@MilfGrinder
I haven't tested the beta of Windows 10 myself, but Microsoft is pushing it really hard and from the opinions I've read so far upgrade will most likely be worth it. I'm certainly going to upgrade:)

@Jon-PokerVIP
Since you mentioned films and tv you'd probably enjoy 2.1 speakers the most (2 speakers + subwoofer), It doesn't sound like you're an audiophile so you probably don't need to spend a fortune but I still need to know what's your budget.

Hi Matt Would you recommend this PC package? ADMI GAMING PC PACKAGE Or could I get something that's better value with the same spec?

Ok budget wise i am not really to sure.....say £150 max?

Bump for advice please!

@ColourMeUp
I wouldn't recommend this PC. Mostly because of the slightly outdated and underpowered processor. Also, there's no information about the motherboard and power supply which makes it impossible to tell how reliable this PC will be. Oh and one last thing, while the integrated graphics card in A6-6400K processor is not terrible and you can play some older games using it this is by no means a "gaming PC". Most new, and even new-ish games won't run very well (or even at all) on it.

@Jon-PokerVIP
If your budget is really £150 then I recommend you ask someone that knows more about audio than me:) While I'd feel competent recommending you headphones in this price range I don't know nearly enough about speakers to make a recommendation that I'd feel good about.

June 2015 Poker PC Builds

I decided to post a couple of PC builds that I'd recommend for poker. I took prices from amazon.uk. Windows, mouse, keyboard and monitor are not included.

1. ~£260 Low-End - this is probably the cheapest machine that I can still recommend for poker. It's not going to be lightning fast or very quiet, but you'll have good experience with it and every part is from a reputable brand so you can expect it to be reliable. It should handle poker room and Holdem Manager/Poker Tracker fairly well but if you use additional software and your database is really large I'd consider going a step higher.

2. ~£400 Midrange - similar to the last one but with far more powerfull CPU. Lack of SSD drive means that large database can still pose some problems but other than that this PC will handle everything you can throw at it poker-wise.

3. ~£500 Sweet Spot - this is everything poker player needs. Powerful CPU, powerful SSD (everything will work lightning fast), silence optimized case.

4. ~£600 High End - this is as "high end" as I would go when it comes to machine meant for playing poker. It has the most powerful consumer CPU on the market (you can buy more powerful processors, but there are pointless unless you are really into prosumer activities like rendering, video editing etc.), powerful SSD, and almost every other part is a tiny step up in quality compared to previous PC's.

Recommended operating system:
Windows 8.1 64bit - this is pretty straightforward. Even though it's technically possible to install OS X on modern PC's it's not really optimal for poker. Same goes for Linux. If you buy Windows 8 now you'll also get a free upgrade to Windows 10 as soon as it releases.

Recommended monitors:
Practically every 1920x1080 IPS monitor will be a good fit for poker and here are two examples:
LG 22MP55HQ-P 22'
Dell P2214H 21.5'

If you're interested in monitors capable of displaying higher resolutions like 2560x1440 or 4k ask a specific question in this topic.

Recommended graphics cards;
PC builds that I posted above are optimized for poker and even though integrated graphics cards included in them are good enough to play older games and even some modern games that aren't very demanding if you're really into gaming you'll need to buy dedicated graphics card.

Low-End - should handle even the most demanding modern games on low/medium settings and less demanding modern games on medium/high:
GTX 750ti
Radeon R7 260x

Midrange - even the most demanding games should work fairly well on medium/high settings:
GTX 960
Radeon R9 380

High-End - you should be able to play almost every game out there on high/ultra settings. There are more powerful graphics cards on the market but they are meant for higher resolutions than 1920x1080:
GTX 970
R9 390

Keep in mind that pairing Low-End PC build with High-End graphics card is not a good idea and might even be impossible due to inadequate power supply wattage. When in doubt you can ask me a specific question in this topic.

I had a similar machine and upgraded to 8GB Ram...it now work fast enough to handle all tasks and many poker tables at the same time... If you can upgrade it to 16GB Ram thats even better.

I thought about making a new post about recommended PC's for poker, but there's not enough new stuff on the market to justify that. Instead, I'll probably research the mobile market a bit more to bring you the same kind of guide but this time for laptops. Stay tuned!

Also anyone here upgraded to Windows 10 yet? Microsoft is releasing the system in waves and because of that some people (including me) haven't had the chance to make a switch yet. I wonder how poker players feel about the new OS and are there any conflicts/incompatibilities when it comes to poker software.

How does this Laptop look? Literally as a travel laptop for odd game of poker on but mostly for work/skype stuff?

