I have the fast raptors 10k rpm and have seen the 15k rpm. For trading, there is no noticeable difference for trading. I also bought a quad to test out. No difference vs. the fast core 2's. Upgrading RAM is the only way that I see any improvement in performance.
Go back to Ares post about CPU performance in this thread. Stock (non OC) looks like Q6600 about 50% improvement over D945.
So basically I should not upgrade my pentium 4 computers until trading platforms start utilizing duel and quad core machines. I guess the question is does anyone know what charting packages and trading platforms take advantage of multi core machines? I use esignal and light speed does anyone see a difference with these programs with multicore vs their old computers etc?
Testers have claimed there is a significant benefit NOW if you're running a multi-tasking setup... and trading is definitely that. Check Tom's Hardware post earlier in this thread. Depending upon which P4 you have, a Core 2 Duo might be even 3 times as fast.
I use esignal for data, Ensign for charting, have 3 TWS's open, and Ninja trader for order entry. It runs smoothly the majority of the time but will slow down during fast market conditions. I was told that using dual/quad core and 4+ gig RAM was useless for XP. The point being that the apps have to be designed to take advantage of multi-processor systems. I am not looking to make the Vista switch for a at least another year and I am running 2.4 P4 with 2gig. I will do what it takes to improve my performance during fast market conditions but don't wish to buy a system that wil not accomplish this. Does anyone here have similar data/charting/order entry setup that performs perfectly in all market conditions? If so what hardware do you use?
OK, I'm going to say this just ONE MORE TIME, and that's it. If you were running a single app which is single threaded, then additional cores might not help (except even using only one core is faster than a P4) However, independent tests have concluded a SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN OVERALL SYSTEM PERFORMANCE FOR MULTI-TASKING. (I don't know for sure because I don't yet have a dual/quad core myself.) TRADING IS USUALLY MULTI-TASKING. Therefore you should expect better overall performance in a trading environment with either a dual or quad core. Don't just take my word for it and go buy one. Look for the reviews on THG or X-Bit, or BeHardware, or wherever.... Multi-tasking is NOT the same as multi-threading applications.
Like Gnome says, currently you'll most probably WILL benefit from *duo* core (because windows can run its own kernel processes on 1 core and the trading software on the other), but not from quadcores (it probably won't be faster than duo cores). Besides, I do believe that each core in a dual core cpu is already faster than the single cored p4. IMHO currently the best cpu for most trading setups will be the intel duo e6850, which costs about $250.