If i have to email to find out what im getting its a red light for me. One of the websites above was legit and had parts shown. Anyway, I will keep looking what plays the biggest role especially at the open with highest volume. After overclocking cpu my pc was freezing less. That's why i try to learn more what role cores play, cpu speed etc.

Okar19 

Its not about attitude. Back in a day when i didnt have experience with hardware, i bought one of this so called "gaming" computers already made. It screamed to me how fast CPU is but non of the other parts were mentioned. I had this pc shipped.to me and it had the cheapest parts possible because thats how sellers scammed naive people. I had many issues with it and I learned my lesson bacl then. First thing you see when you shop on this website is of course CPU. I dont see the other parts and thats what bothers me. Could you tell me how can i see parts of that computer? For the most expensive one for 4.7k i dont see what im getting even when i add it to the cart.

Then you were burned once, so twice shy! I understand that, but a number of people on here have recommended EZ Traqding Computers and they do enjoy a good reputation. I have not been on his site lately so maybe he has changed his format and does not provide the brand/model anymore, but he had a chat feature on his site and you can ask. Some of us are just telling you that he is legitimate and honest. That's been our experience at least.

As far as price goes, you are almost always going to do better if you build it yourself. The rest of us may lack expertise and time for that. As for me, trading occupies my time and attention and I prefer to leave the details about the machine up to the experts.

I am typing this on an EZTrading.com computer that I have had since 2014 and it is still going strong and doing the job just fine! I did have an issue when I upgraded to Win 10 that was caused my me. I sent the computer to them for service and they did a great job! They detected a problem with the CD/Blu Ray drive and replaced it for no charge even though it was out of warranty.

I will sum up my view here. My next trading computer will come from them!

Hope this helps!

Like others here I built my own computer quite a while ago. It's not difficult, I watched a couple of videos on YouTube to check if there was anything particularly mentioned as things to be aware of during the building.

I also looked at the EZtradingcomputers.net website, went through the FAQs page and specifications and decided which of their computers would be appropriate for me and then ordered it all on line from a parts shop. (For example wanting lots of screens will require a focus on the Graphics Cards chosen, or if intending to do frequent backtesting on large data sets and optimising lots of variables then that will require lots of processor cores and performance.

For the build the main thing is ensuring that the motherboard picked will take the chosen processor, and processor fan.
Once I had my list of parts I went to https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator to work out what size power supply I wanted.
It really was easier than I imagined.

(I wanted to build my own computer because the consensus seemed to be that I could save about 30% or so on the build by doing so, and specific trading computers tend to be quite expensive, especially if adding international postage)

I'm based in the UK and have just bought a new PC after using an old Dell Latitude for years (had a lot of memory and an SSD replaced the old hard drive).

I shpooed around various places and then went to multiple monitors and bought one of their units for 1.4k, although I upped the spec massively. They had a great page (looks like it's been taken down now) explaining why it's a waste to use some expensive graphics cards over other cheaper versions, along with ideas about processor speeds, RAM etc.
Bottom line is if you are getting a PC then you want a couple of things:
As good a processor that you can afford.
As much RAM as you can afford.
An SSD drive.
Proper cooling.

If some of this looks like overkill then you should also try and see it as a way of future proofing your PC for as long as you can.
Also, Windows 10 is quite 'heavy' so you'll need a strong underlying set up just to handle that in the first place. Then add on all of your apps that you will be using, real time data, maybe something like bookmap which is a resource hog and before you know it you'll be maxed out.

Here is my system-can take up to 6 screens (I only use 4 but hey might as well give myself the capability)
6 x Intel i5 9600k cpu@ 3.70Ghz
1 x NVidia Geforce GT 1020 graphics card
2 x NVidia gt 710 graphics card. The excellent web page on multiple monitors that has sadly disappeared went into detail about the gt710. If you're using your PC for trading then these cards are low cost and deliver excellent performance. There's a section on graphics cards here https://www.multiplemonitors.co.uk/blog/the-trader-pc/
I can't work out what my motherboard is but they go into detail in the link I have just posted. Looking at it I think I have the Z390!


This is the text from their buyers guide (you have to enter your email to get it yourself).

