Hi Fellow traders,

I have been using a six(6) year old laptop that at the time (2018-2019) was near top specs more or less (ASUS 8th generation i7, 1060 GTX 16GB ram + SSD - see specs image attached below).

Recently I noticed that my NinjaTrader process reaches 2+GB of RAM when it used to be around 900MB - and also had to re-install as at times it reached almost 5GB - without adding NEW INDICATORS etc. - and that I am experiencing LATENCY in order pickup at the DOM (price would just pass the price on the ladder - and/or CHART prices are DEVIATING from the DOM prices.

I have about 11 charts open with TWO(2) instruments ONLY - plus two indicators FOOTPRINT+ CAMSVPR4 which one seems to be the causing LATENCY (46,000ms) + NinjaTraders OWN VOLUME Profile which reaches almost 20,000ms on the RESOURCE monitor. (See attached)

I find it bizarre as I am only using DATA based on BARS (around 20-100) and not DAYS, NO Tick Replay and ALL of the tricks known to prevent the "hogging" of NT resources. (Rebooting, deleting the CACHE, nit too many painted things in charts, only ONE WORK SPACE etc. etc. (I also have Market analyzer for these only TWO instruments as I use it to feed JigSaw product).

Would a NEWER computer make a difference - such a the i9-12800HK with 64GB RAM and a 3080ti GPU with VVME drives - Latency wise + ability to run TICK REPLAY based charts that can actually pack 2 days of data or even a whole month + TWO or even THREE different WORKSPACES? (I know and realize that NVME would affect MARKET REPLAY - but again, I am more interested in solving the CPU THREADS/PROCESSES DELAYS/Latency)

Thanks in advance
S.


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ziggy123 

Hi Fellow traders, I have been using a six(6) year old laptop that at the time (2018-2019) was near top specs more or less (ASUS 8th generation i7, 1060 GTX 16GB ram + SSD - see specs image attached below). Recently I noticed that my NinjaTrader process reaches 2+GB of RAM when it used to be around 900MB - and also had to re-install as at times it reached almost 5GB - without adding NEW INDICATORS etc. - and that I am experiencing LATENCY in order pickup at the DOM (price would just pass the price on the ladder - and/or CHART prices are DEVIATING from the DOM prices. I have about 11 charts open with TWO(2) instruments ONLY - plus two indicators FOOTPRINT+ CAMSVPR4 which one seems to be the causing LATENCY (46,000ms) + NinjaTraders OWN VOLUME Profile which reaches almost 20,000ms on the RESOURCE monitor. (See attached) I find it bizarre as I am only using DATA based on BARS (around 20-100) and not DAYS, NO Tick Replay and ALL of the tricks known to prevent the "hogging" of NT resources. (Rebooting, deleting the CACHE, nit too many painted things in charts, only ONE WORK SPACE etc. etc. (I also have Market analyzer for these only TWO instruments as I use it to feed JigSaw product). Would a NEWER computer make a difference - such a the i9-12800HK with 64GB RAM and a 3080ti GPU with VVME drives - Latency wise + ability to run TICK REPLAY based charts that can actually pack 2 days of data or even a whole month + TWO or even THREE different WORKSPACES? (I know and realize that NVME would affect MARKET REPLAY - but again, I am more interested in solving the CPU THREADS/PROCESSES DELAYS/Latency) Thanks in advance S. image.pngAttachment 342817 Attachment 342818

Hi,
My desktop is 11 years old (with 3 monitors and loads of workspaces and Market Analyzers screening many watch lists with multiple indicators) with similar specs as your laptop. It uses about 1.2 Gig. I do not have your issues. One difference though, I use Google Chrome - Edge seems to be very invasive with a lot of under the hood things going on.

Also, I have a 16" LG Gram laptop (32M, 2T SSD, Ultra 7, Windows 11, very light - a little over 2 lbs) that I like and use for travel. I run the same Ninja workspaces plus Schwab's Think-Or-Swim platform with no issues.

I must say that since the recent overhaul of the NT platform, the performance in general has not been as smooth as before. However, one sticky point that seems to cause issues with freezing is that you need to synchronize your computer at least once every couple of days.

