Effect of processor speed

[schroder999]

How much difference do faster processors make for HEM? Is it primarily bottlenecked by hard drive read/write? Lets say someone was playing 20+ tables with a large 2 mil+ hand database. If you got a laptop with a 1.6 or 2.0 ghz processor with SSD hard drive and 4+gb ram would the processor be holding it back performance wise or does it not really take that much processor performance to run HEM?

I'm looking to get a laptop to play on as I will be travelling more next year and was wondering if getting a slower processor for battery life/heat/portability purposes would be worthwhile or if I need to go for the faster core i7 processors in order to run HEM on lots of tables smoothly. Any input would be appreciated.

[Patvs]

HEM (and PostgreSQL) use a combination of RAM (memory), CPU (processor) and I/O performance (harddisk).

On most computers that have 2+ GB RAM... the harddisk is the bottleneck.
I think the mobile i7 uses less power than most mobile Qxxx Intel CPUs.
If you already plan to put a SSD in the laptop (Intel X25-M G2 Postville!) it won't make much of a difference performance-wise which CPU you choose.
(just buy a slower/cheaper CPU and spend the money on a SSD)

Read top 10 performance tips thread in my signature for more info

[schroder999]

I did read that performance thread but it doesn't really say where the line is for "good enough" for the processor which is why I asked. The mobile i7 is actually quite a battery hog still which is why I hesitate to buy a laptop with one. The only laptops that use it all get < 2 hrs battery life and weigh > 7 lbs. The performance is outstanding but many programs are not CPU-limited and I was just wondering where the minimum might be for HEM where having a faster processor wouldn't make much difference.

The desktop I currently use for poker is a Core 2 Quad at 2.66 ghz, 4 gb RAM, and 2 velociraptors in RAID 0. This system generally runs things smoothly but actually runs out of RAM once you open 20+ tables.

I was just wondering if something like a 2.0 or 2.2 ghz would be enough with the mentioned intel postville SSD or if I should be looking to get something with a bit more to keep up with the rest of the system.

Thanks for the response though, I suspect that a slower processor will still not hold it back but its hard to know for sure.

[Patvs]

Intel will introduce their new mobile CPUs at the CES, Las Vegas in january.
i3, i5 and i7 CPUs.


Any Dualcore.. even if it's only 4x 1.80 Ghz, with 4 GB RAM and a Intel SSD, will be MORE than enough to run 20+ tables on HEM without any glitches.
My point was... it's better to buy a mid-fast laptop and add a SSD.... than to buy a superfast (CPU wise) laptop with a regular harddisk.