CPU / Processors
CPU’s or processors are the heart of any
computer system, they are the main chips
which carry out instructions to make
software run.
Processors are inserted into
motherboards, these are basically large
boards inside your computer which all
other components are connected to.
Motherboards are required to be of the same ‘architecture’ as the CPU and
if you were looking to upgrade your CPU then you would most likely also
have to change your motherboard at the same time.
Intel or AMD
There are two main CPU manufacturers, Intel and AMD, in recent years
the Intel chips have offered far superior performance than their AMD
counterparts, however AMD are getting stronger again. Intel still offer the
fastest chips though and for this reason we solely recommend them.
i3’s, i5’s & i7’s?
Intel CPU’s are given names such as i3, i5, i7, & i9, these generally indicate
the level of performance (i7 being the top end) however it is not quite as
simple as that.
Intel keep this naming scheme when new ranges are released, consequently
there have been lots of different i7 processors all using different
architectures and motherboards and all offering different performance…
Currently there are two CPU lines, the mainstream Coffee Lake chips, of
which the i9 9900K is the most powerful, and the ‘HEDT’ X series which has
more expensive processors that are specially designed for multi-tasking
workloads.
X series chips offer the best multi-tasking performance but come at a price
premium over their mainstream counterparts.
The mainstream Intel processors tend to be faster for most standard
workloads though, and they are lower cost, so make a great option for a fast
and reasonably priced computer.
Clockspeed
All CPU’s have a clockspeed which is usually expressed as something like
3.5GHz. This figure generally indicates how fast the CPU can actually process
instructions, so with all other things being equal a faster clockspeed will lead
to a faster performing PC.
This is fine until you take into account CPU cores...
Multi-Screen Computer Buyers Guide
https://www.multiplemonitors.co.uk/ // [email protected] // 0845 508 53 77 3
CPU / Processors Continued...
CPU Cores
CPU’s used to process one set of instructions at a time however over the
past 10 years chip manufacturers have been able to build CPU’s that could
process two or more instructions simultaneously.
Obviously the benefits of this are that a CPU could effectively handle
double the workload which makes them far better for multi-tasking. These
processors were called Dual Core CPU’s.
Things have progressed as they always do and now Quad, Six and even
Eight Core CPU’s are commonplace, i.e. they have 4,6, or 8 cores and can
simultaneously process multiple sets of instructions.
Just to confuse things there is also a technology which some CPU’s have
called Hyper Threading, this basically makes your software think that it has
two cores for every actual core, therefore a quad core processor with Hyper
Threading can handle 8 sets of instructions at the same time.
Performance is software dependent though, lots of software will not use
more than 1 or 2 CPU cores, so there is not always a great advantage over
having lots of cores. Often is better to have fewer but faster cores for
standard internet and general office type use.
It is worth thinking about and checking your software to see if more CPU
cores will help speed up your system.
Multiple Monitor PCs:
• Our Pro & Charter PCs use the Intel 9th generation i3 / i5 CPUs
• The Ultra & Trader PCs use the Intel 9th Generation i5 / i7 / i9 CPUs
• The Extreme PCs use the Intel ‘HEDT’ X chips
Note: All CPU’s can be upgraded on each PC or bundle using the upgrade
options.

RAM / Memory

RAM modules are sticks with chips on
them that slot into your motherboard.
They generally work in pairs so
standard levels of RAM would be 8GB,
16GB or 32GB.
Essentially RAM is ultra high speed
storage for a PC, when you open a
program such as Internet Explorer or
Microsoft Word your computer reads the files for the program off the hard
drive and transfers them into RAM. As you use the program the files needed
are read quickly from the RAM.
If your PC runs out of free RAM it then begins transferring this program data
back to the hard drive, this is a much slower process and leads to system
slowdowns. Having more RAM available prevents this from happening and
improves PC performance.
You can get different speeds of RAM, faster speeds means faster operation
however in real world usage this often doesn’t make too much of a
difference to perceived operation.
There are also different types of RAM, the most common has been DDR3
however the Intel Enthusiast CPU’s moved across to newer and faster DDR4
in late 2014 and the 2015 Skylake release followed suit, DDR4 is now the
default option on all the latest Intel CPU’s and motherboards

To summarise, if you're going to get a trading PC then don't go for the bare minimum. You will most likely need extra processing power/memory at some point as you add programs etc. Also, charting systems etc change and can become more resource heavy. Or you might change to a new one which is more resource heavy etcetc.

