The Ultimate Computer Trading Station

[PizBot]

I'd like to set up the Ultimate Computer Trading Station to trade. If you could put together the best of the best what would you choose for your Ultimate Computer Trading Station, including hardware, software, websites, and more. I was impressed with the talk of the Matrox 6400 Quad Monitor Output Graphics Card. What would I run on the four monitors.? I saw that E-Signal was mentioned several times, how does it compare to other software? What are the preferred technologies and softwares out there to trade the markets on your Ultimate Trading Station?

John :?:

 

[Trader333]

This really depends upon your trading requirements which will differ hugely depending on what you trade and your perceived usefulness of how much information you need.

I have used TS2000i and Quotetracker across 2 screens with a Laptop PC that has 512MB of RAM and a 1GHz processor and it was fine for all my trading requirements. Many will think that 1GHz is hopelessly inadequate but I have noted that it is much faster than many of the 2.6GHz and faster systems. This may be because I am very PC literate and have switched off many of the processes that Windows XP defaults to having on. Also I always defrag my PC every week and as well as do a number of other PC maintenance tasks that has kept things just fine for 3 years now using this setup.


Paul

 

[TheBramble]

I [...] have switched off many of the processes that Windows XP defaults to having on.

Paul, is there any way to determine which default processes can be safely turned off AND is there a way to keep them turned off (i.e. not have to kill them individually on each re-boot)?

 

[roguetrader]

Paul, is there any way to determine which default processes can be safely turned off AND is there a way to keep them turned off (i.e. not have to kill them individually on each re-boot)?

Try here.

http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

 

[Trader333]

Tony,

Yes but in many cases it is individual to each PC. Check the link as provided by roguetrader is a good start.


Paul

 

[Greed Is Good]

I'd like to set up the Ultimate Computer Trading Station to trade. If you could put together the best of the best what would you choose for your Ultimate Computer Trading Station, including hardware, software, websites, and more. I was impressed with the talk of the Matrox 6400 Quad Monitor Output Graphics Card. What would I run on the four monitors.? I saw that E-Signal was mentioned several times, how does it compare to other software? What are the preferred technologies and softwares out there to trade the markets on your Ultimate Trading Station?

John :?:

I have a few mins to kill before the US figures due @ 8.30am ET so here goes...

Try these 2 URL's for some very useful & comprehensive info:

http://www.day-trading-resources.com/daytrading_equipment.htm
http://www.day-trading-resources.com/daytrading_software.htm

Personally I would always get the fastest & best system you can afford. I am currently using an Alienware Area51 Extreme system which cost me well over £3.5K but is the quickest non overclocked PC you can currently buy & also very quiet as I spent another £500 on ultra low noise parts which I installed myself.

Believe me this is important as being @ your desk for 8-12 hours trading with a noisy PC can be a distraction & major headache inducer!!

 

[JonnyT]

Do you really think this gives you an edge?

I think your reaction time is more of an issue than fairly modern hardware.

May I suggest you invest in an artifical brain installed into R2D2?

JonnyT

 

[Greed Is Good]

Do you really think this gives you an edge?

I think your reaction time is more of an issue than fairly modern hardware.

May I suggest you invest in an artifical brain installed into R2D2?

JonnyT

Depends on what your trading style is. I only daytrade so a few fractions of a second count when I am risking 5 figures per trade. The edge to me is because it is a real pleasure to use my PC & more importantly any Webpage loads almost instantly, I can also have multiple apps open @ once & there is never any slowdown/frustration whatsoever flicking between apps or waiting for anything to load.

For sure a PC costing less will do a good job but why compromise when a few decent trades will pay for the hardware several times over anyway (and already have I might add).

IMO The most valuable thing to have after a modern & powerful PC/Laptop is actually the same data feed latency the AAA Banks & other top tier players enjoy.

 

[csbriggs]

Does anyone have an opinion on using one 24" screen, rather than two 19" screens.

(This is for a beginner who is trying the learn the trade)

 

[Greed Is Good]

Does anyone have an opinion on using one 24" screen, rather than two 19" screens.

(This is for a beginner who is trying the learn the trade)

Yeah that will do fine as you can have @ least 4 program windows open @ once and can easily view them all @ the same time. However be aware that the default resolution for a 24" is 1900x1200 pixels so you will need a fairly new & powerful PC to cope with that. If your going for the Dell 2405 that is about the best 24" LCD screen you can currently get (outside of government/military spec stuff which has zero dead or lazy pixels & costs 10-15 times the price of an ordinary LCD screen!). You may even be able to get away with a 20" LCD as I do and can still easily see 4 program windows open @ once. Any LCD screen always give you the exact screen size whereas a CRT monitor you lose 1-2" as the manufacturers get away with the diagonal measurement so the monitor bezel (plastic cover surround the tube) covers those 1-2" around the perimeter yet it is still marketed on the diagonal measurement!

Check these URL's out for some superb Dell LCD's from an authorised reseller.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/lcd20.html

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/lcd24.html

 

[Directional]

two monitors are better than one, IMO...

http://www.elitetrader.com/ha/guide/index.cfm?s=12&t=62

 

[cq95trader]

You could try entering " multimonitor " into a search engin. When trying this query on various search engins you will get a lot of good sites to help you.

 

[cq95trader]

You could try entering " multimonitor " into a search engin. When trying this query on various search engins you will get a lot of good sites to help you.