Greetings from Spain!
I am a professional chess player.
I need to buy a powerfull desktop computer dedicated for chess playing/analyzing.
The computer i am trying to buid has only one purpose: to support my home preparation and analyses between tournaments. When I am traveling I use my notebook with all my databases. However, I need a more powerful computer at home so I am study my games more deeply.
Can anyone give me some ideas for a chess computer based on whats good quality and value right now (processor, memory, motherboard, etc)?
I have aprox. 1800€ to spend.

I look forward your kindly help.

1800 euros would be like 2200 USD here and could get you a nice system. I suggest anything mobo from Asus or Gigabyte, 2-4GB of DDR2800 or DDR2 1066 and in my preference a C2Q Q6600, as that one has some great power.

I am sure more will come with more suggestions though.

the turk of course /terminator

Since he has the budget, why not get something more impressive? Q9450 or even QX9650, since he can afford it

I appreciate your help but could you be more specific?...

Motherboard:
CPU:
Memory:
Graphics:
(...)

It's not clear what you want the computer to do. If it's mostly for database analysis then the power needs to be in the CPU and memory as long as you have a software program that will utilize the CPU power (multi core/multi threaded application). You mentioned that you use your laptop to analyze databases so it is implying that hard disc capacity is sufficient but you're not telling us anything about what you need for data analysis and access speed.

Depending on the software you use, a 64bit OS may be approptiate.

CPU: Q9450
Memory: DDR2 1066 x2G
Motherboard: Gigabyte G33M-DS2R (or other similar G31/G33/G35 chipset motherboards)
rest of the stuff doesn't matter too much. Just get need to get a quality power supply in the 350-400w range from a good supplier. Seasonic, PC power and cooling, corsair, etc. 350 is way more than you need, but you can stick a nice videocard in there if you really need to.

This will have onboard video. So you don't need a video card. Unless you have more specific needs on the video, the onboard should be enough.

I use my ladtop when i'm traveling between tournaments. I use it mainly to search games through my database (I have in it more than 4,5 million games).

At home i need a more powerfull tool to analyse games and prepare myself. I use several chess software like Chessbase Fritz, Deep Shredder, Hiarcs, etc. They "think"/avaluate the best move in the position. Yes, i suppose this software requires a fast processor and high memory speed.
(sorry for my poor english)

He's going to need more than 2GB of memory. I'd say go for at least 4GB and a 64-bit OS.

Definitely get the Q9450 or the QX9650 (Or even the QX9770 when it comes out)

I remember seeing pro chess players competing against super computers. Based on that, I'm assuming some software you will be using will require very very powerful components?

Will it use a lot of graphics intensive applications? I can't imagine it will but I must ask.

There are some things you need to find out about your program?
Is it desgined to make use of more than 2 Cores/Processors?
Is there a 64-bit Version of your software available?

Unless specifically designed to do so, most programs only use 1-2 cores.
In this case, a Dual-Core would be best since they run their cores at the highest speeds.
If they support more than 2 Cores, then the Quad Core would word best.

In General, 32-bit Programs are limited to using 2GB of RAM.
64-Bit versions can use much more which could greatly improve performance in some cases.

However, Running a 32-bit Program on a 64-bit OS will actually hurt performance slightly in most cases.

At this point, any answers are conjecture without more informantion.

Where are you getting your parts from...Europe or US? Prices will very much depend on that but this will get you started.

4GB of DDR2 800 in a 2x2GB kit, no less than that with a 64-bit operating system. Use Crucial, Corsair, Mushkin or Patriot. I would say Corsair will be a little better but go with Crucial, Mushkin or Patriot if you want to save a little money. DDR2 1066 won’t do you any good since you won’t be over clocking your CPU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145194
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] bBallistix
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820220293
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146726



Hands down, put some extra money into a top notch quad core CPU but do not get a QX version. Those are for people who like to over clock their hardware far beyond factory settings. If you can get your hands on an Intel Q9450 do so, but if not a Q6600 will be fine too. The Q9550 is slightly faster than the Q9450 but is not worth the extra $200 (or euro mark up).

