.

As you can see, 4 tabling with no overlap is standard. If you are playing on a screen with overlap, you won’t believe how much your game will improve when you can actually watch all the tables without constant clicking. I sometimes even 6 table and the overlap isn’t bad at all.

Dell offers a multiple processor speeds of the Intel Pentium M processor. I went with the minimum (1.8GHz) because the extra cost for the speed really isn’t worth it unless you really, really need it. I also recommend upgrading to the 1 GB Dual Channel Ram. The combination of the processor and the upgraded RAM has impressed me. The laptop has never frozen once—even while 6 tabling on different sites, having multiple internet windows and IM windows open, and listening to mp3s. The only slow down I’ve noticed is when I’ve tried to play poker while burning a DVD. This was actually really stupid of me because the DVD copy will be pretty poor quality if other programs are running simultaneously.

The wireless network card runs like a charm. I went with the basic Intel 2200 B/G and it has not disappointed. It will detect and connect to wireless networks at my neighbor’s house (2 doors down).

The keyboard sits perfectly under the display and is the most comfortable of any laptop I’ve ever used. The keys are nice and large and the space to rest your hands is more than adequate.

There are lots of USB ports: 6 on the rear and 2 on the left of the laptop so you can plug in all sorts of extras like a mouse, printer, or external hard drive. There is also a DVI output for plugging in an HDTV monitor (not that you would need to).

The 8x DVD burner is another must upgrade ($79). Copying DVDs and burning CDs is a piece of cake, although you will most likely need some other software because the standard software (Sonic!) doesn’t allow for compression. I recommend DVD Shrink and Nero Ultimate Edition.
If you play video games, a final must upgrade is the graphics card: ATI Mobility Radeon X300 ($49). This card plays most games easily, though it did have a little bit of trouble playing Half-Life2/CS:Source. However, once I reduced some of the graphics options within the game, it ran really well.

The only drawback on the 9300 is its size, but if you are looking for a laptop to multitable you can’t really complain about that. The 9300 is deceptively light with respect to its size: it only weighs about 8 lbs.

Obviously, I highly recommend the 9300. The base system starts at $1,149 and with my recommended upgrades it is $1,498. You can always find Dell coupons online so be sure to search before you buy(www.slickdeals.net is a great site).

Hogan24's System : Hardware Review

Hogan24 — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 15:47:50 GMT

First of all I would just like to say that I think this is a great idea to add a hardware section to pocketfives.com. With so many people playing poker online now-a-days, this will give people some great ideas as to how they can improve their own system.

The only thing that I would suggest is to not look and see what someone else has and get your heart set on copying it exactly. I would recommend looking around, mixing and matching, and try to find all of the components that you need to make your system better.

Anyway, this is what I play around on:

Overview:

Computer: Dell Dimension 4700
Hard Drive Space: 80GB
Memory: 512MB
Monitor(s): Two Dell UltraSharp 2001FP 20.1-inch Flat Panel LCD’s

Extras:
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Video Card
(Unknown Brand) TV Capture Card

Computer: When I first started playing seriously during my senior year in college (about 2 years ago), I was using the same old Gateway I'd had since my junior year in high school(1999). It worked just fine for its purpose, however once I started picking up a little bit of money, I bought a Dell Dimension 2400 computer with a Pentium 3 processor and 128MB of RAM. Wow was that awful. I went and bought 1GB of RAM and installed that in my computer which made it work just fine.

It came with a 15” flat panel LCD monitor which was nice being flat and all, but the old CRT (big TV-shaped) monitor was 19” and could hold more open programs without overlap. My dad was desperately in need of a new computer at the same time so after a couple of months I sold my computer to him for only about half of what I paid for it and I upgraded to a Dell Dimension 4700 which is what I am still currently using. It has a Pentium 4 2.80GHz Processor and 512 MB of RAM.

Monitor: I ordered my second computer with a 20.1” Flat panel. I loved it so much I ended up buying a second one off of ebay just for fun. When I discovered how I could run more programs at the same time and have more desktop space to play poker on, I can't imagine going back to one screen.

