NexusFi: Find Your Edge


Home Menu

 





Xeon based workstations


Discussion in Tech Support

Updated
      Top Posters
    1. looks_one SMCJB with 2 posts (1 thanks)
    2. looks_two Maxin with 2 posts (0 thanks)
    3. looks_3 Big Mike with 1 posts (0 thanks)
    4. looks_4 josh with 1 posts (1 thanks)
    1. trending_up 2,031 views
    2. thumb_up 3 thanks given
    3. group 8 followers
    1. forum 7 posts
    2. attach_file 0 attachments




 
Search this Thread
  #1 (permalink)
 
Maxin's Avatar
 Maxin 
Raleigh NC
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: TOS Ninjatrader
Trading: Futures
Posts: 9 since Dec 2022
Thanks Given: 4
Thanks Received: 4

Hi, I am seeing some older HP workstations with impressive power for reasonable pricing. Specifically the HP Z840. The one I am looking at has 2 E5-2699 V4 CPUs w/ 44 cores total. 256GB Ram and some nice SSD's
Can NinjaTrader take advantage of a system like this when back testing and also when running multiple charts/indicators/strategies at the same time.
I see a lot of them being turned into gaming rigs but I don't see anything specific to trading.

-Thanks
Scott


Started this thread Reply With Quote

Can you help answer these questions
from other members on NexusFi?
May 26 Deadline Dies at 7.5% as US Strikes Iran During C …
Prediction Markets & Event Contracts
$24.5 Billion Record Month: Prediction Markets Shatter A …
Prediction Markets & Event Contracts
Sundays Verdict: Lebanon Locked at 99.85% as Iran June 7 …
Prediction Markets & Event Contracts
$500M Riding on World Cup 2026: France/Spain Co-Favored …
Prediction Markets & Event Contracts
S&P 500 Holds the Line: No Fast Track for SpaceX, Op …
Stocks and ETFs
 
Best Threads (Most Thanked)
in the last 7 days on NexusFi
Big Mike in Ecuador
196 thanks
Sober Journey With S&P
27 thanks
30 Sessions
20 thanks
BERN ALGOS algo trading journal
8 thanks
Volume Indicators
8 thanks
  #2 (permalink)
 
Big Mike's Avatar
 Big Mike 
Manta, Ecuador
Site Administrator
Developer
Swing Trader
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: Custom solution
Broker: IBKR
Trading: Stocks & Futures
Frequency: Every few days
Duration: Weeks
Posts: 50,669 since Jun 2009
Thanks Given: 33,669
Thanks Received: 102,583

If you plan to do any level of machine learning or use a LLM, you'll want a high end Nvidia card. Not for games.

Sent using the NexusFi mobile app




We're here to help: just ask the community or contact our Help Desk

Quick Links: Change your Username or Register as a Vendor
Searching for trading reviews? Review this list
Lifetime Elite Membership: Sign-up for only $149 USD
Exclusive money saving offers from our Site Sponsors: Browse Offers
Report problems with the site: Using the NexusFi changelog thread
Follow me on X Visit my NexusFi Trade Journal Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)
 sevensa 
Singapore, Singapore
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Sierra Chart/IB, NT, TS
Trading: NQ, Weekly Options
Frequency: Several times daily
Duration: Hours
Posts: 70 since Aug 2017
Thanks Given: 64
Thanks Received: 116



Maxin View Post
Hi, I am seeing some older HP workstations with impressive power for reasonable pricing. Specifically the HP Z840. The one I am looking at has 2 E5-2699 V4 CPUs w/ 44 cores total. 256GB Ram and some nice SSD's
Can NinjaTrader take advantage of a system like this when back testing and also when running multiple charts/indicators/strategies at the same time.
I see a lot of them being turned into gaming rigs but I don't see anything specific to trading.

-Thanks
Scott

I am not sure if it will help with backtesting, but it might not help much with trading depending on the number of different instruments you are trading. Based on the information from their forums, each symbol is assigned to one thread, regardless of how many windows or charts you have opened. So, if you trade one symbol with multiple windows and timeframes, they all use the same one thread. Less, stronger cores would be better in that case. That's why NT can get so easily overwhelmed and slow down.

If you trade multiple different instruments then more cores will help since each will get their own thread.


Reply With Quote
  #4 (permalink)
 
EDGE's Avatar
 EDGE 
Saint Louis, Mo., USA
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: NinjaTrader, Tradestation
Broker: Amp/CQG, Velocity/TT, Kinetick, TS
Trading: Anything That Moves..
Frequency: Daily
Duration: Minutes
Posts: 221 since Aug 2010
Thanks Given: 100
Thanks Received: 409


Maxin View Post
Can NinjaTrader take advantage of a system like this

Not really! Although NT8 is multi-core.. It still only uses 1 core per instrument..
Even w/40 cores, Don't expect 25 charts all of the same instrument to load any faster..

