you really want a 17" laptop?
I have a Dell 17" that I use with an external monitor. I think it gets 2 hrs on battery lol.
I'm gonna replace it with a Surface Pro when softie sticks a Haswell chip in it.
17" is just too big to lug around imho.
My U3011 ran really hot. But I just checked the power consumption vs the U3014 which is now running on about half the power. I guess the LED made a huge difference.
http://www.dell.com/ed/business/p/dell-u3011/pd
http://www.dell.com/ed/business/p/dell-u3014/pd
Depends what kind of trading you do.
Personally I always stick with one monitor. Your field of vision only takes in so much. Otherwise your always turning your head.
And I focus on a few things- not zillions of symbols and charts.