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View Full Version : New computer - How much space does HEM require?



ynot
08-31-2009, 07:41 AM
I am going to build a new computer that is ONLY going to be used for poker.

OS, poker site softwares, Teamviewer, Skype, MSN and HEM. That is ALL that will be installed.

How much hard drive space do I need for this?

SPEED is the key. I might be looking into using a 64 GB SSD as my system disk. Would this improve HEM/HUD performance? Is it too small? Do I need to archive hands on a second drive?

I would appreciate any input on this!

fozzy71
08-31-2009, 09:15 AM
A postgresql DB, with logging turned off, uses approximately 1GB per 125,000 played hands. I have a 250k hand DB that is about 2GB. If I export my DB to text files, they only take 300 - 500MB of space. These archives can be compressed to save space as well, but I would recommend they are stored wherever you have plenty of space. Mine will be stored on my 3rd HD in my new system, that is not an SSD.

I am planning to build a new PC this fall.


2 x 30gb SSDs - OS and SQL on their own drives.
1 x500 or 750gb, 7,200 rpm drive fro all my graphics data, personal data, and media.
I actually want a 4th HD that is 1 or 1.5GB to backup all of those drives to. :p

ynot
08-31-2009, 09:45 AM
That looks nice :D

I've got a separate computer that I will use for media, internet browsing etc. This one will be for poker ONLY.

I'm interested in that setup.

You are going to use two 30gb as seperate disks? No Raid0?

So for me that would be OS, HEM, poker clients, Skype, Teamviewer and MSN on one of the disks and then a whole disk for just the SQL?

Or should HEM be placed on that SQL disk?

Then maybe add a small, normal hdd to backup all of this?

fozzy71
08-31-2009, 10:00 AM
That looks nice :D

I've got a separate computer that I will use for media, internet browsing etc. This one will be for poker ONLY.

I'm interested in that setup.

You are going to use two 30gb as seperate disks? No Raid0?

I am not very educated about hardware, and don't think I am ready to try a RAID setup. The cost of RAID'ing SSDs would be too much for me as well.



So for me that would be OS, HEM, poker clients, Skype, Teamviewer and MSN on one of the disks and then a whole disk for just the SQL?

HM gets loaded to RAM, so for performance it doesnt matter which drive. For data security I would suggest you install it away from the OS drive. If you do not install HM to the default location, you will need to make sure all your future HM Beta Updates get manually directed to the unique installation path.



Then maybe add a small, normal hdd to backup all of this?

I like to have an internal drive for backup as well as an external drive. The cost of a 7,200 rpm drive to backup your 2 x 30 or 60gb drives is insignificant compared to the cost of your system, and the opportunity cost of having to try and reproduce the data if not backed up. I use AllWay Sync to synchronize all my important data to my backup partitions/drives every day. This gives me 2 copies of all my important data.

ynot
08-31-2009, 10:06 AM
aha...HM gets loaded to RAM. Did not know that. Do you install postgres on the same drive as HM then? Or on the OS drive?

Patvs
08-31-2009, 01:45 PM
I am going to build a new computer that is ONLY going to be used for poker.

OS, poker site softwares, Teamviewer, Skype, MSN and HEM. That is ALL that will be installed.

How much hard drive space do I need for this?

SPEED is the key. I might be looking into using a 64 GB SSD as my system disk. Would this improve HEM/HUD performance? Is it too small? Do I need to archive hands on a second drive?

I would appreciate any input on this!

64 GB is enough for OS + a 3 million hand database.
Your fastest two options: 80 GB Intel G25-M G2 Postville or
2x 30 GB OCZ Vertex in RAID0.

azl6573
08-31-2009, 03:15 PM
Does HM use up alot of memory? im getting low virtual memory errors on my laptop, was looking to upgrade my 2x500 ram to 2x1000 ram. would this help?

many thanks

azl

ynot
08-31-2009, 03:52 PM
Ok, I just ordered a 80 GB Intel G25-M G2 SSD.

Should I partition it? Use say 30 gig as a system disk and then install HEM+postgres on the other?
Or should it be HEM only on the second one?

Patvs
08-31-2009, 07:59 PM
Does HM use up alot of memory? im getting low virtual memory errors on my laptop, was looking to upgrade my 2x500 ram to 2x1000 ram. would this help?




If you run HEM + hem IMPORT + hem HUD + postgres + your poker software, you can easlly reach a use of anywhere between 1 and 2 GB. I usually close all my Internet Explorer windows ('cause IE can use 200-300 MB)
You should check your Task Manager how much "physical memory" is being used and make sure your computer never has to resort in using the pagefile/virtual memory.

So an upgrade to 2x1GB will solve that problem. Do you play many tables simultaneously? Or have a very large database? Because your second problem would then be that your laptop harddisk still isn't very fast. So that would be the next bottleneck that can cause lagging.




Ok, I just ordered a 80 GB Intel G25-M G2 SSD.

Should I partition it? Use say 30 gig as a system disk and then install HEM+postgres on the other?
Or should it be HEM only on the second one?

It would make no difference to create two (or more) partitions.
So one partition is fine. Or two, whatever you want.
Some people do "underpartition" their SSD. A SSD gets slower if its near full. So if you have a 80 GB SSD and you only make a 72 GB partition, 8 GB will ALWAYS be free. However TRIM and GARBAGE COLLECTING will make this "underpartition" tweak pretty redundant. But TRIM hasn't been released for the X25-M yet... so it couldn't do any harm.



Edit: Anandtech wrote a final great article about SSDs here (http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3631)

azl6573
09-01-2009, 05:04 AM
[QUOTE=Patvs;82732]If you run HEM + hem IMPORT + hem HUD + postgres + your poker software, you can easlly reach a use of anywhere between 1 and 2 GB. I usually close all my Internet Explorer windows ('cause IE can use 200-300 MB)
You should check your Task Manager how much "physical memory" is being used and make sure your computer never has to resort in using the pagefile/virtual memory.

So an upgrade to 2x1GB will solve that problem. Do you play many tables simultaneously? Or have a very large database? Because your second problem would then be that your laptop harddisk still isn't very fast. So that would be the next bottleneck that can cause lagging.


Thanks for the reply, i only play up to 5 tables at once, on a dual core processor. I think my issues must be the memory and the odd internet virus, that antivirus software never picks up.

cheers, ill order the memory today

azl

livegame
09-18-2009, 03:56 AM
Guys can you take a look at this build from gateway. Would this be sufficient running hem, 12 tables, scripts, skype, aim and pandora?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9352336&type=product&id=1218089773975#tabbed-customerreviews