Currently I have a Core2Quad Q6600, 4gb of ram and an Intel X25 SSD (the SSD I use only for my HEM2 DB). This computer has started to feel a bit sluggish at times, I think its mainly because of my Windows 7 since with a fresh installation it seemed quicker (I'm too lazy to reinstall atm, especially when considering a new comp). Although I don't have any problems running HEM2 on it I kind of feel like I'd like to build a new computer. I don't play other games than poker so its mainly just for running HEM2 and poker software.
What would be the best parts to get? When I updated to a SSD I was amazed at the performance and how much faster it was to run reports and get the HUD up and running. I guess part of why it seems slow is that I have a bunch of applications open, and usually have a few dozen browser windows open etc. Also partly the reason why I want a new computer is that in the past I always built my own computers with the price/performance/quality that I wanted but right now I have this HP computer and I'm not too happy on how loud it is and would like to build my own computer again.
So I was wondering what would be the best parts to get?
Should I go for an Intel i7 or would an 8-core AMD CPU be more efficient for HEM2 (and notecaddy)? The reviews I browsed seemed to show that the AMD one is fairly slow in most applications compared to an i7, but I didn't notice anyone comparing performace with large databases.
Is 12GB of ram more than enough, or should I try to squeeze in more?
Is there any merit in a PCI-Excpress based SSD-drive? I saw some in the store and from a review I understood that they should be much faster in IOPS than regular SSD's. The Revodrives aren't that incredibly expensive either, but I wonder if it still merits the investment (I do intend to get an SSD for my system disk in my next computer and might use than one for my DB instead of my current Intel SSD)
Does the graphics card matter at all? I imagine I shouldn't need any kind of gaming card so I'll just go for something that generates as little of heat and sound as possible, e.g. a cheap low performace card that has just enough oomph to drive my 2048*1536 and 1920*1200 screens.