Forums - Dell Precision T3400 or T5400?

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Posted by icarus618 on 10-21-08 08:02 PM:

Dell Precision T3400 or T5400?

I'm seeking input from the hardware buffs here regarding the T3400 versus the T5400 as a replacement for my primary trading box which has served me flawlessly for 7+ years. Recently my CPU has hit 100% usage a few times during the trading day, slowing things down noticeably. Price is no object but I would like to make an efficient purchase.

I've read the threads recommending the T3400 and was ready to purchase it but the Dell sales rep made me think about moving up to one of the higher Precision lines, the T5400 with the Xeon chip. I have no idea what the differences in chips are.

I trade only stock index futures with my primary account at IB and a backup account at PFG; I usually have both TWS and Best Direct execution platforms running. I use Ensign for about 10 charts with datafeed from IB and e-signal as backup; only one feed is running at one time. I also run Outlook Express and have a couple of Internet Explorers open during the day.

My current trading box is a Pentium III (not positive though) using Windows 2000, 1 GB RAM, and I have 4 monitors hooked up using the Appian Jeronimo Pro quad video card. The monitors are Samsung SyncMaster1200NF's (CRTs) which I do not want to replace. I'm not sure if I can use my current quad video card in a newer computer. I have in mind getting the NVIDIA Quadro NVS 440 from another vendor but need to know if I can hook up my CRTs to this card.

I have some questions:

Do I get anything out of upgrading to a T5400 in terms of the Xeon chip?

Can I run my CRT's on 2 NVS 290 cards (Dell's quad configuration for the T5400)?

How much RAM is optimal for Windows XP?

Thanks for any help.

Posted by gnome on 10-21-08 08:17 PM:

Re: Dell Precision T3400 or T5400?

Quote from icarus618:

I'm seeking input from the hardware buffs here regarding the T3400 versus the T5400 as a replacement for my primary trading box which has served me flawlessly for 7+ years. Recently my CPU has hit 100% usage a few times during the trading day, slowing things down noticeably. Price is no object but I would like to make an efficient purchase.

I've read the threads recommending the T3400 and was ready to purchase it but the Dell sales rep made me think about moving up to one of the higher Precision lines, the T5400 with the Xeon chip. I have no idea what the differences in chips are.

I trade only stock index futures with my primary account at IB and a backup account at PFG; I usually have both TWS and Best Direct execution platforms running. I use Ensign for about 10 charts with datafeed from IB and e-signal as backup; only one feed is running at one time. I also run Outlook Express and have a couple of Internet Explorers open during the day.

My current trading box is a Pentium III (not positive though) using Windows 2000, 1 GB RAM, and I have 4 monitors hooked up using the Appian Jeronimo Pro quad video card. The monitors are Samsung SyncMaster1200NF's (CRTs) which I do not want to replace. I'm not sure if I can use my current quad video card in a newer computer. I have in mind getting the NVIDIA Quadro NVS 440 from another vendor but need to know if I can hook up my CRTs to this card.

I have some questions:

Do I get anything out of upgrading to a T5400 in terms of the Xeon chip?

Can I run my CRT's on 2 NVS 290 cards (Dell's quad configuration for the T5400)?

How much RAM is optimal for Windows XP?

Thanks for any help.

I don't know about the T5400 Xeon CPU and the mobo... it's different from the T3400, so you want to verify that whichever you get has proper PCIEx and PCI slots for whatever you want to run. However, I can't imagine a common or routine trading task the T3400 couldn't handle.

Yes, you can run your CRTs on the 290 NVS cards... 2 of those are less costly than a 440 quad.

Optimal for WinXP 32-bit is probably 2G RAM. Regardless of how much you install, XP will only use about 3G, maximum.

__________________
Men are like wine. They start out as grapes, but then it takes a woman to stomp the crap out of them until they're decent enough to have dinner with.

Posted by Aurum on 10-22-08 04:56 PM:

Most Quad core's have more L2 cache and a faster front side bus (FSB). Bigger is better here. The fact that it has 4 cores versus 2 (or 1) doesn't mean much currently, because most software isn't optimized to take advantage of the extra cores. That will change eventually.

Windows XP and Vista32 are limited to recognizing 4GB of RAM. They will both use less than that, as gnome commented on. Vista64 will make use of more than 4GB, but you might have problems with your trading and brokerage software running correctly on it.