Are you Happy with ASUS and would you buy it again? I am looking at ASUS Vivobook S16 16" OLED Copilot+ PC - Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 Processor - 1TB SSD - Windows 11 and $400 off to $899 at Costco as a second laptop.

New config will make a difference for sure, not because your machine is very old but rather because Intel as well as Ryzen have made generational leaps in the past few years.

You will probably also need to look at the code which your indicators are using, from my experience with the platforms I use, with some updates your code can break in a way that while it works it will have some redundant loops reducing its efficiency. Anyway, an upgrade is certainly warranted, also Laptop configurations are not comparable to the desktop ones, even if the numbers/model numbers are same. A Laptop if have been around for 4–5 years, it's probably a better choice to make it your backup or make it some young one in your family their first.

Desktops on other hand, can be used for longer. Main difference is cooling capabilities and TDP available, other than obvious trimming down of chips for the laptop use.

I would personally prefer Lenovo, but Asus is also a good choice.

aligator 

Hi, My desktop is 11 years old (with 3 monitors and loads of workspaces and Market Analyzers screening many watch lists with multiple indicators) with similar specs as your laptop. It uses about 1.2 Gig. I do not have your issues. One difference though, I use Google Chrome - Edge seems to be very invasive with a lot of under the hood things going on. Also, I have a 16" LG Gram laptop (32M, 2T SSD, Ultra 7, Windows 11, very light - a little over 2 lbs) that I like and use for travel. I run the same Ninja workspaces plus Schwab's Think-Or-Swim platform with no issues. I must say that since the recent overhaul of the NT platform, the performance in general has not been as smooth as before. However, one sticky point that seems to cause issues with freezing is that you need to synchronize your computer at least once every couple of days. Are you Happy with ASUS and would you buy it again? I am looking at ASUS Vivobook S16 16" OLED Copilot+ PC - Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 Processor - 1TB SSD - Windows 11 and $400 off to $899 at Costco as a second laptop.

Hi Aligator,

Thank you so much for a thoughtful detailed response. An YES- I do use EDGE and it's been a resource HOG - sometimes when I have 30-40 tabs open - the browser can reach 6GB of resource utilization - and I kill the process.

As an "old" user of TradeStation back in 2007 - I always liked their performance better - especially when Ninja was I think in V.6 - and in last few years looking at Sierra Charts and other platforms I cant believe how many PLUGINS /Studies you can have and the platform just sails smooth.
BUT we have to be indeed fair that a 3rd party PLUGIN not created by Ninja can be un-optimized code wise and wreck havoc on the system.

Per your question - YES - I was very happy with ASUS - its been also very mobile with me when i fly - and very reliable until about a YEAR AGO - but I blame MICROSOFT for that one. It started to just TURN OFF suddenly out of the blue - and initially I thought it was a virus/battery/drivers update - to the point that after shutting down abruptly - when I tried to POWER UP clicking the Power Button - it didn't WAKE UP.
After doing research (An I come from a strong IT background) to even playing with the REGISRTY and re-installing EVERYHTING and even replacing the BIOS chip - which solved the issue for a while - and then when I would even MOVE or LIFT the laptop from the table it would do the same.
Then I had the IDEA of REMOVING WINDOWS UPDATES - and guess what = ALL issues were solved! So I find myself removing windows updates once in a while (I don't subscribe to conspiracy theories- but I have to say, it feels as if the hardware manufacturers with MicroSHI^%^%^&t are causing this so you BUY new TECH

Regarding the NEXT LAPTOP - you're in LUCK as I have been performing major RESEARCH for the last 6 months on various systems.

For me the system needs to have a LRAGE Screen and 4K (As when i travel as well), OLED (Since I do 3D and video editing for fun)- and most importantly have adequate COOLING as some of the HIGH END gaming laptops get really HOT - and run AI/LLM stuff so a Video Card with 16GB VRAM.

For me, i don't mind buying a refurbished unit as they are at times a 5th of the price (some of these may cost $6,000 new) - and the NEW RTX 5 serries most do not possess 16GB VRAM - so I opt for either the older 3080ti and/or the A5000/A4500 or Quadro 5000 card.

