Falcon Trading Computer

[wartrace]

New on ET, but been trading for over 20 years and my intention was solely to try to get some feedback on these guys. I trade futures and run very complex formulas in Tradestation on a ton of different charts and radar screens. I currently use a powerful laptop with dual screens that often freezes, which is what I am trying to resolve. I am also looking to have 4 screens as I need more real estate. This is not spam or trolling, just looking for constructive feedback.

What I would be looking for if in your shoes is this;
1) Minimum 4 core processor.
2) Minimum 32GB of ram.
3) Minimum 2 video cards 4gb of ram each.

If you want screen "real estate" consider getting a big screen 4k monitor. I bought a "Wasabi Mango" 42 inch a while back and just use one screen now. They are available up to 52 inch. The reason I like it is everything is right in front of me.

 

[apdxyk]

TS is your bottleneck #1. There may be more. I am not saying to dump it, as you have a lot of studies and system invested there, just be aware. Yes, in this case you need more cores, RAM, VRAM (mostly for future proofing - new displays will surprise us)

 

[Ben Green]

TS is your bottleneck #1. There may be more. I am not saying to dump it, as you have a lot of studies and system invested there, just be aware. Yes, in this case you need more cores, RAM, VRAM (mostly for future proofing - new displays will surprise us)

Is there really a reason to go with a custom build vs just getting one from Best Buy?

 

[userque]

Is there really a reason to go with a custom build vs just getting one from Best Buy?

Many years ago I used to build my own Windows machines.

The main reasons I no longer do this are: Support and Compatibility.

There may be subtle, undiscovered, compatibility issues when slapping together computer parts. Since there are fewer people in the world with the same, cooked-up system, many hardware issues go (intentionally?) unnoticed by the manufacturer.

Because there are fewer complaints, due to fewer people running into the particular problem; there is little incentive for the manufacturers to do anything about it.

Because the system was slapped together. It is easy for the hardware manufactures to blame "labor" or another piece of hardware that's was slapped in...made by another manufacturer.

Hardware updates have to be kept up with on a hardware piece by hardware piece basis. Fun. Each new update brings with it the possibly of a new and sudden compatibility issue. More fun.

Don't get me wrong, I used to slap'em together nice and tight. There are just so many things beyond your control.

Pre-built systems are tested and debugged. The manufacturer will receive thousands of complaints from the field is something is wrong. Things are more likely to be fixed (i.e. firmware update, etc.). The manufacturers also have M$'s hear (i.e. Windows Updates). They make updating firmware painless, and more reliable.

Not to mention warranty reasons.

As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. And last I remember, the little costs savings gained by self-building wasn't worth it.

 

[Maverickz]

I said this recently in a related thread but I'll repeat it here. Buying new hardware without knowing where your bottleneck is, is just wasting money. You should run some diagnostics with your trading software running to see what is causing the slowdown.

For instance, let's say you currently have 8GB ram and diagnostics show you are only using 4GB, do you really want to pay for 32GB in your new system? I also doubt the need for multiple Video cards. I don't know of any trading platform that is using high resolution 3D model and texture rendering, which would require multiple cards.

Do yourself a favor and figure out what you really need before you buy way more than you need.

 

[CBC]

I said this recently in a related thread but I'll repeat it here. Buying new hardware without knowing where your bottleneck is, is just wasting money. You should run some diagnostics with your trading software running to see what is causing the slowdown.

For instance, let's say you currently have 8GB ram and diagnostics show you are only using 4GB, do you really want to pay for 32GB in your new system? I also doubt the need for multiple Video cards. I don't know of any trading platform that is using high resolution 3D model and texture rendering, which would require multiple cards.

Do yourself a favor and figure out what you really need before you buy way more than you need.

Pretty Much. Especially the video cards. You can run 6 screens of a $150 video card if your just trading.

GET A "WORKSTATION" graphics card. You need one of these for trading. A gaming card is specifically designed to draw 3d. Which you ain't gonna be doing during trading. A workstation draws in 2d. Which is what trading does.

