Personally, I wouldn't buy that computer for trading... has el-cheapo mobo... and I wouldn't spend $450 for a video card to run 4 monitors.
advice on computer
- Thread starter westsidetrader
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Personally, I wouldn't buy that computer for trading... has el-cheapo mobo... and I wouldn't spend $450 for a video card to run 4 monitors.
Well, $550, maybe. Shouldn't buy an el-cheapo from Dell, either.... however I have seen base T3400 units at Dell Outlet for $400 occasionally... but none right now. (There is one for $529... add another 290 video card for $30 = $559.)
Alright, it was just a suggestion that was simple. Buy the system, take out the video card and pop in the new one. Dell's seems too expensive to get up to the same specs, from my experience anyways. Haven't tried but I'd assume to get the same specs (with a better mobo) on the t3400 will cost you and extra 500 bucks if not more.
Anyways, I'm not an expert by any means, it was just another suggestion. I've never had a mobo problem in my life, and bought everything from Dell to stuff built for me by a buddy of mine...fwiw
Also, to be fair though, you can't quote $580 price for a dell from an outlet with probably a core2duo processor and a gig of ram and compare it to the hp I had a link to...
Nope. See post above.
Quote from l2tradr:
I added something at the bottom of my post tooRegardless, if that works out to be the same price, I stand corrected.
You're right... C2D vs C2Q (though the C2D is plenty powerful enough for trading for most)... but I still wouldn't buy the one from Tiger for running 4 monitors in trading.. because of the cheap mobo.
However, there sometimes are great deals on Dell Outlet. Last year I got a T3400, Q9300 + lots of goodies for $569.
That's a great deal on the one you got!
I am just curious, what do you mean by "cheap mobo"? I don't see how it will really make a difference, especially from a reliable company such as HP...on one hand, I understand that you might not be able to add additional video cards if there aren't enough slots, but other than that? The reason I even suggested the quad card (he could easily find a used on on ebay for maybe 150 bucks or less) is that it was a simple solution and he can expand to more monitors later by getting one more of the same card rather than fumble around with getting 4 cards of the same ones you suggested (then slots will most likely be an issue).
I'm just trying to learn more, that's all. Cheers
I am just curious, what do you mean by "cheap mobo"? I don't see how it will really make a difference, especially from a reliable company such as HP...on one hand, I understand that you might not be able to add additional video cards if there aren't enough slots, but other than that? The reason I even suggested the quad card (he could easily find a used on on ebay for maybe 150 bucks or less) is that it was a simple solution and he can expand to more monitors later by getting one more of the same card rather than fumble around with getting 4 cards of the same ones you suggested (then slots will most likely be an issue).
I'm just trying to learn more, that's all. Cheers
"Cheap mobo"... has G31 chipset with oboard video. Ubiquitous world wide in form... board costs about $30. (I know of this. I have 2 el-cheapo Vostros, too.)
You'd be surprised, but we've seen cheap mobos that would not run a quad card. Besides, they're too expensive. And Dell's Vostro won't run a video card in the PCIEx1 slot.
The T3400 will easily handle 6 modern monitors on 3 PCIE video cards (more if also use PCI slot(s), but maybe not full resolution in DVI) ... total cost of all 4 cards could likely be <$100, depending upon how well you buy. Even if you buy haphazardly, $150 max.
For a trading machine, I always think "motherboard" first.. I'd recommend Dell T3400 or HP xw4600 as the place to start and compare alternatives. The T3400 is better priced.
if you do go the custom route, make sure, for stability sake, you research. look into buying components that have plenty of reviews (100+) with high ratings on a site like newegg. nitpick through the reviews to get an idea of it's issues if it does have any.
also look at the recommended combo deals for each component (some are just to move products, but some are paired for a good reason).
start with higher end motherboard and cpu pairings so you can upgrade other components if need be in the future. good quality ram.
as far as video card goes, the same thing, read the reviews, if you are just trading you don't need ridiculously expensive cards. there are plenty of cards out there that are fast, quality, and right around 100 dollars (just make sure they have 2 video outputs, preferably both dvi).
use the wattage calculator for the power supply size and bam.
also look at the recommended combo deals for each component (some are just to move products, but some are paired for a good reason).
start with higher end motherboard and cpu pairings so you can upgrade other components if need be in the future. good quality ram.
as far as video card goes, the same thing, read the reviews, if you are just trading you don't need ridiculously expensive cards. there are plenty of cards out there that are fast, quality, and right around 100 dollars (just make sure they have 2 video outputs, preferably both dvi).
use the wattage calculator for the power supply size and bam.