What's everyone using for hardware these days? Is everyone using laptops by now?

Thanks... yes, it seems the RAM is the issue. After some googling apparantly 8GB RAM is maxed for the motherboard (EVGA nforce 780SLI) so....
In that case you are indeed out of luck and forced to buy more new hardware. Or use the laptop + external monitor as you described.
 
Crystal ball? I prefer to call it a backup scanner.

upload_2019-9-25_13-22-30.png
 
it depends on what sort of trader and what you are trading.

if you do swing trading, then one monitor should suffice.

I do day trading. so I have one 42" and four 32" monitors and 2 computers.

That's a lot of screenspace, @maxinger

Is that due to trading multiple markets or do you simply use a lot of charts for your chosen market?

I also day trade. One market only (ES). Current set up:

Main screen - Live charts/order entry

Second screen - Historical analysis (charts)

Laptop - Excel stuff

What I'd like to have:

1. Main screen - Live charts/order entry

2. Second screen - Additional live charts (faster charts, volume charts, etc.)

3. Third screen - Historical charts

4. Excel stuff

So, in actuality, I'd actually like 2 additional 24" screens. I don't think my current laptop would support that or I would at least be pushing it in terms of performance.

Actually, the "Excel stuff" is linked to my trading platform, so I might in fact be needing one computer for all this.

Hmm... :)
 
That's a lot of screenspace, @maxinger

Is that due to trading multiple markets or do you simply use a lot of charts for your chosen market?

I also day trade. One market only (ES). Current set up:

Main screen - Live charts/order entry

Second screen - Historical analysis (charts)

Laptop - Excel stuff

What I'd like to have:

1. Main screen - Live charts/order entry

2. Second screen - Additional live charts (faster charts, volume charts, etc.)

3. Third screen - Historical charts

4. Excel stuff

So, in actuality, I'd actually like 2 additional 24" screens. I don't think my current laptop would support that or I would at least be pushing it in terms of performance.

Actually, the "Excel stuff" is linked to my trading platform, so I might in fact be needing one computer for all this.

Hmm... :)

I started with one futures, one screen one computer.

Now I trade about 10 to 20 futures at any one time.
for each futures, I have about 2 to 3 charts plus a ladder displayed.
I also display trading platforms open order, working order, closed order windows.

I plan to add more futures from another Exchange and I will be running out of space soon.
 
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While I like the idea of separate screens - I'm now seriously considering getting an ultrawide 40+ " screen which I'll be running off my laptop. This means I won't have to worry about pushing it in terms of performance as most people seem to think that while 3 monitors on a laptop can work, it's generally not a good idea. Also, I won't have to buy a docking and a new screen mount. I can also clean up clutter and have less cables.

In terms of cost, it will probably be a bit more expensive, but it might just be worth it.

I do like having separate screens better as of now as things does seem more separate. But it might just be a matter of habit I suppose.

Here's a guy using the 49" Dell:

 
I've been doing a bit more research on this and am pretty much sold on getting a single 49" to use for my trading operations.

The Dell is simply too expensive, IMO, but it seems like Samsung have a happy medium:


Should I need more screen space in the future (not likely, but you'll never know), I can stack 2 screens on top of each other.

This means I won't have to worry about a docking station, excess cables or needing a workstation to fuel a multi-monitor set-up. Did I say that already? I suppose I did. :)
 
I've been doing a bit more research on this and am pretty much sold on getting a single 49" to use for my trading operations.

The Dell is simply too expensive, IMO, but it seems like Samsung have a happy medium:


Should I need more screen space in the future (not likely, but you'll never know), I can stack 2 screens on top of each other.

This means I won't have to worry about a docking station, excess cables or needing a workstation to fuel a multi-monitor set-up. Did I say that already? I suppose I did. :)
I wan this
 
Thanks... yes, it seems the RAM is the issue. After some googling apparantly 8GB RAM is maxed for the motherboard (EVGA nforce 780SLI) so....

I took the time getting things re-set up on a laptop which coped fine (i7-4800QM 2.7GHZ, 16GB RAM, SSD, AMD 8790M 2GB) so will use that with an extra monitor for now.

8 GB RAM is plenty for Rithmic and Multicharts, i run the same setup with 8GB RAM and i only use about 40%. To me it seems like your processor is the issue (my previous desktop had a processor with similar benchmarks and it caused my lag problems).

Open up your task manager while running all the programs (on a busy trading day) you are usually running when trading and see which one or which part is running close to 100%. Also note that Rithmic isn't made for running on multicores so it should stay below 25% on your 4 core processor, otherwise you will see issues.
 
I just broke out my new monitor. I only need one screen for trading.

Is that the 43" Dell?

It looks a bit tall to me. I think I'd prefer to have a lower and wider screen. Considering the 49" ultrawide now:
monitor-u4919dw-campaign-hero-504x350-ng-v2.png


The 43" is on sale at my local hardware store, so I can get it for approximately 50 % of the cost of the 49", but I feel the 49" is better for my purposes. 2 x 27" could probably also work and is far cheaper, but still...
 
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