Trading computer

des44

des44

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Hey,

This is my new trading computer. Purchased it all (component-by-component) for around $1,600US--without the monitors. This is a steal from what a computer this fast would have cost just three years ago.

Now, I just have to figure out how to put this thing together.

*Side note: I think I am a little premature trying to use XP-Pro x64 as it will be hard to find drivers. I may have to revert back to x32 for the time being.
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Trading Computer

Windows XP Pro (x64)
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
2GB RAM (4x512DDR) PC3200 Unbuffered Dual Channel
320GB Samsung (2x160GB 7200 RPM) SATA 3.0Gb/s (for RAID 0)
eVGA 256MB GeForce 7800GT GDDR3 PCI Express x16
Antec Performance Anodized Aluminum ATX Mid Tower
Antec SmartPower 500w Power Supply
NEC DVD Burner 16x8x16x48x24
Sony CD Burner 52x32x52
Zalman 80mm 2 Ball Blue LED Light Cooling Fan with (full) Copper Heatsink
Artic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
---
19” (three) View Sonic VA902b LCD (Flat panel) 8mm Refresh Rate


_________

d-
 
Nice one Des.

I recently built a new one myself - AMD Athlon 64 3200+ S939. Only 1GB of RAM rather than your 2GB, and only 160GB drive - but otherwise very similar spec. Luvvin' it.
 
Massive overkill IMHO given that nothing runs in 64 bit except Java in Linux

JonnyT
 
des44 said:
Hey,

This is my new trading computer. Purchased it all (component-by-component) for around $1,600US--without the monitors. This is a steal from what a computer this fast would have cost just three years ago.

Now, I just have to figure out how to put this thing together.

*Side note: I think I am a little premature trying to use XP-Pro x64 as it will be hard to find drivers. I may have to revert back to x32 for the time being.
__________________________________________________________


Trading Computer

Windows XP Pro (x64)
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
2GB RAM (4x512DDR) PC3200 Unbuffered Dual Channel
320GB Samsung (2x160GB 7200 RPM) SATA 3.0Gb/s (for RAID 0)
eVGA 256MB GeForce 7800GT GDDR3 PCI Express x16
Antec Performance Anodized Aluminum ATX Mid Tower
Antec SmartPower 500w Power Supply
NEC DVD Burner 16x8x16x48x24
Sony CD Burner 52x32x52
Zalman 80mm 2 Ball Blue LED Light Cooling Fan with (full) Copper Heatsink
Artic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
---
19” (three) View Sonic VA902b LCD (Flat panel) 8mm Refresh Rate


_________

d-
Click to expand...

Looks interesting, well done.
What sort of improvement to your trading results has it brought?
 
It took around £1000 of the bottom line for no tangible gain...

JonnyT
 
Great question, Commanderco. I believe this is also what JonnyT was getting at.

Because I have yet to assemble this computer I cannot say whether or not there will be any improvement at all.

To be quite frank any 'ol computer that's (Win 98 or above) can work just fine. Broadband internet is usually a requirement also. But other than that, a big screaming beast of a computer (like mine) is even remotely "needed" to trade successfully in my opinion.

There just might be, however, an argument for a faster computer with a faster monitor (refresh rate) for those who are tick oriented scalpers. A machine that freezes momentarily while the CPU catches up (or even freezes) could mean a lot of money for those trader.

The bottom line: I needed another computer for my new trading office so I built one that could also handle some gaming also--when the markets are a little slow. ;)

d-
 
commanderco said:
Looks interesting, well done.
What sort of improvement to your trading results has it brought?
Click to expand...

I'm about to buy a second computer:

I want at least 1028 Mb RAM and 19" screen; otherwise normal kind of spec.

Anyone got any bright ideas where to ge the best deal in the UK?

(No techy answers please; I'm a trader not a geek!)
 
Kind of like our cars we drive, homes we live in, and cell phones we carry. What's the difference?

JonnyT said:
It took around £1000 of the bottom line for no tangible gain...

JonnyT
Click to expand...
 
Nice spec


A bit like using a thermal lance to open a tin of peas though

Slightly more than needed
 
I think spending £2k on a computer is a fine investment in your trading - at least it will be future proofed, and you can be sure you can run the majority of trading software - Trading Technologies have a high minimum standard, and even TradeStation recommend you have as high spec machine as possible for their flabware platform.

I spent £2500 on an absolute top spec Dell workstation four years ago, and it still holds its own with only minimum upgrades in the intervening years.

As regards des44 comments, I am a tick oriented scalper so for me it is imperative i get data crunched and screen updates displayed in the absolute quickest time - I have a direct LAN connection to the exchange gateway and I am currently using an HP dual 3.6ghz xeon machine here. I'm executing trades manually so I am the weakest link in the process, though its essential that when I click on a price I'm not hitting stale data.

I know a bunch of locals who are doing pure arb via automation and they invest tens of thousands in architecture and quad processor machines to do something similar, and for them milliseconds really do count. :eek:

Your system and how it relates to your trading really depends on what you do and how you do it I guess :)
 
des44 said:
Great question, Commanderco. I believe this is also what JonnyT was getting at.

Because I have yet to assemble this computer I cannot say whether or not there will be any improvement at all.

To be quite frank any 'ol computer that's (Win 98 or above) can work just fine. Broadband internet is usually a requirement also. But other than that, a big screaming beast of a computer (like mine) is even remotely "needed" to trade successfully in my opinion.

There just might be, however, an argument for a faster computer with a faster monitor (refresh rate) for those who are tick oriented scalpers. A machine that freezes momentarily while the CPU catches up (or even freezes) could mean a lot of money for those trader.

The bottom line: I needed another computer for my new trading office so I built one that could also handle some gaming also--when the markets are a little slow. ;)

d-
Click to expand...

I trade brackets via Transact from a reasonably grunty machine running XP and solely dedicated to my Transact programme.
Everything else, email, web, programmes for this and programmes for that run on another machine. When I travel, I use webmail and the hotel´s machine, but I never clutter my own machine.
This is not because I am a clever computor guy, in fact I an intentionally quite the reverse.
Rather it is because I am only interested in jamming my orders through ahead of the other guy.
Any thing that I can learn that advances my cause is always gratefully received, hence my question to you.
Have you ever given Linux a thought?
 
I haven't given Linux a thought. No apparent reason why I haven't--I just haven't. I don't know enough about it to even have an opinion.

d-
 
The point is this. If you have to press a button to trade then there is no point having an high end machine.

The biggest delay is human reaction time. The average person takes 0.7 seconds or 700ms to respond to an event and click a button on your mouse. Even a slow computer will have sent its reaction to your click in less than 10ms down the wire. i.e. the end result is almost entirely based on your reaction time and not the PCs performance.

i.e. Fast hardware is good for automated systems but pretty pointless is you are manually trading. You would be better off taking out a Gym subscription and having reflexology on your fingers.

I now personally use Linux and have found it to be more stable that XP for my trading Apps etc and of course there are no issues with Virus's etc. If you use a low end graphical environment like XFCE4 then the machine can perform much better than XP

JonnyT
 
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