Not that it's a bad machine.. Own 820 and 620 both dual processor for many years..
In their day.. these were very fine machines.. and still are for the most part!

But with normal everyday NT usage.. 8/16 faster cores will perform better than 40 slower..
My 820 finally died after 8+ years and recently built 17 12700k w/64g using onboard video..

No real comparison between 620 w/3060 video and the new I7 with just onboard..
For me.. NT8 both loads and performs better in every way with the new faster I7!

Significantly better when talking just NT8! But this just my personal experience..



Please Be Safe in this Crazy World!


Reply With Quote
Thanked by:
  #5 (permalink)
 
Maxin's Avatar
 Maxin 
Raleigh NC
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: TOS Ninjatrader
Trading: Futures
Posts: 9 since Dec 2022
Thanks Given: 4
Thanks Received: 4

Thanks everyone for the fast responses and feedback.
I've decided to go with an i7-13700 build instead of fooling around with this old HP workstation


Started this thread Reply With Quote
  #6 (permalink)
 
SMCJB's Avatar
 SMCJB 
Houston TX
Legendary Market Wizard
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: TT Stellar & Tradestation
Broker: Primarily Advantage Futures
Trading: Primarily Energy but also a little Equities, Fixed Income, Metals, U308 and Crypto.
Frequency: Many times daily
Duration: Never
Posts: 5,241 since Dec 2013
Thanks Given: 4,585
Thanks Received: 10,531

One thing I will say about Xeon workstations, is that they never ever crash. Assume its the ECC Memory


Reply With Quote
Thanked by:
  #7 (permalink)
 
josh's Avatar
 josh 
Georgia, US
 
Experience: None
Platform: SC
Broker: Denali+Teton
Trading: ES, NQ, YM
Posts: 6,331 since Jan 2011
Thanks Given: 6,955
Thanks Received: 18,629


SMCJB View Post
One thing I will say about Xeon workstations, is that they never ever crash. Assume its the ECC Memory

That, and also the fact that they're just not overclocked. They're designed for max stability sitting in a server rack. While they talk about "professional applications" I wouldn't dream of putting a Xeon in a desktop machine.

Earlier this year I upgraded my old Ryzen 7 2700X to a Ryzen 9 7900X. Fantastic CPU. 12 core / 24 thread, hums along at almost 5GHz, has a big 64MB L3 cache. It never complains, purrs along, and best of all doesn't have that nasty "Intel" in its name I kid, I kid (a little).
Someone else mentioned a 3060 in this thread. I use an RTX 3060 to drive 4 4k@60 displays, and it does so beautifully. I have 64GB RAM because, why not, and the result is a machine that just gets out of your way and lets you make or lose money without being able to attribute it to the machine

Very similar to the i7 that Maxin went with.


Reply With Quote
Thanked by:
  #8 (permalink)
 
SMCJB's Avatar
 SMCJB 
Houston TX
Legendary Market Wizard
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: TT Stellar & Tradestation
Broker: Primarily Advantage Futures
Trading: Primarily Energy but also a little Equities, Fixed Income, Metals, U308 and Crypto.
Frequency: Many times daily
Duration: Never
Posts: 5,241 since Dec 2013
Thanks Given: 4,585
Thanks Received: 10,531

All my boxes are ordered via my brokers (Advantage Futures) IT group who have a relationship with Dell. They recommend the specs. When I was collocated it was all Dell 620 servers. My desktop's have all been Dell Xeon workstations. For the desktops I've always wondered about the slower clock speeds but it seems to work very well for me. I have three (sometimes four) different trading systems open (TT, Stellar, WebICE & sometimes Tradestation) and three very large spreadsheets and Microsoft Access. Everything else is on a different box. Current box is quite old (2020) and has dual Xeon Silver 4215's, 16 cores, 32 threads each (so 32+64 in reality). All just hums along so I don't see the need to upgrade. Of course all of the hard work on TT and Stellar is done on collocated servers not on my desktop.


Reply With Quote




Last Updated on September 28, 2023


© 2026 NexusFi®, s.a., All Rights Reserved.
Av Ricardo J. Alfaro, Century Tower, Panama City, Panama, Ph: +507 833-9432 (Panama and Intl), +1 888-312-3001 (USA and Canada)
All information is for educational use only and is not investment advice. There is a substantial risk of loss in trading commodity futures, stocks, options and foreign exchange products. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
About Us - Contact Us - Site Rules, Acceptable Use, and Terms and Conditions - Downloads - Top
no new posts