Thank you to the original poster for give some clear concise directions on how to DIY. I would love a computer built just for trading. One that does away with what someone here called bloatware, anything that slows the machine down. I'd only want my trading platform to run, nothing else. When I last got into my computer to play with stuff, I screwed everything up and bent the processor plugs, had to pay a shop to fix it. I asked them about building a trading station to my specs, they said they can't do it. I need to find another computer shop.
what MINIMAL configuration can drive 6 monitors and a simple DOM trading setup? i'm a minimalist at heart why overbuy your needs?
You can easily get by with a $500 desktop. Processor is probably Core2 Duo (C2D). Or Intel i3 series. (Not sure about the equivalent processor class in the AMD family.) 3GB RAM. Driving 6 monitors is not much of an issue. I did that with my box with a AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ chip for 3 years. This chip is 4 times slower than the i7-930.
This might be worth reading for those considering multiple monitors. http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=194964
Bolimomo. thx for sharing. my question is why couldn't you use your old Windows OS instead of paying $200 for a new one?
Thanks to Bill Gates... Quote: Microsoft deliberately limits Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit to only 'see' 2GB RAM per 32-bit process or 4GB total. Un-quote http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=195089 I bought 12GB memory for my new box but the Vista 32-bit OS would not "see" it. I decided to upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit. BTW: I re-used the 6GB DIMM DDRS3 memory on another box. 6GB is quite adequate.
Free slots are definitely an issue. what video cards did you use to drive those 6 and what slots did they occupy?
I have a couple of HP/Compaq SR5610F. They have 3 x PCI slots. Hmmm.... still available on EBay. US $370 refurbished http://cgi.ebay.com/Compaq-SR5610F-...d=ViewItem&pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item4aa0882b9c A little old and slow but works okay if you don't demand a lot of computing power. I used mine for the past 2 years and didn't have any problem with either of them. Mine is Windows Vista Hom Premium 32-bit SP1. What I don't like about the new desktop boxes is many of them have only 1 open PCIe X16 slot. Some have 2. If you get a newer box, you can buy 2 PCIe X16 dual head video cards, and get 2 of those USB-to-VGA adapters to drive your 6 monitors. I am running 8 monitors on my new box (the Bolimomo brand) with 2 monitors driven through the USB ports. I use just the run-of-the-mill PNY Technologies and EVGA dual-VGA (or DVI) cards. Worked well for the past 2-3 years. They both use NVidia chips. PNY FX5200 PCI - but note this card doesn't work in Windows 7 EVGA 6200 PCI You may find it hard to get new PCI base video cards now at the stores. May be on-line.