is this too much or just enough computer

[Scataphagos]

Sorry if this question gets asked every day... i browsed a few of the FAQ's some of them were pretty dated and im not really a hardware guy so i dont know if its out of date....

I want to

backtest in MC
as well as algo trades running

run ib's TWS
run TOS with heavy scripting and multiple charts

run Chrome with at least 10 tabs open
run Spotify
Run Office and Excel

is this too much computer? Im looking at the Dell XPS Special Edition
http://deals.dell.com/productdetail/11iq

thanks in advance for any help!

Personally, I'd go the used workstation route. I recently bought a back-up one for my last generation machines... $90. Newer version with Xeon E5-1650 V2 CPU... like this HP Z420 from Newegg, $599

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...95860&cm_re=HPZ420-_-1VK-001E-0DR83-_-Product

 

[Starspa]

After getting the best deal for the same parts. The difference was only $100.

Are you serious? That isn't even close to true and the fact is, to get the computer with the parts I wanted, I would have had to have it custom built, I saved more than $500!!

 

[Scataphagos]

Are you serious? That isn't even close to true and the fact is, to get the computer with the parts I wanted, I would have had to have it custom built, I saved more than $500!!

What... "isn't even close to true"?

 

[Starspa]

Regarding costs, I wouldn't be penny pinching when buying gear. Quality doesn't cost, it saves.
I have always mostly bought the best gear for the job for that which it's required for, seriously, in any one trading day, my positions can easily gain or lose into the thousands of dollars.

Don't build your own computer, waste of time, TRADE WELL! That's where to spend your time.

On one side you say you buy the best gear and on the other you say, don't build your own computer. If you want the best gear you need to buy the best parts for a trading computer and put it together yourself or pay one of the companies that build trading computers a ridiculous price. Waste of time? One hour and a YouTube video; less time than it took to put together many other things I purchased that needed assembly.

 

[lovethetrade]

Building your own PC isn't about saving money, it's about getting exactly what you want and ensuring longevity of your investment.

Dell and other PC makers have a business model which is not always consistent with your best interests.

A decent cooling system in a PC that's constantly using its CPU can add 30% to the performance and the life of the product. A cold PC performs with less latency and more reliably than a hot PC with inferior cooling.

From my experience, Dells are also difficult to clean and accumulate dust, become noisy and rust on the inside. This has never happened with a PC i've built myself.

 

[NoodleStrudle]

6gb of memory does not cut it for what OP wants to do..

My trading setup is:

- Two AOC e1659Fwu 16-Inch Ultra Slim 1366x768 Res 200 cd/m2 Brightness USB 3.0-Powered Portable $99 each
- One Dell Inspiron 15.6" HD Truelife LED Backlit Widescreen Laptop, AMD A8-7410 Quad-Core Processor 6GB RAM 500GB HDD Radeon R5 Graphics $320

All setup: $518

 

[NoodleStrudle]

I think that also makes a lot of sense. Can get very good deal for used workstation machines. And plenty memory. Point is for trading or backtesting apps one does not need 3 or 4 ghz CPUs although it obviously does not hurt. Though for advanced usage and someone with a proven trading edge I always recommend to self build

Personally, I'd go the used workstation route. I recently bought a back-up one for my last generation machines... $90. Newer version with Xeon E5-1650 V2 CPU... like this HP Z420 from Newegg, $599

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...95860&cm_re=HPZ420-_-1VK-001E-0DR83-_-Product

 

[jinxu]

Are you serious? That isn't even close to true and the fact is, to get the computer with the parts I wanted, I would have had to have it custom built, I saved more than $500!!

I have no idea what the hell you are buying or building but I would use these guys:
http://www.digitalstorm.com/

With a company, I assume they get discounts on buying in bulk the parts they used. So they can offer lower prices. They have sales too.

 

[jinxu]

Building your own PC isn't about saving money, it's about getting exactly what you want and ensuring longevity of your investment.

Dell and other PC makers have a business model which is not always consistent with your best interests.

A decent cooling system in a PC that's constantly using its CPU can add 30% to the performance and the life of the product. A cold PC performs with less latency and more reliably than a hot PC with inferior cooling.

From my experience, Dells are also difficult to clean and accumulate dust, become noisy and rust on the inside. This has never happened with a PC i've built myself.

Cleaning a PC is not difficult. All you need is a dust blower. Take the PC outside. Open the case. Point and shoot. You probably won't get all the dust away. But most of it will be gone and that is fine.

 

[Starspa]

I have no idea what the hell you are buying or building but I would use these guys:
http://www.digitalstorm.com/

With a company, I assume they get discounts on buying in bulk the parts they used. So they can offer lower prices. They have sales too.

Wrong dude! I looked and what they want over $1900 for a lessor computer than I built for $1400 that is more powerful, Their system won't handle my four 4K monitors.