New Computer (Is this a good deal?)

Quote from larryj:

... I may buy a relatively cheap system from eMachines and upgrade the graphics card.
Here's what I'm leaning towards:
Net Price after $50 rebate: $559
eMachines Model T6524:

AMD Athlon 64 processor 3500+ operating at 2.2GHz
512KB L2 cache
Up to 2000MHz frontside bus
Large 1.0GB of PC3200 dual-channel DDR memory, expandable up to 4GB
200GB 7200-rpm hard drive with 2MB cache
DVD±RW drive with Double Layer capabilities (16x DVD±R max. write speed)
CD-ROM drive (48x max. read speed)
10/100 Ethernet LAN port
56K V.92 modem
7 USB 2.0 ports (2 in front, 4 in back, 1 in media card reader)
2 FireWire (IEEE 1394) ports
1 parallel, 2 PS/2 ports
8-in-1 memory card reader
ATI Radeon Xpress 200 graphics with up to 128MB of shared memory
AC '97 6-channel audio
Amplified stereo speakers
Multimedia keyboard
2-button wheel mouse
More...
http://reviews.cnet.com/eMachines_T6524/4505-3118_7-31556305-2.html?tag=nav
http://reviews.cnet.com/eMachines_T6524/4852-3118_7-31556305.html?tag=sub
 
Quote from larryj:

I may buy a relatively cheap system from eMachines and upgrade the graphics card.
More...

Just a cautionary note. In the past (before buy out), there were a lot stories about unstability of eMachines. If you buy one for trading, you really don't want to deal with those issues.
 
Quote from larryj:

[eMachines Model T6524:
AMD Athlon 64 processor 3500+ operating at 2.2GHz
512KB L2 cache
Up to 2000MHz frontside bus
Large 1.0GB of PC3200 dual-channel DDR memory, expandable up to 4GB
200GB 7200-rpm hard drive with 2MB cache
DVD±RW drive with Double Layer capabilities (16x DVD±R max. write speed)
CD-ROM drive (48x max. read speed)
10/100 Ethernet LAN port
56K V.92 modem
7 USB 2.0 ports (2 in front, 4 in back, 1 in media card reader)
2 FireWire (IEEE 1394) ports
1 parallel, 2 PS/2 ports
8-in-1 memory card reader
ATI Radeon Xpress 200 graphics with up to 128MB of shared memory
AC '97 6-channel audio
Amplified stereo speakers
Multimedia keyboard
2-button wheel mouse [/B]
More...

I was thinking of getting a very similar emachines system... how bad is the ATI Radeon Xpress 200? ive never heard of it all i know is its pci express. Is 1.0 GB ram enough for trading?
 
Quote from bonds:

I was thinking of getting a very similar emachines system... how bad is the ATI Radeon Xpress 200? ive never heard of it all i know is its pci express. Is 1.0 GB ram enough for trading?
More...

Check the web for reviews... they look pretty good. 1GB is usually plenty for trading.

I have a T4010 with Intel intergrated video.... for trading you couldn't tell it from a good video card, and the display is excellent. (All of the new integrated video chips are quite good for everything except gaming performance.)
 
Quote from larryj:

I'm looking to purchase a new computer that will support 2 or 3 monitors and was checking out www.tradingcomputers.com Does the set-up below look like a decent deal? Have any of you dealt with this company before? Any recommendations on other vendors where I can get a cheap entry-level trading set-up? Thanks for the help.

$1,177

• AMD Athlon64 CPU
• HyperThreading Enabled
• PC-3200 DDR System Memory (1GB)
• Dual Channel Memory Architecture
• Chipset: SiS755 + SiS964
• Integrated 6-Channel Surround Sound
• Windows XP Home or Professional installed
• DVD-ROM Optical Drive
• CD or DVD Burner
• Floppy Drive
• 10/100 Ethernet LAN
• x2 USB ports in front
• x2 USB ports in rear

• 80GB Drive Storage

4 Monitors Supported x2 DVI + x2 VGA:
512MB video memory
x2 Graphics Processing Units
x1 AGP x8 video card + x1 PCI card
Max DVI resolution 1600x1200
Max VGA resolution 2048x1536
More...

I just built my own, here are a couple of suggestions:

1. Get a dual core processor. I use AMD 64X2 3800+ (not too pricey but I can run Cybertrader Pro with 30 windows open,run virus scan, and play Farcry 64 bit simultaneously with no slow down)

2. Make sure you are getting 4 DVI outputs instead of 2 DVI and 2 VGA, you will notice an annoying difference in the output to your displays.

3. I am running XP64, but I would recommend 32bit XP Professional at this point because you cannot run any java based apps such as ameritrade command center until we get a 64bit Java 1.4.

Hope this helps

Sid
 
So, I'm looking at the following two cards:

Matrox P650 PCIe x16, 128MB, Dual Head DVI-I ---- $249

Matrox G550 PCIe X1, 32MB, Dual Head DVI-I ---- $139

Will the G550 be sufficient to run two 19" LCD monitors for trading purposes or do I need to pay the extra $110 for the P650?

Or do you guys have any other video card suggestions? I have two open PCI slots and one PCIe x16 slot available.

I only trade ES, ER2 and YM.....so I usually don't have that many charts going. I typically have Excel running along with Hotcomm and two trading platforms running. I'll be using my laptop as a third monitor.
 
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