Have question for the technologically savy folks - have consulted the archives, and am overwhelmed by info. The needs appear more advanced than mine currently, so I will try for simplicity here. Am somewhat computer literate, but have little understanding of system requirements (memory/speed/etc.) as they relate to trading - read alot bit still confused. Would appreciate your help. Need to upgrade, like to consider what I have over purchasing new. Currently have the following systems: IBM PC (got it as a bonus for some work I did a while back - came from a wirehouse that only used single monitor and Reuters data feed) PIII 500mgz CPU 1g hard drive 56k modem 356 ram Trident Video Card (dual monitor capability) Compaq Presario 1200 Notebook (about 2 years old) Celeron Chip (not sure of the speed) 64m ram 56k modem CD Rom Have access to a PC with 1.0 gh Celeron, 20gb harddrive, 128mg syncdram, cd-rw rom, 56k modem (looking into upgrading to dsl). Have 2 17" and one 15" (all crt) monitors, and an older Trident 9440 1mg pci video card. My Style: Primarily look for stock moves ranging from a couple minutes to a couple hours max., while watching about 10 stocks and the dow/s&p/qqq, all with charts, and do not look much for scalping (pennies/nickles for seconds/minutes). Would like to expand my watch lists over time. Question: Since speed is not as great a factor for me as it is for more aggresssive traders, it appears that my needs are modest. Tested my ISP and it seems stable, rarely get disconnected, sub 300 ping rates (mostly 150-200) - but speed only seems to be about 33k even with 56k modem. Of the three systems, what would be the better solution to configure a basic system for backup/beginner usage with multimonitor capabilities (prefer 3 monitors- 15" & Trident card for text based apps., 17" for charts - if I can use the ones I have, otherwise 2 can suffice)? Are these systems cost effectively capable of being configured to my needs, and if so, what would I need to do? Looked into the following: a) upgrade notebook memory to 256mg (cost about $80), b) install multimonitor cards in IBM PC (cost for used cards $30 - $150), c) install same cards in 1.0 ghz PC (cost same), or d) upgrade to new system and sell Notebook and IBM PC. Thank you for your time and help. Gordo
Upgrade the notebook memory to 256 meg of RAM. The PIII 500 will be fine for what you want. But go over to eBay and get yourself a (much) larger hard dive. Swap the existing hard drive to the secondary position and now you'll have a place to backup/store data. That should be plenty for your needs in that regard. Also, while you're on eBay get yourself a great higher end multi-monitor card. You can upgrade the 1.0Ghz too if you choose. Wait until September and all the Back-to-School sales if you just MUST buy something else though. Not only will you get better buys on new stuff, you'll get to see the stuff that they are upgrading from. Most of it will be in very good condition and at great prices.
Canyonman: Thankyou for your reply. Since it's not urgent, I can wait. Likely, look at extra notebook memory. Thanks, Gordo