Your current monitors should work fine with any video cards. The rub will be getting a video card configuration which lets you use all 4 as one desktop. From what I've heard, nVidia cards in SLI mode only let you use 2 monitors at a time - but don't quote me on that.

Is there a particular reason why you want to keep the CRT's? Flatpanel's have improved a lot over the past 5 years, have a smaller heat and power footprint, and (my favorite) weigh nothing compared to the same sized CRT.

-Au

edit: I wanted to point out - by using your CRT's you will most likely need to get adapter's for the video card connectors. The newer cards primarily use DVI instead of VGA connectors.

Posted by gnome on 10-22-08 05:01 PM:

Quote from Aurum:

Most Quad core's have more L2 cache and a faster front side bus (FSB). Bigger is better here.

The rub will be getting a video card configuration which lets you use all 4 as one desktop.

I

Tests have shown that > 4MB or 6MB of L2 is not used, so having 12MB doesn't do anything.

"Extended Desktop" is a Windows function (since W98). It's easy to set up for 2-8 monitors...

__________________
Men are like wine. They start out as grapes, but then it takes a woman to stomp the crap out of them until they're decent enough to have dinner with.

Posted by Aurum on 10-22-08 05:33 PM:

Quote from gnome:

Tests have shown that > 4MB or 6MB of L2 is not used, so having 12MB doesn't do anything.

"Extended Desktop" is a Windows function (since W98). It's easy to set up for 2-8 monitors...

IIRC quad cores have 2 pairs of 2 cores sharing 6mb. If most software doesn't take advantage of the second pair, which I pointed out, then it would appear to not "do anything."

I haven't seen any reviews which substantiate your comment - and Tom's Hardware articles would apparently contradict your statement. Do you have a link or two which backs up what you are saying?

Re the extended desktop - I wasn't talking about what windows could or couldn't do. I was referring to the configuration of the graphics cards. My comment had SLI primarily in mind, as most businesses would be pushing that as a feature, and I am uncertain that you can hook up 4 monitors to 2 cards with SLI enabled.

-Au

Posted by gnome on 10-22-08 05:36 PM:

Quote from Aurum:

IIRC quad cores have 2 pairs of 2 cores sharing 6mb. If most software doesn't take advantage of the second pair, which I pointed out, then it would appear to not "do anything."

I haven't seen any reviews which substantiate your comment - and Tom's Hardware articles would apparently contradict your statement. Do you have a link or two which backs up what you are saying?

Re the extended desktop - I wasn't talking about what windows could or couldn't do. I was referring to the configuration of the graphics cards. My comment had SLI primarily in mind, as most businesses would be pushing that as a feature, and I am uncertain that you can hook up 4 monitors to 2 cards with SLI enabled.

-Au

I don't have a link, but I remember reading a comparo from some site like Tom's.. and they concluded that the larger amounts of L2 did not improve performance.

For trading and multi-monitor, SLI isn't really a consideration for most. SLI, as you know, is a gaming concept.... not necessary nor beneficial to trading.

Businesses would "push" SLI to a trading computer customer only if the business understood that the customer was not knowledgeable about computers.

__________________
Men are like wine. They start out as grapes, but then it takes a woman to stomp the crap out of them until they're decent enough to have dinner with.

Posted by GermanTrader on 10-22-08 05:41 PM:

Quote from gnome:

I don't have a link, but I remember reading a comparo from some site like Tom's.. and they concluded that the larger amounts of L2 did not improve performance.

I can confirm that observation with my own observation. I am on 64-bit Vista with one box and I have the quad the other poster referred to, and the trading software simply is not designed to take advantage of it... yet. You have to wait for the brokers to catch up before those specs will do you any good.

I have both 32 and 64 Vista boxes, (not used for daily trading... for that I use a laptop, really) and compare them alot on various apps. Let's just say that I bought with the future in mind...

__________________
Never argue with an idiot, people can't tell you apart.

Posted by Tums on 10-22-08 05:48 PM:

Quote from gnome:
Tests have shown that > 4MB or 6MB of L2 is not used, so having 12MB doesn't do anything.

hey... it is a marketing thing.
there are always people who's got extra money.
Anything above utility is extraction.

