You're ideal system under $3500

I've built a couple of computers but with all honesty I can just concur with posts above. focus on the monitor and video card and processor speed with enough memory. 2 gig is plenty.
also best to have dual broadband DSL/cable if available.
...now only if broker/server software were bulletproof....sheesh...
I bet you can do it under $2500....
 
Not including the monitors you should be able to build a system for less then $ 750.


I just built the following system for less then $ 600 . It was for my fiancee's kid who does a lot of Flash Video programming .

P 4 - 3 Ghz LGA 775
1 Gig ram
Plextor DVD R/RW
Asus P5rd1-v Motherboard with built in Radeon Video
Maxtor HD ( not SATA)

A nice 19 inch LCD monitor will cost less then $ 300 - you need at least 2 .

Video Card - if you get a MB with video on it all you need is another card to run the dual monitor set up . It is also easy to get more then 2 cards if you need to for extra monitors . Does not matter if it is AGP or PCI - E both work about the same for what you will do .

Get a SATA HD - they cost a bit more but are worth it .
I have a Western Digital Raptor in my computer.

Get a processor that supports 64 bit , you wont use it now but may in a year or so .
You do not need the dual core processors .

Bottom line is you should be able to get a nice dual monitor trading system up for less then $ 1500 .
Custom build it if you can .
 
Quote from ifinitis:

I agree with this persons reply and would like to add the following.

Try a local PC builder, most towns have them. They can custom build you one. Get your monitors on the Internet and spend the extra for better monitors. Have the PC builder configure your box for what you are doing, trading, this will speed things up. The Dell and HP, etc. type systems will have to be reconfigured anyway to get rid of the shipped configuration.

1 GIG of good fast memmory is more important than have 2 gigs, 2 gigs of matched fast memmory will provide some speed, but not much. Liguid cooled is not needed nor is a gaming system. Hard drive speed is more important than size, ask your pc guy.
More...

I agree that a local builder has advantages. I learned the hard way that upgrading a box from a mass vendor can be a problem.
In my case, I needed to upgrade memory and the hD. but because of the way the machine was built I could not add more memory and its power supply was minimal and could not handle a second HD.

I've had 6 computers built by local shops and couldn't be happier. Its nice to be able to call anytime and get someone who can troubleshoot the problem and usually fix it quickly. And if it can't be done over the phone, I have about a 10 minute drive to the shop where it usually gets fixed in a day or two.

My experience with the mass vendor was call , push a lot of buttons, wait a long time and then get someone who had no clue and blamed my problem on my isp. As it turned out, the computer had a defective part that would have taken 2+ weeks to get fixed by the mass vendor. I took it to a local shop where it was fixed while I waited and cost me $5 on the condition I gave the shop a chance to build my next computer.

DS
 
Here is the machine I just built to have the best trading computer for the $$.

Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
2GB RAM
Two Geforce6600GT (Very important to run 4 monitors)
250GB HD
XP 64bit Professional

Dual core CPU and 2GB Ram very important.

Programs running all day:
Cybertrader Pro (runs 30 windows continuously)
Avast virus scan
Briefing.com Trader
Farcry 64 bit (when I need a quick break to kill something)

All are extremely memory and cpu intensive and my system never hesitates, hangs or slows down. I can't emphasize enough how impressed I am with the dual core cpu. Entire system less that $1500 not including monitors. (see attachment)
 

Attachments

Definitely make sure you get RAID and dual internet connections (cable, dsl, whatever). Also make sure you have TWO routers -- they make dual WAN routers, but then all your connectivity still has a single point of failure -- and in my experience the dual WAN routers fail quite a bit.....

SSB
 
yo bigsid, I have a dual output x800xt pe 256 edition, I want to run 4 monitors, if I get an ati radeon 700 64 meg pci, will this work fine in my system


Athlon 64 3000+ running 2.4ghz
512 ram running 440mhz
360 gigs of harddrive with raid 0
win xp
thermaltake 430watt psu
 
Quote from vinceb:

yo bigsid, I have a dual output x800xt pe 256 edition, I want to run 4 monitors, if I get an ati radeon 700 64 meg pci, will this work fine in my system


Athlon 64 3000+ running 2.4ghz
512 ram running 440mhz
360 gigs of harddrive with raid 0
win xp
thermaltake 430watt psu
More...

I've had problems running 2 video cards when 1 is agp and 1 is pci. See if this link helps: http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000195.htm
 
My two cents are:

1. Go for a multicore machine.
2. Pentium are better for multithreaded processing than AMDs.
3. RAM, lots of RAM. 4Gb if you can.
4. If you want a setup with 4 monitors or less, you can go for a combo PCI-E, PCI setup with a GeForce 6600 Dual-DVI PCI-E as primary and a GeForce 5500 Dual-DVI PCI as secondary. This would give you a 4-DVI output.
5. If you want more than 4 monitors, go for two Quad-Head cards. ATI, NVIDIA and MATROX have Quad-head models on both PCI-E and PCI flavors.
6. Go for high resolution monitors. Anything under 1600x1200 or 1680x1050 wide is a waste of money IMO. Trying to juggle a bunch of charts on a 1280x1024 monitor isnt what I call 'fun' ;)
7. Go for faster memory. Now, that is big. Backtesting and optimizing w/ 800mhz DDR2 memory will be significantly faster than doing the same with memory running at 533mhz.

Place with good prices: http://www.us.ncix.com

Peace,
mrtwo
 
"2. Pentium are better for multithreaded processing than AMDs."

Pentiums are not a better processor. If you HAVE to use a Pentium, turn OFF hyperthreading. I think people here could vouch for this in alot cases that HT slows things down.
 
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