I have narrowed it to three major Models:

1. Anything Dell Precision :They are real THICK workstations - so it will not overheat - and you will most likely not have to RE-PASTE the CPU with some "exotic" paste :
2. Lenovo P17/P16 : Same thing - great review and great OLED screens
3. MSI Creator 17: AMAZING TECH - has the MINI-LED screen with HDR1000 - actually has 1000 NITS of BRIGHTNESS - so you can work in DIRECT SUN LIGHT!!!
4. I hear good things about MSI TITAN 18 hx - 18" screen

On another note, I use a portable 4K external PORTABLE screen from a company called "UPERFECT". you can get them on Ebay for about $250 new 18.4"

Hope this helps,

Cheers,
Steven

ziggy123 

Hi Fellow traders, ... Would a NEWER computer make a difference - such a the i9-12800HK with 64GB RAM and a 3080ti GPU with VVME drives - Latency wise + ability ... ...

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes.

hedge

16GB of RAM is ample. 32GB is more than ample. 64GB is overkill and a waste of money. Get as fast of RAM as you can get, though.

GPU - hardly matters - don't waste your money. Get a step above the built-in, if only to take needless heat away from the CPU core and possibly provide more external monitor connections (if needed). If you're only trading with this machine, you don't need to spend much. In my case, I've done extensive testing with Nvidia Titan V and 2080 Ti, AMD RX 7900XTX, and currently a 5090 (because I do more than just trade on this machine) - all of them against a 1660Ti. None of it mattered. The 1660 Ti was already overkill. Your mobile 1060 GTX would still be more than fine today.

CPU - this is the most important. Get the fastest & newest CPU money can buy - Maximum Core count is not that important. 8-cores is plenty, but you want to get as fast as you can. A desktop would be best, mobile desktop next best, but if you need a lighter laptop, look at getting a Core Ultra 288V or any AMD Ryzen AI MAX (385, 390, 395) mobile processor.

Storage - Next most important - ensure you get an NVMe SSD. I know you're already aware. As fast as you can get and as large as you can get. NinjaTrader still does most of its work on the C: drive (since most of it is working out of My Documents unfortunately), so there's little point in getting more than 1 drive (unless you plan on using RAID, which is not a bad idea, but adds to the cost).

In the meantime, and going forward, if you're not doing this already - You can cut down NinjaTrader CPU usage considerably by examining all your indicators. If you don't need Calculation on each tick, turn this off. Try to use calculate on bar close wherever you can. Calculate on price change is the next best option and you'll find this is more than sufficient in place of Calculate on each tick (unless you're a certain kind of scalper that depends on each tick, that is).

BONUS SUGGESTION - Look at upgrading your home wireless to Wi-Fi 7. Your new laptop should have at least a Wi-Fi 6E card, but probably Wi-Fi 7 if you're buying the latest.

Sounds like the sweet spot is a fast, modern CPU (even more than RAM or GPU), plus high-speed NVMe storage to keep NT smooth during high-load tasks. GPU is overkill unless you're multitasking with video or AI, and 64GB RAM is only worth it if you're juggling huge workspaces or other demanding software. Also, love the tip about switching indicators to “calculate on bar close”, makes a huge difference in load and latency for most setups.