Posted by gnome on 10-22-08 05:53 PM:

Quote from Tums:

hey... it is a marketing thing.
there are always people who's got extra money.
Anything above utility is extraction.

Tom's did an article... something about "extending the life of your RAM" ... and it showed there was virtually no difference in real-life application between DDR-266 and DDR2-667....

Bet most people don't understand (nor believe) that!

__________________
Men are like wine. They start out as grapes, but then it takes a woman to stomp the crap out of them until they're decent enough to have dinner with.

Posted by icarus618 on 10-22-08 09:38 PM:

Thanks to everyone, especially gnome, for the helpful comments. I decided on the T5400 when the Dell rep knocked the difference down a bit. Unfortunately I didn't ask about the CRT adapters for the video cards. Also I'm not sure if this machine is equipped with a sound card. Obviously it would help me to spend a little more time thinking about the hardware part of trading.

I'm running CRT's still and want to continue with them because they're already setup and they've worked out fine for me so far. I guess the same can be said for the brokers I use. It's probably laziness on my part.

In any case, I'll probably upgrade my monitors when I have some time to research flat panels. I have in mind running 3 or 4 30 inch displays side by side so if anyone has input regarding video cards, display brands, etc., I would appreciate that.

Thanks again for your replies.

Item Number Quantity Item Description

223-3145
1 Dell Precision T5400 Mini-Tower, Quad Core Xeon Proc E5410, 2.33GHz, 2X6MB L2 Cache,1333MHz
311-7685
1 2GB, DDR2 ECC SDRAM Memory 667MHz, 4X512MB,Dell PrecisionT5400
310-7949
1 Entry Level, USB, No Hot Keys keyboards, Dell PrecisionWorkstations
320-3316
1 Monitor Option-None
320-5871
1 Dual nVidia,NVS 290, 256MB dual DVI, Graphics Card, Dell Precision T3400
341-5353
1 250GB SATA 3.0Gb/s, 7200RPM HardDrive with 8MB DataBurst Cache, Dell Precision T7400/5400
341-5335
1 C1 All SATA Hard Drives Non- RAID for 1 Hard Drive Dell Precision T5400
341-3429
1 No Floppy Drive, Dell Precision 490
467-6061
1 Windows XP PRO SP3 with Windows Vista Business LicenseEnglish,Dell Precision
310-7959
1 Dell USB 2-Button Entry Mouse with Scroll for Dell Precision
313-5871
1 Mini-Tower Chassis Configuration, Dell Precision T3400
313-5709
1 16X DVD+/-RW, Data Only, Dell Precision T3400
420-7980
1 Roxio Creator Dell Edition,9.0Dell Precision
420-8857
1 Cyberlink Power DVD 8.0,with Media,Dell Precision
313-2663
1 No Speaker option
313-5659
1 Resource DVD contains Diagnostics and Drivers for Dell Precision T5400
984-5790
1 ProSupport for End Users: 7x24 Technical Support and assistance for end-users, Initial
984-8030
1 ProSupport for End Users: Next Business Day Parts and Labor Onsite Response Initial Year
988-8388
1 Dell Hardware Warranty Plus Onsite Service Extended Year(s)
989-3449
1 Thank you choosing Dell ProSupport. For tech support, visit http://support.dell.com/ProSupport or call 1-866-516-3115
984-1392
1 ProSupport for End Users: Next Business Day Parts and Labor Onsite Response 2 Year Extended
983-9142
1 ProSupport for End Users: 7x24 Technical Support and assistance for end-users, 2 Year Extended
988-8377
1 Dell Hardware Warranty Plus Onsite Service Initial Year
900-9987
1 Standard On-Site Installation Declined
310-9161 1 Vista Premium Downgrade Relationship Desktop
463-0742 1 Special Pricing Applied
310-8977 1 Info SKU-Software and Peripherals products and solutions catalog included in system boxes
* -DISCOUNT $390.00
* -DISCOUNT/COUPON APPLIED

A0973336 1 APC Back-UPS RS 1500 LCD - UPS - 865 Watt - 1500 VA 120 V UPS System $194.40

Subtotal: $1,857.40
Shipping & Handling: $0.00
Tax: $120.89
Environmental Disposal Fee: $0.00

Total Price w/Discounts: $1,978.29

Posted by Landis82 on 10-22-08 09:47 PM:

I bought a new Dell T3400 earlier this year on Sale for $900.