Don't go to a random PC builder. I did to start with and they will just want to go for high spec graphics cards etc which just aren't needed. Go to a specialist trader PC builder. Might be a bit more expensive, but alternatively it might not be to get a great machine with plenty of spare capacity to keep you future proof.

Okar19 

With all respect but whatever they sell on this website is garbage. I've seen for years this premade computers mostly for gaming where you have no idea whats inside including graphics card, ram, ssd, power supply, motherboard, cooling Same concept is here with "trading computer" You pay not knowing what you will get. Webistes like this will sell you overpriced garbage that you could buy on your own. Theres nothing special about it. "6 monitor support" "8 monitor support"? What kind of nonsense is that. Its called having 2 GPUs. But they call it "support" lol.. I dont even want to go further into it because thats not what I asked at first place. I just wanted to know what parts are the most important and if I can read about it somewhere. What role play numners of cores, cpu speed, ram speed, system you work on etc. Not links to "trading" computers.

I was concerned about the quality of components as well. But when I called them and asked, they could tell me which brands would be used. The components are all quality--Asus motherboard, etc. They have a 5 year warranty on their builds, so they won't use components which will need replacing before then.

If you search YouTube for best components for a computer build, you can find Eddie Z discussing which components you should buy. It would be pretty sick if he did not use these components in the computers he builds.

Rick

I used Xidax to build mine. They have a lifetime warranty on their components except for graphic cards.


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JimPauley 

Just get an i7 processor, SSD, and buy extra RAM and you should have what you need for less than $500

I was about to ask this question as well.
For example im considering buying a new computer (currently using my laptop from work). Since i will only be algo trading from it (testing strategies in tradestation and automizing my trades from there, im not sure whether i would need all the fancy stuff.
I have the following in mind:

i7 processor
SSD
large RAM

Is there anything else im missing?
By the way do you have any experience trading with an iMac?

Thanks!


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TAJTrades 

The best trading computer is highly subjective and prone to ego trips. But here are a few things, broken down by category, to keep in mind when making a decision. Category: Beginner / learning to trade Any middle of the road off the shelf computer will do. Save your money to refund your account. Category: Back testing As has been mentioned in another thread NT has a gadzillion little files in the database so... 1 A: Fastest and biggest SSD your budget will allow to access those little files 1 B: Fast CPU your budget allows ( I7 or Ryzen 7 of better) 1 C: Lots of memory (Min 16 preferred 64) 2: A beast of a cooling unit (heat kills a CPU). If I could figure out a way to make a liquid nitrogen cooling unit I would. OK, that might be a little over kill lol. Category: Trading Two issues here: Internet speed and as best I can determine NT is a massive collection of Arrays and Dictionaries so a machine that can handle that is critical. 1 A: Fastest Internet connection your budget allows as well as the best home/office router(or co-located if need be) 2 A: Fastest CPU your budget allows ( I7 or Ryzen 7 of better) 2 B: Lots of memory (Min 16 preferred 32) Notice that I did not mention anything about graphics cards. That is very dependent upon your screen configuration. There are lots of specialty trading computer companies that sell these types of setups as well as retail store, BestBuy, Fryes, Microcenter, and of course Amazon. Or you can be adventurous and build your own. The only thing I can guarantee about trading is this: The fastest machine in the world will not overcome a poor trading plan and the fastest machine in the world will not overcome a piss poor internet connection.

That was exactly what i was looking for.
A question though, desktop computer or laptop?


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JBroex 

I was about to ask this question as well. For example im considering buying a new computer (currently using my laptop from work). Since i will only be algo trading from it (testing strategies in tradestation and automizing my trades from there, im not sure whether i would need all the fancy stuff. I have the following in mind: i7 processor SSD large RAM Is there anything else im missing? By the way do you have any experience trading with an iMac? Thanks! Sent using the NexusFi mobile app

@JBroex you are good to go, you don't need a superpower computer to run strats or most trading in general. I used to always buy the latest and greatest most high end laptops....but now realize (through owning a backup computer) that all that power is not necessary. My main trading laptop is an MSI WS65 but I had to send it in for repair, bought a lenovo legion 5 amd ryzen for a grand and it in every area performs as well or better as my top of the line $4300 buck MSI. Only noticable difference is my MSI has an amazing 4k anti glare screen...but...my lenovo has a really nice, bright, sharp non 4k screen that I honestly don't really miss the difference.