ThemBones 

16GB of RAM is ample. 32GB is more than ample. 64GB is overkill and a waste of money. Get as fast of RAM as you can get, though. GPU - hardly matters - don't waste your money. Get a step above the built-in, if only to take needless heat away from the CPU core and possibly provide more external monitor connections (if needed). If you're only trading with this machine, you don't need to spend much. In my case, I've done extensive testing with Nvidia Titan V and 2080 Ti, AMD RX 7900XTX, and currently a 5090 (because I do more than just trade on this machine) - all of them against a 1660Ti. None of it mattered. The 1660 Ti was already overkill. Your mobile 1060 GTX would still be more than fine today. CPU - this is the most important. Get the fastest & newest CPU money can buy - Maximum Core count is not that important. 8-cores is plenty, but you want to get as fast as you can. A desktop would be best, mobile desktop next best, but if you need a lighter laptop, look at getting a Core Ultra 288V or any AMD Ryzen AI MAX (385, 390, 395) mobile processor. Storage - Next most important - ensure you get an NVMe SSD. I know you're already aware. As fast as you can get and as large as you can get. NinjaTrader still does most of its work on the C: drive (since most of it is working out of My Documents unfortunately), so there's little point in getting more than 1 drive (unless you plan on using RAID, which is not a bad idea, but adds to the cost). In the meantime, and going forward, if you're not doing this already - You can cut down NinjaTrader CPU usage considerably by examining all your indicators. If you don't need Calculation on each tick, turn this off. Try to use calculate on bar close wherever you can. Calculate on price change is the next best option and you'll find this is more than sufficient in place of Calculate on each tick (unless you're a certain kind of scalper that depends on each tick, that is). BONUS SUGGESTION - Look at upgrading your home wireless to Wi-Fi 7. Your new laptop should have at least a Wi-Fi 6E card, but probably Wi-Fi 7 if you're buying the latest.

Hi ThemBones - thanks for the detailed answer - much appreciated! Most of what you wrote I'm already aware of - would be really interesting to indeed see the difference between regular SSD with a 6 year of, computer (probably PCIEv.2 vs. V.4) and the L1/L2/L3 CPU cache - and how it affects FREEZING especially when VOLATILITY kicks in - and also the LATENCY of 4,000 ms - which in essence is 4seconds of delay in some of NINJATRADERS own ORDERFLOW PLUGINS!!! This will be the biggest gain I'm hoping to achieve.

Cheers,
S.

AllSeeker 

New config will make a difference for sure, not because your machine is very old but rather because Intel as well as Ryzen have made generational leaps in the past few years. You will probably also need to look at the code which your indicators are using, from my experience with the platforms I use, with some updates your code can break in a way that while it works it will have some redundant loops reducing its efficiency. Anyway, an upgrade is certainly warranted, also Laptop configurations are not comparable to the desktop ones, even if the numbers/model numbers are same. A Laptop if have been around for 4–5 years, it's probably a better choice to make it your backup or make it some young one in your family their first. Desktops on other hand, can be used for longer. Main difference is cooling capabilities and TDP available, other than obvious trimming down of chips for the laptop use. I would personally prefer Lenovo, but Asus is also a good choice.

Hi Allseeker,

Yes- I agree with most of what you said. I have been an ASUS user for a long time - but my ROG specific one has been giving me issues (You can read my response above to Alligator regarding those laptop issues).

And indeed - the reason why I am now going for a 12th generation CPU with (P+E cores) and a 300W power supply for a high TDP and support of also a strong GPU such as the A5500 or the older 3080ti

I have "left" the world of DESKTOPS long time ago as Laptops in the recent years have made really good progress. Yes, you will stillhave those high end desktop rigs with WATER-COOLING that can OVERCLOAK - but your vanilla strong desktop may be only 10-15% faster than a strong laptop - and at the cost of an EXTERNAL MONITOR for a desktop - you can get a gorgeous 4K 17-18" laptop built-in monitor which you can have MOBILITY with .

Cheers,
S.

selion89 

Sounds like the sweet spot is a fast, modern CPU (even more than RAM or GPU), plus high-speed NVMe storage to keep NT smooth during high-load tasks. GPU is overkill unless you're multitasking with video or AI, and 64GB RAM is only worth it if you're juggling huge workspaces or other demanding software. Also, love the tip about switching indicators to “calculate on bar close”, makes a huge difference in load and latency for most setups.

Thanks Selion - yes in my case being almost an HFT scalper - I need the Tick Replay on some charts to run FOOTPRINT /Delta / Heatmap etc.


I have indeed changed most 3rd party indicators and swapped with NINJA's ORDED-FLOW ones which showed an improvement - but have recently been getting the ninja process climb to 5-6GB instead of the 900mb-1.2GB it utilized in memory - still trying to resolve why (Have doe the whole Database "dump" and CACHE cleaning - but no resolution as of yet)

Cheers,
S.