Came with Windows XP Pro, NVS-290's, and 4 Gigs of PC2-6400 ECC RAM on an Intel Duo-Core E8200 Processor @ 2.66GHz and L2 Cache of 6MB with a 1333 MHz Front Side Bus.

Handles all of my trading needs with no problem at all.

If anything, my broadband connection has been the weakest "link" in my trading platform.

Posted by icarus618 on 10-22-08 09:54 PM:

Quote from Landis82:

I bought a new Dell T3400 earlier this year on Sale for $900.

Came with Windows XP Pro, NVS-290's, and 4 Gigs of PC2-6400 ECC RAM on an Intel Duo-Core E8200 Processor @ 2.66GHz and L2 Cache of 6MB with a 1333 MHz Front Side Bus.

Handles all of my trading needs with no problem at all.

If anything, my broadband connection has been the weakest "link" in my trading platform.

So why the hell didn't you speak up on this thread sooner? I could have spent the difference on booze and women.

Posted by Landis82 on 10-22-08 10:28 PM:

Quote from icarus618:

So why the hell didn't you speak up on this thread sooner? I could have spent the difference on booze and women.

Because given your earlier comments on this thread ( see below ) you seemed hell bent on wasting money and listening to a Dell sales rep even though you have absolutely no idea what you are paying for in a Xeon Dual-Quad processor.

http://www.intel.com/technology/qua...ee_xeon_cheetah

"I've read the threads recommending the T3400 and was ready to purchase it but the Dell sales rep made me think about moving up to one of the higher Precision lines, the T5400 with the Xeon chip. I have no idea what the differences in chips are."

I can guarantee you that you will find my highly positive comments on the T3400 ( along with those from "Gnome" ) in the majority of the threads that you said that you have already read.

Here's just a few:

http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showt...highlight=T3400

http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showt...highlight=T3400

http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showt...highlight=T3400

But for some stupid reason, you chose to ignore those threads and comments specifically addressing no need whatsoever for high-performance processors that support greater multi-tasking. The majority of trading software just isn't written to take advantage of such hardware innovation.

In any event, it would appear that you just upgraded your current trading hardware in total OVERKILL fashion . . . and spent nearly $1,000 more than you had to.

Hope it makes you tons of money.

Posted by gnome on 10-22-08 10:36 PM:

Amazing, isn't it? We advise them as to what works, then they do what the sales rep tells them to do...

I was helping a fellow ET'er configure one today online... I thought he'd just click to "add to cart". Instead he called and talked to a sales rep... who tried to convince him to add $1200 worth of upgrades.. unnecessary of course. Sheesh!

__________________
Men are like wine. They start out as grapes, but then it takes a woman to stomp the crap out of them until they're decent enough to have dinner with.

Posted by Surdo on 10-22-08 10:44 PM:

Hey Gnome:

I read a bunch of your posts, and wanted to thank you for your continued contribution here, despite a few numbnuts that NEVER listen.

What is the minimum amount of memory I need on a Video card to run dual 22 inch monitors. I am sticking with Nvdia, based on what I have seen here.

I assume 256mb is going to be too little, is 512mb enough?

surdo

Posted by Landis82 on 10-22-08 10:47 PM:

Quote from Surdo:

Hey Gnome:

What is the minimum amount of memory I need on a Video card to run dual 22 inch monitors. I am sticking with Nvdia, based on what I have seen here.

I assume 256 is going to be too little, is 512 enough?

surdo

I'm sure that Gnome would suggest going with 256mb. No need for anything more than that. Monitors just don't need all that memory - - - unless you are playing hardcore video games.

Posted by Surdo on 10-22-08 10:49 PM:

Much appreciated, not a gamer, just porn surfer!
It's amazing how cheap you can put together a system today, if you are creative on the Dell site!

Posted by icarus618 on 10-22-08 10:50 PM:

[

Quote from Landis82:

Because given your earlier comments on this thread ( see below ) you seemed hell bent on wasting money and listening to a Dell sales rep even though you have absolutely no idea what you are paying for in a Xeon Quad processor.

"I've read the threads recommending the T3400 and was ready to purchase it but the Dell sales rep made me think about moving up to one of the higher Precision lines, the T5400 with the Xeon chip. I have no idea what the differences in chips are."

