Building a new tower ???

Hello andy4,

Hmmmm... I agree with Sterling. Sounds very expensive. Let's go thru...

KT3 Ultra... ~$80
Athlon XP +1800 ... ~$90
Cooler... ~$30
2- 512 DDR... ~$200
40G HDD... ~$80
GeForce4 MX440 ~$90
Samsung 52X... ~$25
WIn2000pro... ~$140
Case, Keybrd, etc... ~$120

Total.. ~$855

Also, I think you do not need 2- 512DDR. 1- 512DDR is good enough. You should try first and if it's not enough add 512DDR more. Then you save $100! So total is $755!!! Plus there is other cheaper card except GeForce4 MX440 with two monitor support if you don't play much games.

Oh.. btw I use Linksys network card (not 3Com card) that I buy for $10 and no problems whatsoever.
 
Just make sure they stand behind their work making sure you get a system your happy with and are there to help you if you need something upgraded or changed. There are many people that are probably best served getting their PC already put together for them or buying an out of the box solution. I cannot imagine my parents or many of my neighbors successfully buying all the components for a PC (even if they used a service/company to make sure they should all work together) and by the end of the day (or week for that matter) having a running system that's got no problems. This isn't to say that they are dumb or that they couldn't do it if given enough time, help and webpages to read but it's a cost of money vs. time and buying some knowledge/know how & experience to get them going - reducing their risk of ending up with problems or damaging their system or components, etc.

I've bought ready made systems and I've successfully built my own. If you really want some fun learning lots of new stuff about building computers, etc. then this can be a great thing to do. But I suspect many of us would rather be trading, learning more about trading, improving our trading, etc.

I'm not keeping up on your current configuration or it's cost but the comments from others about picking the middle ground or just shy of high-end components are very valid for keeping your price in line and still getting a great system.

Personally I've been intrigued by those companies that sell the components but have a low "we build it for you" additional price option (or they have systems that you can pick and choose component from their lists and they build it for you - cheaper than Dell that is.) I think that might be a good trade off for me on my next computer. Save me some time and hassle on some of the work (not that it's hard but I've got better things to do than installing a motherboard into a case, plugging in chips, hooking up cables, insuring the BIOS is up to date, setting the bios options, dealing with that blasted PCI interrupt crap that shouldn't be a problem but can be, etc., etc., etc.)

Good luck no matter what route you end up taking. I'm sure you'll end up with a fine system. In fact I am 100% sure that you will end up with a system much better than my 'best of breed'/'best of everything'/'way cool'/'way fast' system that I built and it will cost you a lot less than mine. Why? Because in 6 months, a year or more no matter what you buy now there will be something better and faster than now. Mine 'was' great but now its just a silly looking thing when you look at the specs compared to any system you could choose now. But it still runs great, it's fast and one and a half years old there's no need to replace it. Am I sorry that I skimped and didn't get the extra .2 MHz processor? No - it wouldn't have been noticeable back then and it wouldn't matter now.

Enough of my ranting and rambling. Get your system and enjoy it!

- David I
 
It's not what the 3Com card has over the other cards that matters. (Heck - they all do the same basic function.) But the big deal is what you get if you don't use a netcard that doesn't work with IB TWS and your an IB TWS user >>> blue screen of death, crashed system, or similar. It's not a features thing. From what I've heard speculated by others (but I have no idea if true) is that some manufacturers (like 3Com) just have better gear and drivers for their gear. I suppose that IB TWS is just very particular that the gear and drivers are squeaky clean. I have speculated that perhaps the TWS application or the java it's using depend on some strange or not commonly used interfaces in the netcard/netcard driver that 3Com supports very well but others may have taken a short cut or not tested as well. All speculation on my part.

If you have someone build it they will of course want to use a $10 netcard. They are cheap and they work for 99.8% of everything. Why pay more. But if you know your going to use IB tell the person you want brand X (one of the recommendations) and you don't care that you're paying an extra $20-$30 for that brand.

- David I
 
I have a matrox quad, i want ot get another comp, with a nvda quad, any traders out there use 2 quads on 2 different comps, does it work ok for u , do u use kvm switch, thanks.
 
rs7,

Don't let your wife get an Mac. In all reality Mac has nothing to offer over a regular PC with Windows but it has many areas where it falls short of Windows. If you have a 500mhz P4 (by the way I don't think Intel makes a 500mhz P4) it would still probably be better and faster than a brand new Mac! Regardless of what all those stupid commercials Apple plays all day long on CNBC, OS-10 (Macs operating system) just doesn't understand anything. It will be impossible for you to trade with it, and very hard to run almost 90% of the stuff you run with your Windows PC. I just love the way Apple advertises that you can use "Microsoft Office" on your Mac. If you want to run Microsoft Office get a PC with Windows!

Let me make one thing clear. I am not trying to bag on any Mac users. I just don't see how anyone who really uses their computer daily can stand to have a Mac. And I see no reason why anyone who wants to buy a new computer right now would purchase a Mac. It has nothing to offer over a Windows PC except a much higher price.

Just my opinion.
 
Outlaw,

I would also recommend Windows XP. Understand that it is not as good as Windows 2000 but it is made to be very user friendly. Right now Windows 2000 is by far the best operating system there is, (in my opinion). Don't use Windows ME. It is just a product that Microsoft came up with to try and create revenue while it was working on Windows XP. If you want the best use Windows 2000 Pro. If you have a hard time using it get yourself a book on how to use it. There are many books available. If Windows 2000 Pro crashes on you, you are doing something very wrong or your computer is to weak.

If you really want a great price on a computer look on ebay.com. My sister just bought a brand new Hewlett-Packard on ebay. The computer has a Intel P4, 128 megs of ram, 40gig hard drive, a 48X CD, and it came complete with a keyboard, mouse, and Windows XP pre-installed. All for just 310.00 dollars shipped! Plus it has the original warranty. It works great!

Now that might now be what you are looking for but you can get some great deals from ebay. Just make sure that you are buying from a decent seller and get a warranty.

Just some food for thought.:D
 
Alright, its unfair to discount apple as you have. I am a PC user, and currently have an Athlon 4 1.4 gHz, and it just screams, and I love it. BUT, Apples are great for what they do best. First of all, windows is a very unstable OS compared to OS 10, and this is coming from a Windows user!!! Why do you think Macs are used in all hollywood studios, magazines and newspapers for editing? They are better for multimedia, the OS is much less bulky and cartoony, and are suited towards this application. For trading, a PC is a much better choice as compatibiolity with products is an issue. The dual G4 processor setup can rival most Pentium 4 systems (which in fact are not much faster thatn P3s...mostly a marketing gimmick). Search on Google for G4 vs Athlon vs. Pentium, and you will get some cool comparisons.

Apple has been experimenting with Athlons, and has considered putting in a dual Athlon configuration in an Apple. This would make it hands down the sickest computer ever built. I like my PC, I like XP, and I love Athlons. And PCs are better for trading, but not for multimedia, graphics or programming.

BTW I have run Windows XP on a G4 quite successfully a number of times, and its pretty damn fast....faster than my old P3 anyways....
 
How about quad Claw Hammers with a wall of Cinema Display monitors? That rig would be something straight out of a William Gibson novel, except soon it will be real. It would be housed in a case having the same proportions as the monolith in the movie 2001.
 
Originally posted by David I
It's not what the 3Com card has over the other cards that matters. (Heck - they all do the same basic function.) But the big deal is what you get if you don't use a netcard that doesn't work with IB TWS and your an IB TWS user >>> - David I
More...
The issue is that some NIC cards have trouble with Java networking, rather than TWS itself.
 
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