I recon I could do all my trading off a $50 mobile if I tried hard enough. Its good for us traders that we don't need to buy a $3K rig to trade. Although I'm sure we would like to .

 

[Ben Green]

Pretty Much. Especially the video cards. You can run 6 screens of a $150 video card if your just trading.

GET A "WORKSTATION" graphics card. You need one of these for trading. A gaming card is specifically designed to draw 3d. Which you ain't gonna be doing during trading. A workstation draws in 2d. Which is what trading does.

I recon I could do all my trading off a $50 mobile if I tried hard enough. Its good for us traders that we don't need to buy a $3K rig to trade. Although I'm sure we would like to .

I can make our loose over $3K in seconds, so if I can get a slight edge by upgarding hardware I certainly don't mind putting dollars into a better set-up.

 

[Maverickz]

I can make our loose over $3K in seconds, so if I can get a slight edge by upgarding hardware I certainly don't mind putting dollars into a better set-up.

I 100% understand that, but hardware only helps if it is used. So back to my 32GB example, more memory ONLY helps if you were running out or getting low at least before. If you currently have 8GB and only using 4GB of it while trading, then buying 32GB means you will have 28GB sitting there doing nothing, instead of 4GB. Of course the opposite could be true as well, you may be using all 8GB and not even realize that even 32GB won't be enough for what you are doing so your new rig will still have a memory bottleneck. Albeit a bit less of one.

The data has a max speed that it can be delivered to your computer, once you have hardware that can handle that speed, ANYTHING more will NOT help in the tiniest bit. I am by no means saying don't buy what will help. I just wanted to help you from buying MORE than will help. Of course it is your money, if it it is what you want to do, then by all means go buy the most expensive setup money can buy. That way at least you know you have maxed out what is possible. Of course you can always use a bad arse rig to play some games on during off hours too

Whatever you buy, I do hope that you enjoy your purchase and wish you the best of luck in your trades.

 

[Ben Green]

I 100% understand that, but hardware only helps if it is used. So back to my 32GB example, more memory ONLY helps if you were running out or getting low at least before. If you currently have 8GB and only using 4GB of it while trading, then buying 32GB means you will have 28GB sitting there doing nothing, instead of 4GB. Of course the opposite could be true as well, you may be using all 8GB and not even realize that even 32GB won't be enough for what you are doing so your new rig will still have a memory bottleneck. Albeit a bit less of one.

The data has a max speed that it can be delivered to your computer, once you have hardware that can handle that speed, ANYTHING more will NOT help in the tiniest bit. I am by no means saying don't buy what will help. I just wanted to help you from buying MORE than will help. Of course it is your money, if it it is what you want to do, then by all means go buy the most expensive setup money can buy. That way at least you know you have maxed out what is possible. Of course you can always use a bad arse rig to play some games on during off hours too

Whatever you buy, I do hope that you enjoy your purchase and wish you the best of luck in your trades.

Thanks for the feedback, currently I have a 2Ghz processor with 8GB ram and looks to me like 3 - 4 is more the norm. Don't you think a faster processor can help as well? I am kinda an old school trader and not really into computers as you can probably tell.

 

[Maverickz]

Thanks for the feedback, currently I have a 2Ghz processor with 8GB ram and looks to me like 3 - 4 is more the norm. Don't you think a faster processor can help as well? I am kinda an old school trader and not really into computers as you can probably tell.

Ok well here is something easy to do that can give you some idea of where your problem lies. Open up Task Manager (right click your Windows task bar and select Task Manager). There are graphs that show CPU, Memory and Disk use. There is also a network graph but you will never max that out unless you are paying your ISP for a 100Mb/s+ connection.

Minimize Task Manager and leave it running in the background while you are trading, then you can switch back to it periodically see what is getting maxed out. Report back here your results tomorrow and we will have a better idea where to look next.