I can guarantee you that you will find my highly positive comments on the T3400 ( along with those from "Gnome" ) in the majority of the threads that you said that you have already read.

Here's just a few:

http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showt...highlight=T3400

http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showt...highlight=T3400

http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showt...highlight=T3400

But for some stupid reason, you chose to ignore those threads and comments.

In any event, it would appear that you just upgraded your current trading hardware in total OVERKILL fashion.

Hope it makes you tons of money.

I was being facetious. Maybe it was a poor attempt. Thanks for the links in any case.

The T3400 with the 250GB harddrive, 2GB RAM, pro support and power backup priced out at $1356.40 before tax.

At the time I was deciding, the price gap between the T3400 and T5400 with similar configuration was over $1000. After further consideration and gnome's reply, I decided the difference wasn't worth it, so I called the DELL rep to order the T3400 when he dropped the difference down to under $500. I thought that was reasonable and he was professional in his service so I went with the T5400 even though it's probably more computer than I need.

I'm not worried about the difference and was just pulling your leg.

As for the other comments following yours, hey guys, I appreciate your helpful input. No hard feelings that I didn't "follow" your advice. Your comments were helpful to me.

All the best.

Posted by gnome on 10-22-08 10:50 PM:

Quote from Landis82:

I'm sure that Gnome would suggest going with 256mb. No need for anything more than that. Monitors just don't need all that memory - - - unless you are playing hardcore video games.

I was going to say "4MB"

__________________
Men are like wine. They start out as grapes, but then it takes a woman to stomp the crap out of them until they're decent enough to have dinner with.

Posted by Surdo on 10-22-08 10:56 PM:

Quote from gnome:

I was going to say "4MB"

HAHA!

Is the 256mb Nvidia card enough for two 22" monitors Sr. Gnome?

Posted by gnome on 10-22-08 10:57 PM:

Quote from Surdo:

HAHA!

Is the 256mb Nvidia card enough for two 22" monitors Sr. Gnome?

Well, let's see...

256/4 = 64x the amount necessary. Yes, I'd say that is enough.

__________________
Men are like wine. They start out as grapes, but then it takes a woman to stomp the crap out of them until they're decent enough to have dinner with.

Posted by Spunky on 10-22-08 11:20 PM:

I too bought a Dell T3400 last June almost the same as Landis82 and it is the coolest running computer I have ever had. I have been very happy with it using 3 monitors. I read all the threads that Gnome wrote and decided that was what I needed. Thanks Gnome for the info

Posted by gnome on 10-22-08 11:23 PM:

Quote from Spunky:

I too bought a Dell T3400 last June almost the same as Landis82 and it is the coolest running computer I have ever had. I have been very happy with it using 3 monitors. I read all the threads that Gnome wrote and decided that was what I needed. Thanks Gnome for the info

YW. I liked mine so much, I bought 2 more...

__________________
Men are like wine. They start out as grapes, but then it takes a woman to stomp the crap out of them until they're decent enough to have dinner with.

Posted by icarus618 on 10-22-08 11:38 PM:

Quote from gnome:

YW. I liked mine so much, I bought 2 more...

Hey gnome, just gotta poke you in the ribs for this:

You spend money for 2 more computers because you "liked [yours] so much" while wondering why people don't follow your great advice to save money on a computer purchase and then you PM me about selling me your nvs 290 cards for "less than what I can get from Dell or retail" that Dell sells for $80.

Tell me you don't find the humor in that.

All the best

Posted by gnome on 10-23-08 12:18 AM:

Quote from icarus618:

Hey gnome, just gotta poke you in the ribs for this:

You spend money for 2 more computers because you "liked [yours] so much" while wondering why people don't follow your great advice to save money on a computer purchase and then you PM me about selling me your nvs 290 cards for "less than what I can get from Dell or retail" that Dell sells for $80.

Tell me you don't find the humor in that.

All the best

Gee, never thought of it as humorous... I'm just a back-up anal retentive.. and and one time this summer I had 10 computers. Thinking that was a bit much, so I got rid of 5 of them.. and have a few parts left over... I sold some of the extra RAM on CraigsList this past weekend..

So, what's humorous about offering somebody a better deal than they can get from Dell directly??

