RAM vs Processor vs # of Cores ... what matters most for a trading rig?

fan27 said:
As far as number of cores, it is totally dependent on the applications you will be running. If the applications do not take advantage of multi-core processing, the extra cores will be of little value.
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Yes. A fast (high clock speed), 4 or 6 core will suit most needs, including gaming, so I'm told. (Games use a few cores intensely, but not so "multi-threaded"?)

I've read on the Ryzen 5, 5600X... a 6-core with a Passmark score of ~23,000 and a single thread rating of 3380. That's fast! Not expensive either... $350-$400-ish)
 
My experience (using apple/os x) is that CPUs don't matter than much. I have i7 macbook model 2017 and i5 10th generation desktop. The CPU saturates extremely rarely, it's never the bottleneck. The desktop is with 32G ram and in any sort of daily use feels snappier and faster than the laptop. The SSD is also very important — quality, size and PCI-e (vs sata) make big difference.
I also have ~6y old i7 macbook with 8 gigs of ram and while the CPU holds pretty well the small RAM is a drag. Please note that i7 on macbook is kinda well-known to thermally throttle under long heavy load.

Bottom line — save some money by opting for i5 and spend them on memory.
 
d0rian said:
You discuss the graphics card, leading me to believe that...that is a consideration, even for a non-gaming / trading rig (really only brokerage and charting apps + Excel running)? Is that because...(and I'm just speculating here), even though you don't need high-level gaming graphics, you still want the best / most efficient driver of either your laptop's 4K or external 4K display(s) such that the rest of your processing power can be put towards the apps you have running?
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As long as your card is fairly modern and supports the monitor count / port / resolution you need, you'll be fine.
I meant that you don't want a low end card from 15-20 years ago, that might actually not be able to drive the basic OS level 3D properly.

If you want to see in action what I mean, use an application like GPU Temp, look at the usage of your GPU. I doubt it will ever go more than 10-15% utilization. That RTX 2080 is a complete overkill, it's meant to drive very heavy 3D rendering. It will be justified only if you play games, write CUDA code or mine crypto.

GPU doesn't run your (ones you mentioned) applications, it simply deals with your 2D stuff and minimal 3D. It will have no effect on your other parts.
 
gdanov said:
My experience (using apple/os x) is that CPUs don't matter than much. I have i7 macbook model 2017 and i5 10th generation desktop. The CPU saturates extremely rarely, it's never the bottleneck. The desktop is with 32G ram and in any sort of daily use feels snappier and faster than the laptop. The SSD is also very important — quality, size and PCI-e (vs sata) make big difference.
I also have ~6y old i7 macbook with 8 gigs of ram and while the CPU holds pretty well the small RAM is a drag. Please note that i7 on macbook is kinda well-known to thermally throttle under long heavy load.

Bottom line — save some money by opting for i5 and spend them on memory.
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There are generational differences with CPUs makes a big difference. The i5 from 5 years ago is not the same as the i5 just released. Not that you would Intel in his case anyway.
Macs are also terrible for serious production. They have great keyboards and screens but that's about it. Thermals are horrific.

OP should be aware that the equivalent laptop parts are far slower than desktop parts, even if the model numbers and price are same/similar.
 
I doubt your Excel is freezing because of 32GB Ram, it probably freezes because it's just one of those things. As an idea, it might be worth testing out OpenOffice, assuming it will run your MSFT spreadsheet.

As for 64GB, that might be overload. If money is not a problem, go 64, but if you want to save a few $ go 32GB and then buy the other 32 if need be.

As for your chip, personally I'd go Ryzen 7 3800x but some people are tribal so always go one of the other, Intel in your case.

PS. I've just read your further posts and see you want a Laptop. You're on your own there, not the best for trading unless you have to be on the move. At least try to get it 17".
 
You are running 64 bit excel right? Resource monitor is your friend. The AMDs CPUS are running faster than Intel right now, especially in multi thread. You need to consider how each program is using multiple threads. Some do not.

Multithreaded recalculation in Excel | Microsoft Docs

As for your questions they are not really clear. Sorry. 1) Hard to say as the requirements are not specified. 2) Second one, 3) yes but see above 4) Any new CPU will have adequate graphics built in but look at your cable. DP is best and it can impact your refresh rate at higher resolutions. Your monitor specs will inform you.

Also consider your SSD should be reliable and fast. Not all SSDs are the same and how they interface with the MoBo, makes a difference, hence 2) above is better.

And how about your network connection? some offer auto roll over from wired to WIFI. You can run wired on your hard line, and run WIFI on your cellular.

Hope that helps. BTW: I use a high end gamming laptop, MSI GT76. Does all I need and has a build in backup power supply.
 
From decades of personal trading experience, 64 GB of RAM is not going to help you when the live connection to your trading account is dropped while you are in the middle of a scalp trade. There are too many variables and reasons why a network fails, but it is a certainty for anyone trading at home that there will inevitably be times when you lose tons of money because of this.

The only true solution is to trade over a server. In all my years of trading on a server, I've never lost money in a trade due to losing connection. A dedicated server for trading will always outperform a similarly spec'd home computer too.

Over the years I've tested different vps providers, and can without a doubt confirm that the servers from www.ninjamobiletrader.com are the best. I run both MT4 and ninjatrader at the same time monitoring dozens of charts, and it doesn't lag at all.
 
Misc answers from Q's ITT:

1) I don't know my RAM usage when Excel has frozen/crashed on me; didn't think to check, and frankly I would suspect (as have some ITT) that it's not a RAM overload issue...sometimes the IB API connection is what gets corrupted somehow; other times Excel simply stops responding. I've gone far down the rabbit hole diagnosing / optimizing my workbook, but the conclusion I keep coming back to is that I'm simply using Excel for a task (500+ real-time tick-by-tick symbols + calculations) far in excess of what it was really meant for.

2) From the replies here, it seems like most folks are focusing on the RAM as an item that, given my usage, shouldn't make all that much of a dif whether I have 32MB vs 64MB.

3) Yes, I've heard that "laptop hardware" performs far more poorly than the "equivalent" hardware in a desktop...though it's not really clear why that should be if it's truly equivalent. Is it just a cooling issue? (i.e. desktops have more room and better fans / circulation?)

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Since this has turned into a de facto rig recommendation thread, might as well post the options I'm considering. Yes, the non-negotiable pre-requisites are I want a 17" laptop w/ 4K display. The 2 models that seem like best fit:
  1. Lenovo ThinkPad P73 Workstation Laptop (Intel i7-9850H 6-Core, 64GB RAM, 128GB PCIe SSD + 1TB HDD, NVIDIA Quadro T2000, 17.3" 4K UHD (link)
  2. HP Envy 17t-cg 4K Home and Business Laptop (Intel i7-1165G7 4-Core, 64GB RAM, 512GB m.2 SATA SSD + 1TB HDD, MX450, 17.3" 4K UHD (link)
The Lenovo is ~$3,000, HP ~$2,000. No Thunderbolt on HP, which seems not great. Also reviews of the HP suggest that performance is inferior for similarly spec'd options.
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My existing machine was this one: MSI GS75 Stealth-093 17.3" Razor Thin Bezel Gaming Laptop NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 8G Max-Q, 144Hz 3ms, Intel i7-8750H (6 cores), 32GB, 512GB NVMe SSD, TB3.

I've liked it just fine, though still kicking myself for not having got a model w/ a 4K display.

So for anyone who's still reading:
  1. Does either of the Lenovo vs HP options seem like a no-brainer / far preferable to the other?
  2. How would those compare performance-wise to my existing MSI?
 
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