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1.
Asus Gryphon Z87 vs. Asus Vanguard B85
When choosing the Xeon CPU, the Vanguard could be the better choice. Lacking some SATA ports, but very efficient (in terms of power consumption)
3.
Asus R9280X vs. AMD FirePro W600 or AMD FirePro 2460
Be aware of the possible output resolutions and the power consumption with the Asus (max 245W!)
AMD Firepro 2460: 4 Monitors (better said: 2 exact pairs) with max Resolution: 2560x1600 (max <20W)
AMD W600: up to 6 Monitors with max Resolution: 4096 x 2160 (max 75W)
I traded several years with the Firepro 2460: absolutely no problems (my setup: 2x 1920x1200, 2x 1600x1200)
In the upcoming two weeks I build my new trading PC with the AMD W600, as I want to upgrade to six monitors.
4.
nzxt sentry fan controller: IMHO not needed
Both Asus boards (Gryphon and Vanguard) have excellent options for finetuning the behavior of ALL fans (PWM preferred). A fan controller is not needed.
I have only read about this, but can't you daisy chain display port monitors off a single output? If I were buying new monitors I would look into it more, but as I was searching for info on various display connections (HDMI/DP/MDP/DVI) I found an article about that.
In a new build, monitors would have display port in and display port out, I think.
In daisy chaining mode, the DisplayPort bandwidth is shared between all connected devices. Probably a nice option for notebooks (with one output), but IMHO no option for running large resolutions.
AMD firepro - much higher in price, hence the R280X-DC2-3GD5-2GB. Note: during idle and non-gaming, the GPU won't draw anything like the max figures you mention.R280X-DC2-3GD5-2GB can run 6 x 1920 x 1200... have done it so can confirm from experience
B85 - not sure if this was a serious suggestion as its an entry level budget board with crap VRM cooling stages and certainly not considered server grade reliability
positive pressure = long run inefficient? -Unfortunately that article has no scientific result comparisons to demonstrate the level of inefficiency of positive pressure. In my experience, people DO NOT clean the insides of their PC's. When you have a positive air pressure case there is no need to. Prior to water cooling, when I air cooled, I still achieved much lower temps in an FT02 positive air pressure case at a lower noise level than I ever achieved in comparably priced negative pressure cases. The little Silverstone micro ATX is a great small form factor anti dust, well thought out quiet performing case for the $$. Yes, the two cases you mentioned are quiet. and popular amongst silence enthusiasts.
Mention: SilentPCreview reviewed the case very favorably. A mate of mine has it - we did dial the 180cm fan down to about 600 RPM for silence without sacrificing cooling, but importantly, do dust build up. I make a point of having some hands on experience with products I recommend. Never would I just go off reviews etc alone.
fan controller - yes, for those who like to get into menus to adjust settings then sentry is not necessary, hence why its an optional extra. I know of four traders who prefer to adjust their fans manually having designed their systems, so its just based on real user feedback. And yes, ASUS has excellent fan software. And yes, PWM is great but cases don't come with them, so its an added expense to replace case fans with PWM fans. I think my Noiseblocker multi frame PWM fans added another $120 to the overall cost.
EDIT: while the basic B85 boards are pretty cheap and nasty, medias has made an excellent suggestion to consider the Vanguard B85 which is built to the same "TUF" specs as the Gryphon, and helps save a few $$
Great thread, I need a new system asap and will be putting together something similar to what has been discussed here. Does anyone have thoughts/suggestions on notebook based primary trading workstation vs a desktop? They are powerful enough these days and can do anything a desktop can for trading purposes.
Pros would be built in battery backup so no need for UPS, portable for travel, no need to keep a secondary laptop workspace updated for travel, etc.
Cons, more difficult to configure as customizable and upgrade components, perhaps trickier to set up for multiple monitors, etc. Any others?
Also, what would you all suggest as a backup trading system, if something were to fail in your primary? In this case a general/personal use laptop with the trading software set up, might be a good temporary solution?
Cons: who wants to trade and travel! Everyone is entitled to individual preferences, however I restrict trading to a dedicated room, where I have a routine that I work through. When I'm not in my trading office, I don't want to have anything to do with the markets. I'm not alone in saying its difficult to reproduce the same focus and discipline when not in the purpose built environment.
God No! Should trading system fail, exit positions (phone) and no more trading until system up and running. Once you have built a PC, you have enough knowledge to diagnose a problem, nip out to a shop, grab a replacement part and then resurrect the trading system. If you have been thorough with backups, then even a replacement SSD for your OS will be up and running quickly.
The Firepro 2460 is not higher in price.
The Asus has 4 different I/O ports (DVI-D, DVI-I, HDMI, DP), some restrict possible output resolutions. It is targeted for a gaming PC; the AMD cards are targeted for workstations.
I would not like to connect my monitors with 3 or 4 different cables. No dealbreaker - but I would not feel comfortable with it. And I never play games on my trading workstation.
The Vanguard was a very serious suggestion.
In combination with the Xeon 1230v3, where is the benefit from using the Gryphon (or any other Z87)?
The B85 chipset (Vanguard) of course is value-conscious. Z87 chipset features (overclocking support) cannot be used with a Xeon - so why use (and pay) that?
I build PCs for more than 20 years (my own and for some years professionally) and learnt two things:
First: never use or pay more than you really need.
Second: Use rock solid components for mainboards (TUF components from Asus are top notch) and power supplies.
The Vanguard is an entry level board, but NOT in terms of reliability.
Let me quote Asus: "Server-grade Reliability Test - Promised Reliability with Strict Testing".
Crap VRM cooling stages? This is just your opinion. I see no difference between Vanguard and Gryphon here.
Understandable, but sometimes may be necessary if one must travel. I often visit family, sometimes for a week or more, where I have a room, desk, screen, etc and can duplicate my routine.
That makes sense, but why not have a backup ready to go immediately, and repair the system after hours?
Also, anyone have thoughts on a VPS for execution of discretionary trading for increasing reliability of the trading system, internet connection, power, etc? And using a trading workstation just for charting, placement/modification of orders, etc.
I've reached out to sam and read the threads, but curious to hear everyone's thoughts here on doing this vs building your own and attempting to duplicate that kind of reliability/redundancy, etc.
I skimmed when reading and missed the all important "Vanguard" which is, as you correctly noted, a high quality build similar to the Gryphon, not to be confused with the B85M, which is basically a heap of crap!
Not much difference price wise, however a very worthy mention which I'm putting a "thanks" for