The number one question I get whenever someone new sees my computer is: “Where is your second computer?” I think a lot of people don’t understand that you don’t need two computers to run two monitors (Just ask MrSneaky, I know he runs 8 monitors off of his 1 computer…yes 8!)

The way you accomplish this is by buying a third party video card that you have to install internally on your computer. I went on ebay and found an “NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200” Video Card that worked just fine in my computer.

If you look at the picture here on the back of my computer, you can see that it is one video card that has the capability of holding 2 monitor’s. It’s actually pretty simple to do yourself. Once you get the card in, a wizard will take care of the rest.

To install the video card all you have to do is take the side panel off of your computer and you will see empty slots that you can plug any type of PCI device into. In simple terms, a PCI device refers to the male end of the video card.

( This picture is not of a video card, but it shows what the male end of a PCI card looks like.)

You unscrew one of the open metal slots on the back of your computer, use a little force to make sure the card is inserted all the way into the PCI slot of your computer, and use the same screw to tighten it back in place. Then just plug everything back in, start your computer up, install the drivers and you should be good to go.

Extras: The one little un-needed extra that I have on my computer is a TV capture card. It basically gives the ability to watch TV on my computer at the same time as running other applications. I don’t know the brand of card that it is. It was something that I bought pretty cheap off of ebay too. I plugged it in and it started running from there with really no problem. I threw the box and manuals away or I’d share what brand it is.

Thanks for reading this, hopefully I have been able to help out with some good ideas.

I have also included a picture of the potential my computer has if I really wanted to play 8 sites simultaneously.

Any questions…as always, feel free to post them or private message me!

See ya on the felt!!

Chris Hogan
aka Hogan24

Monitor buying guide : Hardware Review

lombardo — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 15:45:55 GMT

As I've been perusing the forum recently, I've noticed that there frequently is a thread pertaining to monitor recommendations and how to put together a multi-monitor set-up. I hope to answer some of those FAQs here.

Choosing a Monitor:

Some basic monitor parameters you should keep in mind:

Resolution: 1600x1200 (this is needed to fit 4 tables without overlap)

Refresh Rate: CRT monitors (the old heavy bulky monitors) should have a higher refresh rate than 72Hz or higher to avoid eye strain. Refresh rate is not as big of a problem with LCD displays.

Response Time: A slow response time is what creates motion slur in LCD monitors. Response time of 16ms or less is a good figure to shoot for. If the response time it too high ghosting effects will be visible.

Size and type :

CRTs (Cathode Ray Tube)

17" - There are some 17" CRTs that can display at a resolution of 1600x1200, but objects will be very small.

19" – Most 19" have a max resolution of 1600x1200. Objects may still be small but if you have good eyesight it shouldn't be a problem.

20"+ - Objects just get larger and easier to see. Some may have a higher resolution than 1600x1200

LCDs (Liquid Crystal Display)

17" – Try to stay away from them as they don't have a resolution of 1600x1200.

19" – Most 19" LCDs don't have a resolution of 1600x1200 so check to make sure it does.

20"+ - High likelihood of having 1600x1200, but check to make sure.

Below are some monitor setups that I am familiar with, and really enjoy. Realize that these are not the only possibilities; and if you prefer a different monitor company by all means use them. All monitors will work with the setup guide as long as they utilize either VGA Inputs (usually a cord with blue ends) or Composite Inputs (usually a cord with white ends. The ends are more rectangular in comparison to VGA cords).

Option #1 "Multitabler's Delight" ($550 to $2000)

Functionality 10/10 (Great image quality for all types use. Very slim and light which makes it the best candidate for a four monitor setup)

My friend has a Dell UltraSharp 2001FP. It is one of the best LCD monitor I have ever used. I've seen pictures of setups using four of these. I'm not sure how the four monitors would be stabilized, but I am guessing that they were bracketed together somehow. I would research brackets a bit to make sure you get a solid one. I wouldn't want $2200 worth of monitor to topple over.

