Mem Upgrade

[gnome]

Originally posted by DayTraderNYC
I have 512 MB of RAM. If I went higher, what kind of improvements can I expect? Im running dual Pentium that runs at 866 MHGZ.

Presuming you are running Win2000 or XP Pro...
Increase of ram probably doesn't result in significant increase in performance.

With Win2000, you can check how much memory your setup is using. With all your trading programs running, check Task Manager (ctl-alt-del), click Performance, and see how much total memory your system has available and how much you are using. If you're maxing out, adding more ram might help. If not, adding won't help much... it will just increase the amount of "rarely/never used" ram in your system.

With 512 MB now, your "page memory" should be set at 1024. That should handle just about anything.

And if you do buy memory, my experience with Crucial has also been good.

 

[ojo]

I have never had problem with using cheapest RAMs

Now I have Athlon XP 1.4Ghz system (266 bus)
and I combine with PC100 and PC133 SDRAMs and using as PC133.

I think that PC100 and PC133 use same mem modules.

but its all depends on mobos

What kind of motherboard do you use?

 

[DayTraderNYC]

Originally posted by gnome


Presuming you are running Win2000 or XP Pro...
Increase of ram probably doesn't result in significant increase in performance.

With 512 MB now, your "page memory" should be set at 1024. That should handle just about anything.

Where do I set the "Page memory"? Also, how would increasing the memory on my video card improve performance?? Im using 2 Matrox G200 MMS with 8 MB of memory....7 flat screens.

 

[Tom Frey]

The absolute best ram is recently manufactured by Corsair.
But their supreme quality is reflected in the higher price. They allow the most aggressive ram timing and thereby are absolutely stable. If you can afford 'em, get 'em
just my opinion

But with Kingston Value Ram you can do nothing wrong either

 

[Tom Frey]

Originally posted by DayTraderNYC


Where do I set the "Page memory"? Also, how would increasing the memory on my video card improve performance?? Im using 2 Matrox G200 MMS with 8 MB of memory....7 flat screens.

Page memory is the memory your system uses for swapping in case it runs low of ram.
Withing XP you would adjust it this way:
My Computer -> right mouse button -> properties -> Advanced -> Perfomance Settings -> Virtual Memory -> Change

Increasing your Graphic's card memory wouldn't improve your system's overall speed. Although more graphic ram can increase display speed. But this shouldn't be too much of a concern for traders but for gamers =)

 

[gnome]

Originally posted by DayTraderNYC


Where do I set the "Page memory"? Also, how would increasing the memory on my video card improve performance?? Im using 2 Matrox G200 MMS with 8 MB of memory....7 flat screens.

Go to My Computer/System/Properties/Advanced/Performance Options/Change and set Virtual Memory Initial and Max to 1024. This also keeps the page file contiguous instead of having Windows scatter it about the HD.

Even 8 mg video ram is probably overkill for a trading environment. (Graphics intensity is low, unlike gaming). Adding more video ram probably won't speed up performance. One thing that might speed you up a little is to set your display to the lowest resolution and color intensity you can live with. I use 1024 x 768 and 16 bit color, on 4 19" monitors.

7 flat screens? Haven't run that many, but if you've got them working, then all's probably OK.

Also, I recommend Norton Utilities (or System Works). The One Button Checkup feature is an easy way to straighten out little gemlins which sneak into your system + the defragger is 10X faster than on Windows OS. I've been using Norton for 4 years and wouldn't consider having a trading computer without something like it.

PS My old computer, a PII 350 with 192 ram was almost as fast as my P4, 512 ram, for the trading environment. Therefore, one must conclude the speed/efficiency limiters are not the CPU and inadequate ram.

 

[mktman]

The memory comes in anti static bags.
Any special way to open this type of bag?

Thx.

 

[Tom Frey]

no, just handle with care and touch it only "unloaded" .. you might touch a heater or similar and then take it at the fringe

 

[gnome]

Originally posted by mktman
The memory comes in anti static bags.
Any special way to open this type of bag?

Thx.

Not really all that sensitive, though you want to avoid obvious static electricity situations. Good idea to ground yourself just before opening.