Hold Em Manager slows down laptop, Is PT4 a better option for me?

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bernotas22

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Im planning to invest in PokerTracker 4 or HM2 next month after my trials are done, there are positives and negatives of the two but the problem with HM2 is big (slows down pc like crazy & my pc is not old or slow in general, it's not some crazy high tech pc but it's a solid Toshiba laptop) PT4 only negative is that I do not like its software as much as HM2 but maybe I will have to get used to it because HM2 is just unusable while PT4 has no such issues. Anyone else have similar experience or should I buy a 2k more expensive laptop, that would seem kind of pointless to me since I would basically be paying much more money just so HM2 can run properly? I have another Toshiba laptop that is a 2012 model that needs a new battery while my current one and will be replaced soon which is a 2011 or 2010 model. Maybe my other slightly newer laptop will work better with HM2? Any advice would be appreciated!
 
dmorris68

dmorris68

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I use both. I do think HM2 is a bit more needy in terms of system requirements, but I still prefer it. Not because I think PT4 is necessarily less capable (although there are some functional differences), but rather because I'm more familiar with HM2 as I've been using it since its alpha and beta days before it was even sold. I use PT4 for the couple of sites where it works better than HM2, but I don't play those sites often. I try to keep them both more or less in sync by manually importing HM2's archived hands into PT4 every so often, and vice-versa.

Other than when it had major bugs, I've not had a problem running HM2 at all, and I typically play up to 8 tables (back when I 12-16 tabled I was running HM1 so can't speak to how HM2 would handle that). But then again I've always had well-equipped PC's too.

What are the specs on your PC? As we've pointed out in other threads, the most important things for tracker performance are drive speed/throughput and RAM.

If you're running a 4GB or less laptop with a 5400rpm drive, that's largely the reason. A 64-bit OS with at least 8GB RAM and a fast HDD or preferably a SSD is what trackers need to really perform well, especially when multi-tabling.
 
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bernotas22

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I use both. I do think HM2 is a bit more needy in terms of system requirements, but I still prefer it. Not because I think PT4 is necessarily less capable (although there are some functional differences), but rather because I'm more familiar with HM2 as I've been using it since its alpha and beta days before it was even sold. I use PT4 for the couple of sites where it works better than HM2, but I don't play those sites often. I try to keep them both more or less in sync by manually importing HM2's archived hands into PT4 every so often, and vice-versa.

Other than when it had major bugs, I've not had a problem running HM2 at all, and I typically play up to 8 tables (back when I 12-16 tabled I was running HM1 so can't speak to how HM2 would handle that). But then again I've always had well-equipped PC's too.

What are the specs on your PC? As we've pointed out in other threads, the most important things for tracker performance are drive speed/throughput and RAM.

If you're running a 4GB or less laptop with a 5400rpm drive, that's largely the reason. A 64-bit OS with at least 8GB RAM and a fast HDD or preferably a SSD is what trackers need to really perform well, especially when multi-tabling.

A possible cause is not that my laptop is bad which it is not, but because I flood it with so much downloaded torrents, I also like the look and feel of HM2 more so I may just go with it but if it continues to be slow after I clean out a hundred or so GB off my laptop then i'll probably be going with PT4, Also another reason for me to go with PT4 is that I believe that they can connect with Winamax which is where I like to play cause of how soft it is and good software, and HM2 cannot or atleast in the supported sites list for HM2 it is not listed and for PT4 it is
 
RDB

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A possible cause is not that my laptop is bad which it is not, but because I flood it with so much downloaded torrents, I also like the look and feel of HM2 more so I may just go with it but if it continues to be slow after I clean out a hundred or so GB off my laptop then i'll probably be going with PT4,

Space used on the hard drive is not a likely cause of your problems. You want at least as much free space on the drive as your largest database for backup/export reasons but it will not cause performance issues. The biggest factors for performance are CPU speed, amount of RAM, and HDD/SSD speed as mentioned previously. Chances are your HDD is 5400rpm (most laptops are), your CPU is not an intel i5/7, and your RAM is 4gb or less.

See these FAQs for possible performance improvements:
- http://hm2faq.holdemmanager.com/questions/1142/Holdem+Manager+2+Performance+&+Speed+Modifications
- http://hm2faq.holdemmanager.com/questions/1501/What+can+be+done+if+HUD+is+lagging?


If you continue to have problems, please reproduce the problem and attach your log.txt file with a detailed description of what you were doing and what problems you were experiencing - http://hm2faq.holdemmanager.com/questions/1921/How+Do+I+Send+a+Log+File+to+Holdem+Manager+Support?

Please zip and email the log, with a link to this thread and your forum name, to hm2support@holdemmanager.com

Also another reason for me to go with PT4 is that I believe that they can connect with Winamax which is where I like to play cause of how soft it is and good software, and HM2 cannot or atleast in the supported sites list for HM2 it is not listed and for PT4 it is

HM2 supports Winamax. It is in our supported lists on our FAQs. We are in the process of updating our store's 'supported sites' lists as I write this as they have become a bit out-dated due to the fact that each product/App has it's own list instead of a shared list.

Regards,

fozzy71
 
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bernotas22

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Space used on the hard drive is not a likely cause of your problems. You want at least as much free space on the drive as your largest database for backup/export reasons but it will not cause performance issues. The biggest factors for performance are CPU speed, amount of RAM, and HDD/SSD speed as mentioned previously. Chances are your HDD is 5400rpm (most laptops are), your CPU is not an intel i5/7, and your RAM is 4gb or less.

See these FAQs for possible performance improvements:
- http://hm2faq.holdemmanager.com/questions/1142/Holdem+Manager+2+Performance+&+Speed+Modifications
- http://hm2faq.holdemmanager.com/questions/1501/What+can+be+done+if+HUD+is+lagging?


If you continue to have problems, please reproduce the problem and attach your log.txt file with a detailed description of what you were doing and what problems you were experiencing - http://hm2faq.holdemmanager.com/questions/1921/How+Do+I+Send+a+Log+File+to+Holdem+Manager+Support?

Please zip and email the log, with a link to this thread and your forum name, to hm2support@holdemmanager.com



HM2 supports Winamax. It is in our supported lists on our FAQs. We are in the process of updating our store's 'supported sites' lists as I write this as they have become a bit out-dated due to the fact that each product/app has it's own list instead of a shared list.

Regards,

fozzy71

great, will analyze both of my laptops and contact support if needed soon and make an informed decision on which software to invest in next month HM2 or PT4
 
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AAChipMagnet

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I've experienced less issues with PT also but if you prefer HM then maybe a memory upgrade or CPU upgrade?
 
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