Dell UltraSharp 2001FP 20.1-inch Flat Panel LCD ($500+)

Resolution: 1600x1200
Image Brightness: 250 cd/m2Image
Contrast Ratio: 400:1
Port(s) Total (Free) / Connector Type: 1 x 15-pin D-sub, 1 x 24-pin Digital DVI-D, 1 x S-Video, 1 x Composite Video, 5 x USB (1 Upstream and 4 Downstream)
Video Input: Analog RGB, Digital DVI-D TMDS, S-Video, Composite Video

Dell makes great, perhaps the best LCD monitors on the market. The visuals are very accurate, bright, and easy on the eyes. The UltraSharp is one of the best LCDs for watching movies or playing games on your PC. It can reproduce dark images very well. The UltraSharp also has a multitude of inputs and even doubles as a USB hub.

Option #2 "The poor man's Flatscreen" (17' LCD) ($250-$1000)Functionality 7/10 (Great for everything but dark videos and dark games. It has the smallest resolution of the three at 1240x1024. Thin and light. Can be used, like option #1, in a four monitor setup using a bracket)

Samsung 740N (17") - Currently $239.99
Resolyu

My current setup consists of two Samsung 740Ns. Their resolution of 1240x1024 is quite odd for a multi-monitor setup used primarily for poker. Four tables can almost fit without overlap. I place one table in one corner and another table in the corner diagonal from that. There is about a 2" x 2" square overlap in the middle of the screen.

The same thing is then done with the other monitor. My rational behind this purchase was that they take up much less space than my CRT, and when combined they have a much higher resolution (2480x1024) that both my CRT and a 20" LCD. Additionally, I could buy two Samsungs for the price of one top of the line 20" LCD like the Dell UltraSharp.

This type of setup is very efficient for writing papers (holla to the poor college students!). I can view two word documents on one and two websites opened on the other for dictionaries or research. Another advantage of this setup is that everything is physically larger. As a result, I don't make quite as many miss-clicks, and bet sizes and chip stacks are easier to see.

After setting them up, I was pleasantly surprised by their performance. Being some of the cheaper LCDs I could find, (I grabbed them for $200 each) I expected some ghosting and response time issues. There is no ghosting whatsoever. Games and videos aren't as good as my CRT or the Ultrasharp. Also, I find it difficult in differentiating between shades of black. In essence, you get what you pay for.

Option #3 "The Dinosaur" (but hey, dinosaurs had a good run) -CRTs ($210 to $420)

Functionality 5/10 (Great image quality for all types of use; however, it is very deep and tall.)
Their size and weight limits them to a two monitor setup (unless the CRTs you use have flat tops. Then you could place LCD monitors on the tops. I think some Hitachi models have flat tops.)

NEC 19IN FE992BK - Currently $210
Resolution: 1600x1200

CRT technology has offered affordable, yet visually astounding monitors for years. An average CRT monitor will have much better clarity and response time than even some good LCD monitors. Unfortunately, CRT monitors are huge in comparison to LCDs. Additionally, they produce a lot more heat, and use a lot more electricity. If you have sufficient desk space to facilitate two 19" monitors (more than two would make too wide of viewing space), and don't want to spend the type of money needed to buy a good LCD monitor I recommend this type of setup.

For 4 years I used a 19" flat screen NEC CRT, and loved its performance for movies, games, poker, and just browsing websites. My only complaints are that it took up a ton of desk space (it's very deep), and it produced a lot of heat. Furthermore, now that I've grown accustom to my dual 17" LCD monitor system, when I use my old CRT I notice a slower refresh rate. The slower refresh rate sometimes gives me a headache. I never got headaches during the four years I used to use it. I would attribute this to either my eyes adapting to the faster refresh rate of my LCDs, my eyes getting older and more sensitive, or the monitor itself can not produce the high refresh rate it once could.

Summary:

Basically I encourage you to shop around and find something that fits both your needs and your budget. We all like to drool over the biggest and the best, but you might be surprised what you can do with systems that cost half as much or less.

Confessions of a Gadget Junkie : Hardware Review

N 82 50 24 — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 11:24:09 GMT

My Online Poker Setup By Nat aka N 82 50 24

I'll admit it, I'm a gadget junkie. Pretty much any new tech toy gets added to my collection as soon as it comes out. Naturally, this enthusiasm for all things tech-related has carried over to my online poker setup. I happen to think it's pretty sweet so I'll share it with my fellow pocketfivers.