__________________
Men are like wine. They start out as grapes, but then it takes a woman to stomp the crap out of them until they're decent enough to have dinner with.

Posted by icarus618 on 10-23-08 01:07 AM:

Quote from gnome:

Gee, never thought of it as humorous... I'm just a back-up anal retentive.. and and one time this summer I had 10 computers. Thinking that was a bit much, so I got rid of 5 of them.. and have a few parts left over... I sold some of the extra RAM on CraigsList this past weekend..

So, what's humorous about offering somebody a better deal than they can get from Dell directly??

There's no humor in the offer itself, but for an $80 card I thought it was an unusual offer to waste time with packing, shipping, payment, etc. - time that could be better spent posting on ET maybe.

10 computers??? To each his own, but you spoke like you picked up a couple more computers just because you liked it while in an earlier post you criticized someone you were helping for adding $1200 of "unnecessary" upgrades....what's the saying about trying to explain humor to someone who doesn't get it? OK, how about this, do you at least detect any irony there?

Hey, most of what I spend my money on is unnecessary and liking something is the best reason to buy it. Unfortunately there are fewer and fewer things that I get much enjoyment from buying. I do enjoy making a lot of money and supporting others, though.

I also enjoy being somewhat efficient in how I do things. I wanted to be in the ballpark and not overspend too much for a replacement trading box. You helped me do that, so I thank you.

All the best to you, and I sincerely mean it.

Posted by gnome on 10-23-08 04:20 AM:

Quote from icarus618:

There's no humor in the offer itself, but for an $80 card I thought it was an unusual offer to waste time with packing, shipping, payment, etc. - time that could be better spent posting on ET maybe.

10 computers??? To each his own, but you spoke like you picked up a couple more computers just because you liked it while in an earlier post you criticized someone you were helping for adding $1200 of "unnecessary" upgrades....what's the saying about trying to explain humor to someone who doesn't get it? OK, how about this, do you at least detect any irony there?

1. My boxes are full of 290s and I've still got a couple left over. So it's either sell them or have them sit on the shelf and likely never be used.

2. The sales rep wanted to add a CAD video card for an extra $1000 in a trading rig + a CPU "upgrade" where the performance difference was about 1%. I still call that "unnecessary".

No irony or humor at all. Common sense. Logic.. Good stuff for a trader to practice.

__________________
Men are like wine. They start out as grapes, but then it takes a woman to stomp the crap out of them until they're decent enough to have dinner with.

Posted by vikana on 10-23-08 04:36 AM:

Quote from Landis82:

Because given your earlier comments on this thread ( see below ) you seemed hell bent on wasting money and listening to a Dell sales rep even though you have absolutely no idea what you are paying for in a Xeon Dual-Quad processor.

FWIW: I've found the XEONs to be signficantly faster for what I do, than equally equipped Pentium systems. (Not arguing with Landis, who gives good advice).

I posted comparisons a while back. I can dig them out if there's an interest

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Free your mind

Posted by gnome on 10-23-08 04:39 AM:

Quote from vikana:

FWIW: I've found the XEONs to be signficantly faster for what I do, than equally equipped Pentium systems. (Not arguing with Landis, who gives good advice).

I posted comparisons a while back. I can dig them out if there's an interest

The C2Ds and quads are also faster than P4s... a comparo of Xeon and dual/quad core seems of interest...

__________________
Men are like wine. They start out as grapes, but then it takes a woman to stomp the crap out of them until they're decent enough to have dinner with.

Posted by biggerfish on 10-27-08 02:49 AM:

Quote from gnome:
The C2Ds and quads are also faster than P4s... a comparo of Xeon and dual/quad core seems of interest...

From the link below:

... "Dual core or Quad core?
Trading software will not use more than 2 CPU cores; so a quad core will not run your charts faster. It is better to have two fast cores rather than four slower cores in most cases. Buying an F-19 (3.41GHz) dual core saves you more than $200 over an F-11 with a quad core (3GHz) and the faster CPU speeds will do a much better job of keeping up with high volume days.
The F-38X is a specialty model with 8 CPU cores for special situations."...