@Jon-PokerVIP
If you'll use it mostly for writing/watching movies etc. then it should be fine and you won't find anything more powerful in this price range so you might as well pick up this ASUS. If you plan on keeping your database on this PC and playing slightly more often then it's not going to be that comfortable and you'll be better of buying something a bit more expensive.

I have some computer/laptop advice for anyone buying one to play poker. Don't buy a MAC

I spend £1000 on one when I could have build a PC and had some left over for a laptop.

I'll come back to this thread when I get round to attempting building a PC. I've never done it so it will probably end badly.

Na man it is literally for travelling and no databases will be kept or anything heavy. i doubt i will ever even play on more than 4 tables with it.

Just sorted a Macbook tho as it goes so not needed anymore but cheers for reply.

I'm currently playing on on old monitor. Flat screen but small - probably 18 or 19". Even 4 tiled tables is hard on the eyes.

The good wife's allowing me to get a new monitor as my b'day present. I'm not going to spend a fortune but wonder what people suggest as a decent size for poker and what brands/specs I should look at.

Also, how easy is it to set up the new screen and old screen so I have two running together?

@MinerBoy23
First of all, it would be cool if you could tell me what graphics card you have in your system so I don't give you bad advice. If you have no idea then press 'windows key' + 'r' (or just the windows key if your running Windows 8 or newer) type 'dxdiag' and press enter -> click the display tab and either screenshot it or write down the name of your graphics card and current resolution of your monitor (for example 1920x1080, 1650x1050, 1600x900 etc.). Then it would be cool if you could figure out which of those 4 ports you have available in your PC (look at the back of your PC where your current monitor is connected and other ports should be nearby, in case of DVI please tell me which kind of port do you have):
VGA
DVI
HDMI
Display Port

That + the amount of money you'd like to spend should be enough for me to give you solid advice.

@MinerBoy23 I'm going to get two of these, might be interesting to you:

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/pc-monitors/pc-monitors/samsung-s27d590c-full-hd-27-curved-led-monitor-10100617-pdt.html?gclid=CLPh0auL3ccCFWoJwwodX14HMQ&srcid=198&cmpid=ppc~gg~~~Exact&mctag=gg_goog_7904&s_kwcid=AL!3391!3!75234074419!!!g!110895710660!&ef_id=Vb9I5QAAAcNSuLf6:20150904094149:s

@CrazyCookie
Are you sure? Have you seen this monitor in real life? Here's why I think this monitor (especially two of them) might not be the best for poker. First of all 1920x1080 is slightly too low of a resolution for 27-inch monitor in my opinion. This is because pixel per inch count won't be very high and text/small elements might look a bit blurry which regular user might not notice, but poker player most certainly will (I was forced to use 1080p 30-inch monitor for a short while and it was almost unplayable, with my eyes watering and stuff like that, 27-inch might be playable but certainly not comfortable). Also, I'm not sure if you ever used a monitor with curved screen, I think it's mostly a gimmick that can add to the experience only in a couple of very specific circumstances (very large and/or ultrawide screen that you're sitting directly in the middle of). If you're planning on using two of those, it will just look weird (since you probably won't seat in the middle of either one of those). You'll probably get used to it relatively quickly, but it's more of a con than a pro when we talk about the multimonitor setup.

EDIT: After small research I realized that it's not even an IPS panel which for me is a big no-no when we talk about the multimonitor setup since color reproduction and nice viewing angles are far more important than slightly higher response time that other types of panel offer. I really can't reccomend this monitor for poker.

Is this what you were after? The current monitor is plugged in to the DVI port.

Re: price range. Not a fortune. Up to maybe $300-$350 AUD.

@MinerBoy23
I see. Ok since this PC looks a bit older it would also help if you could make the screenshot of the first tab (System) from 'dxdiag' + I think I already helped one fellow from Australia and I managed to find some online shops that were relatively well stocked, but if you prefer some particular shop give please provide me with the link.

I only bought the box a few months ago but it was put together by a mate of mine who is a bit of a computer guy so it's quite possible it isn't a 'new' system.

Here's the screenshot.

i5-2400 is actually a pretty good CPU. Not the newest but pretty good. 8gb of ram is also like a sweet spot for poker so if that's what you mainly use your PC for then I can imagine it's serving you well. As for the monitor, I'd go for something with higher resolution that your current one so that you can fit more tables on the screen, and probably an IPS panel for the good color reproduction and viewing angles. This is a pretty cheap option that should work really well for you and you don't really need to spend much more than that (unless this particular monitor is not in stock then you might have to): BenQ VZ2350HM