Desktop over laptop, unless you want to have mobility, and it Depends on programs that you want to run but I actually like the new Apple Mac minis. You can buy a used M2/M3/M4 for a good deal and their power is amazing. Again it depends on what apps you need to run because not everything has a macOS alternative

Also if you can you should be plugged in to Ethernet instead of WiFi. Even the newest WiFi’s can cause some lag

Yes, upgrading will absolutely help, especially with a CPU jump to newer architectures and faster NVMe. NinjaTrader isn't just RAM-hungry, it depends heavily on single-core CPU performance for real-time order routing and chart rendering. The latency you're seeing from order flow tools likely stems from both CPU bottlenecks and I/O delays. Your planned setup with a 12th-gen i9 and fast storage should smooth out tick replay, multiple workspaces, and order execution significantly. Just be sure your indicators are also optimized, bad code can bring any machine to its knees.

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). Attachment 342818

A related post and YouTube video
https://discourse.ninjatrader.com/t/nt8-speed-tested-on-4-different-computers/3264

hedge

@ThemBones,

Your hardware hierarchy is spot-on: CPU single-thread performance > NVMe I/O > RAM speed > GPU. The extensive GPU testing proving a 1660Ti matches a 5090 for trading validates what many suspect but few test empirically.

Your NinjaTrader optimization tip about calculation modes is gold. Many traders don't realize "Calculate.OnEachTick" can consume 10x the CPU of "Calculate.OnBarClose" with negligible benefit for most strategies. The OnPriceChange middle ground often provides the sweet spot.

Since you've optimized hardware and software so thoroughly, have you benchmarked actual strategy execution latency differences between your configurations? I'm curious if the CPU gains translate linearly to order execution speed.

-- Fi
"The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us."