Note these Core2Duo and Quad core computer config comparisions, including a Xeon, at Trading Computers:

http://www.tradingcomputers.com/TCdesktop.html

Posted by staffpro on 10-27-08 03:07 AM:

dude my school just got 40 of those with dual high adjustable monitors (20" inch) for the "Finance learning center" and they are amazing, you can't go wrong getting it.

i didn't have a chance to test retial trading software on them but they have Rotman Interactive Trader on them which runs fine so i'd imagine any trading software runs fine on them.

edit: they don't have the xeon chip but C2D but if you get xeon then it's obviously better, mite use more power.. but that's about the only disadvantage i can think of.

they are running Windows XP with 2gb ram. so you should be fine with 2gb.

Posted by gnome on 10-27-08 03:10 AM:

Quote from biggerfish:

From the link below:

"Dual core or Quad core?
Trading software will not use more than 2 CPU cores; so a quad core will not run your charts faster. It is better to have two fast cores rather than four slower cores in most cases. Buying an F-19 (3.41GHz) dual core saves you more than $200 over an F-11 with a quad core (3GHz) and the faster CPU speeds will do a much better job of keeping up with high volume days.
The F-38X is a specialty model with 8 CPU cores for special situations."

But note some of these Core2Duo computer configs vs. a Xeon at Trading Computers:

http://www.tradingcomputers.com/TCdesktop.html

1. Quads process info faster for equal clock speed. Up to a point a slower quad clock speed will be faster than a faster clock speed duo. At a given [and correct] price point, the performance of the quad and the duo is about the same. And at that price point, the quad's clock speed will be slower.

2. The computers at TradingComputers are often based upon overclocked, middle-end C2Ds (like E6750).... and a poor value.

TradingComputers is for traders who don't know much about computers. Most of us here on ET would not buy from them at their prices, IMO.

__________________
Men are like wine. They start out as grapes, but then it takes a woman to stomp the crap out of them until they're decent enough to have dinner with.

Posted by staffpro on 10-27-08 03:26 AM:

and tbh you don't need the hottest piece of tech to run trading software. If you were planing on running the latest and greatest games then yes, but imo a xeon is even overkill for a trading rig.

A middle of the line dual core c2d is more than enough, a decent graphic card or two if you want 4 monitors is fine.

save money, spend it on something else.

Posted by gnome on 10-27-08 03:28 AM:

Quote from staffpro:

and tbh you don't need the hottest piece of tech to run trading software. If you were planing on running the latest and greatest games then yes, but imo a xeon is even overkill for a trading rig.

A middle of the line dual core c2d is more than enough, a decent graphic card or two if you want 4 monitors is fine.

save money, spend it on something else.

And don't buy from TradingComputers unless you don't mind paying at least double what you should.

__________________
Men are like wine. They start out as grapes, but then it takes a woman to stomp the crap out of them until they're decent enough to have dinner with.

Posted by Tums on 10-27-08 03:40 AM:

The differences between the Xeon and the Pentium has been numerous but the basic differences are:

1. SMP Support (symmetric multi-processing): The ability for an individual CPU to speak to additional CPU's when handling tasks.
2. Cache Size (Xeon's traditionally have more cache then their Pentium equivalents)
3. Micro architecture (the internal wiring and layout of the CPU)

These three differences separate a standard Pentium from a Xeon. The most important of which is SMP.

http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews...xeoncomparison/

Posted by 5y5t3m on 01-07-10 02:59 AM:

Dell precision t3400

I bought a "barebones" T-3400 for 100 bucks, and i guess they made a mistake i ended up with a intel Quad Q9550. no ram, harddrive, powersupply, video. i was completely shocked when i seen this.

As far as upgrades i have LG blu-ray drive, 6 gigs of ram, 1000 watt powersupply from a dell xps 700.. 32 bucks, a Radeon HD 4850 X2 by sapphire, and 2 wd 500 gig harddrives, and same processor, it works fine.

ok to my question.

there are 2 pci-e 16x slots, i looked around and didnt see anything about SLi or Crossfire support, was wondering if it was even possible. i know this is a workstation computer but so far its been a beast for gaming... any info would be greatly appreciated.

Posted by Scataphagos on 01-07-10 09:38 AM:

Re: Dell precision t3400

Quote from 5y5t3m:

I bought a "barebones" T-3400 for 100 bucks, and i guess they made a mistake i ended up with a intel Quad Q9550. no ram, harddrive, powersupply, video. i was completely shocked when i seen this.