JBroex 

im considering buying a new computer (currently using my laptop from work). Since i will only be algo trading from it (testing strategies in tradestation and automizing my trades from there, im not sure whether i would need all the fancy stuff.

Devil Man 

@JBroex you are good to go, you don't need a superpower computer to run strats or most trading in general. I used to always buy the latest and greatest most high end laptops....but now realize (through owning a backup computer) that all that power is not necessary.

This is really important, in my opinion.

Yes, you can get a super PC and it will probably amaze and please you. But what you actually need for trading may be very different.

I am currently typing this on a several year-old laptop that was middle of the line when I bought it. It is also my trading machine. My particular needs are very simple: I trade with a few basic indicators (mostly ma's), nothing at all fancy, and I use a super-fast, low-overhead trading platform (Sierra Chart.)

With that setup, I run more charts than I strictly need and don't have any speed issues. You know you have a speed issue if there is a responsiveness problem or if there is a lag between the price you expect to get for a trade and the price you do get, if it is larger than the normal slight lag due to sending the data across the internet. If you see a big difference, you have a problem somewhere, although if may not be in the machine itself (internet connection issues are important here.) Unfortunately, to assess this you just have to know what is normal and what is not.

I have used another popular platform on the same machine (NT8), and I had to cut back what I asked it to do. It was mostly OK, but definitely lagged in a few things (using the mouse to adjust a stop order was iffy because it didn't respond very well.) But NT8 is known to need a lot of resources. NT7 worked perfectly well. Even so, trading with NT8 was not an actual problem, and this computer is maybe 8 years old or so.

So you need to evaluate your actual needs, which will include (1) your trading platform and its requirements, and (2) what you are going to ask it to do.

I have no recent experience with TradeStation. When I used it, years ago, a computer similar to this one was more than enough for my style of trading, but times have probably changed in terms of its requirements, and you mentioned backtesting strategies, which introduces an entirely different requirement: being able to process a lot of data, which is very different from trading the strategy once you have tested it.

If you are going to need to move a lot of data around, as you will with a lot of backtesting, you should think in terms of a data processing machine, which is very different from a pure trading machine. You would be looking at the drive (ssd) and the processor, and would want to go strong with both, as well as with RAM. I have no definite recommendations, other than the simple one of spend some money. More money would be better than less money. If you have more money, spend more. This is simply from having spent a career processing large databases, and I know that more resources are better. You won't be getting any better results from your tests, but you will spend less time waiting for them to complete. You will never need that much processing power for your trading, however, no matter what you are going to be doing. So that's another consideration. If you can stand just letting a test run for a while and can go do something else (on a different computer, of course!), then the data crunching needs of testing are less important.

If your actual trading will involve heavy data use, that may be another issue. What is heavy data use? That, unfortunately, is not something that is easy to determine in advance. Are you just going to be trading based on price, with a little bit of processing, for example a few basic indicators? Then you will need less. Are you going to be doing serious slicing and dicing of data on each bar? Then you may need more. Are you using a more resource-intensive trading platform? You get the idea.

Since you are currently trading, hopefully with the same type of trading and testing that you will need on the new machine, you can use your current trading machine's performance as your standard, and then decide whether you need to go up or down in capability.

Sorry for the long answer, which didn't in the end reach any definite conclusion, other than "it depends." But the thing is that it does.

My only message is that basic trading doesn't need much, and that you need to evaluate the individual aspects of the computer use equation to decide what to go for. I do honestly believe that just about any modern, mid-range computer will satisfy most traders, and that the largest issue for you will be how much data you will be crunching in your testing, but not in your trading. Other than needing to meet the requirements of your trading platform, trading is usually not going to be that resource-intensive. But you will have to assess your own needs, which may be different from anyone else's. I hope I gave a few pointers on what you might look for, at any rate.

I know of at least a couple of traders here who know a lot about using TradeStation for both testing and trading with algo's, and I would pay serious attention to anything they said, if they wanted to add a comment: @kevinkdog and @vmodus, and there are others too, of course. Practical experience matters more than abstract thinking here, as usual.

Good luck.

Bob.