I would go with either of these motherboards by ASUS and Gigabyte. They are based on Intel's X38 chipset which is fairly new and is quite solid, reliable, and will have a good life span.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128089
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131219


Video Card...that is a tough one. You don't want any lagging if your chess programs are graphic intensive so I would suggest either Nvidia 9600 GT or ATI HD 3870 for a good performance / price GPU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6&Tpk=3870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130334



So, if you piece together the components above you will be under $1000 and have a solid backbone for a system. The dollars is a very rough estimate since we don't know yet where you are getting your hardware. It should give you some head room to pick up the other stuff like hard drives, optical drives, power supply, a case and a monitor if you don't have one.

Some info I gathered so far from the soft he uses.

About Deep Hiarcs 12 Multiprocessor

About Deep Shredder 10 - Multiprocessor

Found no information about Fritz being multi-cpu optimized.

It's still not clear what kind of GPU is necessary for the software but the Shredder site says that the newest version is 64 bit and can utilize multiple cores. I'm still not sure of the other software so you might want to stick to a 32 bit OS (or go with Vista Premium so you have the 64 bit OS if you can use it) to make sure your existing software will work.

Picking a processor for the application depends on your budget. Since at least one of the newest versions of your applications can utilize multiple cores, you might as well go quad. One option is the Q6600 since it's over 2GH but there are certainly other options if you want to spend the money. If you're going with a 32 bit OS with the option of switching to 64 bit if your software will support it, you might as well go with 2 - 2GB sticks of RAM.

As far as the motherboard, it only really makes a difference if you need to go with higher end graphics (but it doesn't look like it's needed), or if you want to overclock.

I read somewhere on the chessbase.com site that Deep Hiarcs needed something like a GeForce5 GPU or compatible with 64MB, so I guess pretty much anything would go.

I saw that too but didn't want to jump to conclusions.
Someone on the HIARCS Chess Forum made this comment about his ultimate chess computer: "I bet a massively parallel RISC version of a PIII chip with say 64 processors, each cranked to at or near 4 Ghz with an internal endothermic cooling chamber at -80C would be able to beat the pants off of contemporary software programs in terms of the nodes/second."

MoBo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131169 $276.99

CPU x2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819117149 $285.00

Ram x2:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820211199 $149.99


with 64bit vista and whatever else is needed (hdd, case, ect.), would the 8 cores of something like this not be better then say a high end QX9xxx series at a much higher price?

this would leave you with about $1k left over or so for the rest....

Thank you very much for your help.
Based on your recommendations, i set up a configuration for my new computer.

Do you agree with this layout i made or do you think i must do some changes so i can have a better chess computer?

Case: Antec P182 Super Midd Tower
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2,83Ghz LGA775
Motherboard: Asus P5E x38
Cooler: Noctua NH-U12P c/ Vortex FAN
Power: Corsair HX 620W Modular
Graphics: SAPPHIRE HD3650 512MB DDR3 PCI-E
RAM: 2x G.SKILL DDR2 PC2 8500 [PK] 4GB kit (8GB)
HD: 2x SEAGATE 250GB SATA II 16MB SP (Raid 0)
HD storage: SEAGATE BARRACUDA 500GB 32MB DE CACHE SATA II (AT3500320AS)
OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Prem 64-bit OEM
LiteOn DVD+-R/RW/RAM/DL SATABULK BLACK +20X (LH-20A1S-15C)

Bobby Fischer

What type of Chess simulator are you using? Is it AI(Artificial Intelegience) base with options to access/process SQL database? Is your software multi-threaded?


Unless you are using a standard chess game which i think you are not...You probably need a server or a PC-workstation at home.

Chess game presents infinite probabilities and require a lot of memory, and HD space. The computer that can beat humans are work-station supported by a mainframe/server. Existing PC games can't beat professional chess players like you.

Do you run or simulate multiple games at a time? How many displays do you need?

That would give to guys/gals in this forum a better persfective of the specifics of your need.

leon2006

his apps were listed above...it looks like they are mulit-threaded for up to 8 cores.......