Updated Version: Pictures of Your Trading Stations

[Chris Paciello]

I wanted to update the old Pictures of Your Trading Stations thread. Since setups have come a long way the last few years, I thought it would be appropriate to create an new version of the thread.

I'm looking for some ideas for a new setup myself and thought this would be the best way to get some ideas. I'm debating on getting a couple of the 27' MAC Thunderbolt Displays with a Mac Mini system. The monitors are around $999 and the Mac Mini is around $499. Always loved the Mac clarity and charts look amazing on it. I'm debating on either getting a MacBook Pro with one Thunderbolt Display instead of the Mac Mini or Mac Mini with 2 Thunderbolt Displays. I seen the new iMac 5k display but for trading only I don't see the relevance of 5k display.

Anyone have a nice Apple trading setup? Now with many platforms Mac compatible it's not an issue as it once was.

I'm hoping with a bunch of new members and even the older members updating their setups that this thread can create some good feedback and info.

I'm thinking something like this...I dont know if the macbook pro would be my best bet or the Mac Mini.

 

[wartrace]

I am currently debating about getting this monitor.

I have a four monitor setup now but it would be nice to have all four displays on one screen. I do not use any indicators just the time&sales/Dom and various naked charts. It would be nice to see them all at once instead of having to look at different monitors.

 

[volpunter]

I recommend against using 4k displays...even against 2560x1600 or so. The problem is that fonts will become unreadable and Win 8 or Win 10 has a very nasty way of displaying apps on high dpi monitors. Scaling makes everything incredibly blurry. Do a google. ..there are tons of comments and blogs out there on this issue. MS again fucked up big time and now blames app developers for it. Fonts never occurred blurry on my Win 7 setup but it was a nightmare on Win 10 and I now again use Win 7 on all my local machines.

I am currently debating about getting this monitor.

I have a four monitor setup now but it would be nice to have all four displays on one screen. I do not use any indicators just the time&sales/Dom and various naked charts. It would be nice to see them all at once instead of having to look at different monitors.

 

[i960]

I use a 4k display on a Macbook Retina Pro along with a windows 7 VM and have no issues with fonts. I don't run the windows VM at max res though.

I wouldn't not buy a 4k monitor due to Windows font issues though - those issues will be resolved eventually.

 

[volpunter]

I stated that this relates to Win 10. If someone must run Windows 10 and wants to buy a new monitor then I would wait a while with the purchase. And in any case I see zero reason how a 4k display benefits the user. Unless being extremely vigilant about up sizing fonts it can cause extreme eye strain and fatigue and decrease eye sight over time. I bet 4k is the end of the road. The human eyes do not require higher res displays than that.

I use a 4k display on a Macbook Retina Pro along with a windows 7 VM and have no issues with fonts. I don't run the windows VM at max res though.

I wouldn't not buy a 4k monitor due to Windows font issues though - those issues will be resolved eventually.

 

[dartmus]

I see zero reason how a 4k display benefits the user

It increase the number of pricebars thus price history available within a chart. I prefer 2 pixels between candles that are 3 pixels wide. When I switched from 1920 to 2560 I gained 640 pixels per monitor. That's 33% more price history per monitor.

 

[i960]

Unless being extremely vigilant about up sizing fonts it can cause extreme eye strain and fatigue and decrease eye sight over time

A 4k screen is BETTER for your eyes. Using extremely small fonts isn't good for the eyes regardless of what the underlying resolution is and that's a totally different thing entirely.

It's like saying "Don't get a 4k screen because windows 10 support sucks and the fonts will be small - small fonts cause eye strain ergo 4k monitors are pointless and bad for your eyes".

 

[dartmus]

imo w10 is bad for many reasons so I don't have any experience with it's font issues. But higher resolution is always better because font size can be increased and the extra pixels will make it sharper on w7.

 

[volpunter]

And the price history becomes soon unrecognizable unless you increase line thickness and fonts...

It increase the number of pricebars thus price history available within a chart. I prefer 2 pixels between candles that are 3 pixels wide. When I switched from 1920 to 2560 I gained 640 pixels per monitor. That's 33% more price history per monitor.

 

[volpunter]

That is EXACTLY what I am saying. Windows 10 CANNOT correctly scale fonts on high dpi displays (again there are literally thousands of posts on the net to attest to this fact only weeks after Win 10 was released). So you end up with 2 options by using win 10 and a 4k display:

1) you leave the scaling at 100% and can hardly recognize fonts and text anymore. Extremely unhealthy to your eye sight.

2) you scale up and text becomes blurry because MS's Win 10 engine sucks so far. Win 7 did not have such issues. I run Win 7 and do have a 4k display. It works with scaling up font size and all other content. But it does not work properly in Win 10. The blurryness is a Win 10 issue. ..no question.

But all that brings me back to my original point. What's the point of getting a higher res screen when you need to scale up and end up with the same real estate as before. I still believe more than 4k will be total nonsense and we won't see a mass market for much higher resolution monitors. Same with TV. Hardly any difference between true HD and 4k content 2-3 meters away from the TV. It is display size that matters and not resolution at already such high resolution levels, especially for monitors. A 27 inch 4k monitor is a ridiculous investment.

A 4k screen is BETTER for your eyes. Using extremely small fonts isn't good for the eyes regardless of what the underlying resolution is and that's a totally different thing entirely.

It's like saying "Don't get a 4k screen because windows 10 support sucks and the fonts will be small - small fonts cause eye strain ergo 4k monitors are pointless and bad for your eyes".