As far as upgrades i have LG blu-ray drive, 6 gigs of ram, 1000 watt powersupply from a dell xps 700.. 32 bucks, a Radeon HD 4850 X2 by sapphire, and 2 wd 500 gig harddrives, and same processor, it works fine.

ok to my question.

there are 2 pci-e 16x slots, i looked around and didnt see anything about SLi or Crossfire support, was wondering if it was even possible. i know this is a workstation computer but so far its been a beast for gaming... any info would be greatly appreciated.

Good deal. Where did you get your barebones?

Posted by 5y5t3m on 01-09-10 07:44 AM:

I got it from ebay about a year ago give or take a couple months. it came to $140 with shipping

Posted by Scataphagos on 01-09-10 10:39 AM:

Quote from 5y5t3m:

I got it from ebay about a year ago give or take a couple months. it came to $140 with shipping

You mean the auction didn't specify a Q9550?

Posted by 5y5t3m on 01-09-10 04:33 PM:

nope, all it was supposed to have was faceplate, hard drive cradles and fans, motherboard, heatsink. i checked the posting after i recieved it and there was nothing about a processor being included. i tried my luck for another barebones but this time a precision 390 from the same company/seller but no luck as far as a processor included, which was no biggie, i had a old pentium d 3.0 sitting around from an old build

Posted by cactus_trader on 01-09-10 04:50 PM:

late to the party here, but I have a dell T3400 and its great. I ordered it with a decent video card and I paid $700 for it new. I have 4 22 inch monitors and I just love it. I use a notebook pc as well too.

cannot be happier. I had a high powered high end HP before and just as happy with my Dell t3400

Posted by Scataphagos on 01-09-10 06:19 PM:

Quote from 5y5t3m:

nope, all it was supposed to have was faceplate, hard drive cradles and fans, motherboard, heatsink. i checked the posting after i recieved it and there was nothing about a processor being included. i tried my luck for another barebones but this time a precision 390 from the same company/seller but no luck as far as a processor included, which was no biggie, i had a old pentium d 3.0 sitting around from an old build

Geez.. the parts you got on your Q9550 rig were worth $400-ish.

Posted by Scataphagos on 01-09-10 06:23 PM:

FYI....

I just replaced my oldest computer with another T3400.... I now have 4. The best thing about that is they all have the same BIOS and mobo. (I also have an NVS video card in each, so they run on the same video driver.)

I can swap hard drives as necessary and they work just fine without doing anything else... saves time and effort with the backup routine.

I don't know how much longer the T3400 will be around. It has socket 775 while newer computers have different. If you want a T3400 backup, probably should be getting it soon.

Posted by 5y5t3m on 01-10-10 04:40 AM:

The only thing is i still dont know is if i can SLi or crossfire it, Intel � X38 Express chipset is supposed to be SLi compatable but i have not seen anyone else try this, then again its not a "gaming" machine. On the other hand the cooling, and it being so quiet, just makes my heart melt, i litterally cannot hear anything, the only time i hear anything is when the video card gets warm and the fan is winding up. other than that. cant even tell its on.

Yea i got lucky when i got it, i did order the same motherboard for this machine, i had thought that the board was dead on the first initial startup, i just had a 500 watt powersupply laying around and for some reason the board didnt like that, so i bought another board from a referbished seller and same thing, then i got the XPS 700 power supply and they both worked. so now i got a spare one if i fail an attempt on something, in return cost more than the barebones t3400.

So why that many t3400's?

Posted by 5y5t3m on 01-10-10 05:15 AM:

Well i found my answer, infact... just contacted dell.

"Jeff, though the system can support two graphics cards concurently, SLI is not available."
"SLI will only work with an nVidia chipset, this system uses the Intel Bearlake X chipset"

Posted by Scataphagos on 01-10-10 05:21 AM:

Quote from 5y5t3m:

"...So why that many t3400's?

I run 2 during the day, a different one at night in a different room.. then one is for "other/spare"...

My notebook is a Precision also... M4300. It's quite nice.

Posted by Scataphagos on 01-10-10 04:39 PM:

Quote from 5y5t3m:

'... the system can support two graphics cards concurently,

The system can support 3 graphics cards for sure (single or dualheads), and likely 4... if desired.

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