In order of importance:
1.Monitor(s)
1a.graphics card
2.Chair
3.Mouse
4.Extras

1.The most important component in your computer setup is your monitor(s) – and there's not even a close second.

I have a fairly common dual monitor setup with two 20" Dell 2001FP LCD screens ($500/ea).

Why are these monitors so common? It's a simple reason: They support 1600x1200 pixel resolution, which allows four tables to fit on one screen without overlap. I doubt you'll find a cheaper 1600x1200 LCD monitor solution out there that has DVI (digital) and RGB (analog) inputs, along with 4 USB ports per monitor. They're just a great value. Buying a 17" or 19" LCD monitor, which will likely be without 1600x1200 resolution, is really a waste of money if you are buying the monitor for poker.

1a. An important decision when you're considering what monitor(s) to buy is your video card. If you get two or more monitors, you'll need a video card capable of outputting to more than one screen. Usually, these are referred to as "dual-monitor capable" video cards, so it shouldn't be too hard to figure out which ones will work. Virtually all dual monitor capable video cards will be able to support two monitors at 1600x1200 resolution, but you should check on this before you buy. However, it's somewhat rare to find a video card that will support a Dual DVI output. It's much more common to find ones that support one DVI and one RGB, but that doesn't matter as you likely won't notice a difference when you plug them in. Don't ask me why the video card companies do this as it doesn't make sense to me either. I have $100 NVIDIA GeForce dual monitor video card. Another good company to think about buying a video card from is ATI as their lineup of Radeon video cards is excellent.

2. Chair
Although you rarely hear people talking about seating, I feel your chair is the second-most important item in an online poker setup. It's really important to be comfortable, and sitting on something without arms or without the proper cushioning could actually hurt your game considerably. Poker is game that favors people with emotional control and there's no need for a wobbly chair to put you on tilt – no pun intended. I happen to have a premier chair: the Herman Miller Aeron ($800). The seat and back of the Aeron chair are made of a virtually unbreakable mesh material that provides an incredible level of comfort and breathability. Although you may not realize it, your typical chair traps heat and is generally uncomfortably hot to sit in after a few minutes. Not so with the Aeron mesh material. You can sit in it for hours while remaining perfectly comfortable and ready to play your best.

3.The third most important item is your mouse. If you use a laptop, you are well-advised to attach a mouse to it. In my experience, the use of a laptop mouse touchpad will likely lead to many costly misclicks – even more so if you're multi-tabling. I have a Sony VAIO laptop that I use for when I'd like to play away from my main station. Also, if you're still in the stone-age, you might have a mouse that actually has a wheel in it. The best mice today use what's known as laser pointers that will work on virtually any surface, glass included. Laser pointers are a moderate step up from the more common optical mice, although optical mice are still acceptable in my mind.

I use a Logitech MX-1000 laser mouse ($70), which has a number of useful, although not essential features. For one, I use a program called AutoHotKey to write scripts that allow me to assign the extra buttons on my mouse to a certain action. This means that I can use the back and forward buttons to fold or bet. It's very useful for playing a lot of limit games. In addition, because the MX-1000 is wireless, I always keep a wired optical mouse attached to my computer because the wireless could lose its connection or the battery could die unexpectedly (although the MX-1000 does have a battery life indicator).

4.Extras
The last item that I use to help my poker game is my set of Bose Quietcomfort2 headphones ($300). They have noise-canceling technology that recognizes external noise and emits a frequency to cancel it out. It's an amazing engineering accomplishment in my opinion. It's much easier to concentrate and really get in the zone to play poker when I'm wearing these. I tend to forget about what is going on around me and just focus on the game at hand, which is tremendously helpful in bringing out my A game.

I have a few other gadgets in my computer setup, but the items that I've laid out above are among the best hardware you can have for playing your best poker online. If you have any questions, google can answer most of them. If google fails you, you can PM me and I'll try to point you in the right direction. Good luck at the tables.