Buy Used Workstation For Trading?

[userque]

You don't know, what you don't know. Here's what you may not know:

Viruses can exist in BIOS's. They can be custom built. They can exist in areas of the hard drive that the OS can't detect/erase.

I don't buy used computers.

I didn't used to buy premium computers. Never had a need for such speed.

Now, my trading algos require speed. They are 'computationally heavy.' They have a yuge search space to contend with. Not to mention the repeated back-testing.

I don't buy slow computers.

Admittedly, there are folks that don't mind slow, possibly infested with one or more custom parasites, computers. To each his own. That doesn't bother me. Why should what-computer-another-buys bother anyone?

 

[Mtrader]

Tell that to these people
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mdg45eejfh/1-george-soros/#6b18808b7c92

So because Soros makes a choice everybody else should make the same choice?

On top of that Soros has only money from himself and his family in his fund, so in reality not a fund but a fiscal construction for his own money.
You can try to invest in his fund, but you will be refused. Because Soros thinks like me:it would be stupid to give these profits to someone else and only keep a small management fee and an incentive fee.

You probably need Soros as a sample because your own situation is too horrible to use. People who have to use successful people as a sample are in general losers themselve. They cannot use their own story as it would proof their own failure.

 

[userque]

What if you flash the BIOS?

It depends:

http://arstechnica.com/security/201...erious-mac-and-pc-malware-that-jumps-airgaps/

There is a program that runs the flash code. The code that erases and re-writes the BIOS etc. What if it's compromised?

As long as I can afford "new." I'll do "new." "New" does not mean it won't come with surprises. New born babies can die. But the odds are more in your favor.

 

[Mtrader]

Now, my trading algos require speed.

My previous PC locked up as he could not handle the data in time anymore. I was sometimes running almost 1 minute behind on the market.
I had no idea how powerful my next PC had to be. So, to solve the problem, the best option was to buy the fastest PC available. So price didn't matter, fix the problem did matter. And if it is a matter of spending just 1 or 2000 $ more it was very clear what to do.

 

[userque]

My previous PC locked up as he could not handle the data in time anymore. I was sometimes running almost 1 minute behind on the market.
I had no idea how powerful my next PC had to be. So, to solve the problem, the best option was to buy the fastest PC available. So price didn't matter, fix the problem did matter. And if it is a matter of spending just 1 or 2000 $ more it was very clear what to do.

Yeah...I could imagine.

I need a lot of power just dealing with eod data; so I could imagine the issues real-time, intraday trading/processing brings...depending on the algo, of course.

 

[userque]

While we're on the topic, I used to be "that guy." That guy that always bought the least expensive stuff...why not, I thought.

Years of watching 'How it's Made' and 'How Do They Do It' has caused me to appreciate quality and named brands...especially with regard to food items. While watching those shows, I would notice manufacturing steps that named brand companies were taking, that could easily be omitted by cheaper companies...saving them cost...and allowing them to sell their product at a cheaper price...but at a lower quality.

There are good reasons, sometimes, why somethings are comparably much less expensive.

You really do get what you pay for.

 

[d08]

Sometimes there are reasons why things are more expensive, very often it's because of greedy middlemen. I've seen the computers I assume Mtrader buys in shops, the components aren't worth much, they just hike up the prices on the most expensive models because the buyers don't look at the number as much. Sourcing the components myself from various places means I save money and that makes me feel good but no, the $400 won't make a difference for me, really.

 

[userque]

I built many systems in the 90's.

I find support much better with pre-built systems, versus dealing with each component manufacturer individually. And, the components tend to more often play better with each other.

 

[viruscore1]

Intel i7 vs XEON processors, which one is best?

 

[Mtrader]

Sometimes there are reasons why things are more expensive, very often it's because of greedy middlemen. I've seen the computers I assume Mtrader buys in shops, the components aren't worth much, they just hike up the prices on the most expensive models because the buyers don't look at the number as much. Sourcing the components myself from various places means I save money and that makes me feel good but no, the $400 won't make a difference for me, really.

My PC's are custom build according to my wishes. I ask advice from my brother who is a professional in this area. I can see the prices from the seperate parts everywhere. So I might pay a bit more but not a lot. But I agree that some parts I use are overkill. What I don't want anymore is a PC that is slow or not able to do the job. So the overkill is a kind of insurance that I will never have problems. A cheap insurance because the extra cost is always lower than my average daily net profit.

Most people are "overkilling". Do you really need the car you have? You could by a smaller or cheaper one. Do you really need a house the size you have? You could by a smaller or cheaper one. Do you need the cloths you wear? You can easily live with cheaper clothes. Most people don't buy what they need, but what they want.