I actually live below my means (car is impractical considering where I live). But yeah, I see your point. I was trying to say before that building a budget PC certainly isn't a rational decision, it's an emotional one because I learned from an early age to build and maintain them and knowing how to fix something fast yourself is somewhat valuable. It's the same with you though, you take emotional comfort in having too much of a resource. I completely understand that as I have family members who want to have "the best", whatever it might be.
That used to be true before, less so now if you choose your components very carefully from reputable manufacturers.
I do not understand all the controversy. Scat offered a reasonable option and supportive anecdotal evidence referencing purchasing used equipment which is more than suffficient for the needs of the majority of retail point and click traders.i.e. (the majority of ET) Lets be realistic, When someone starts a thread (Trading computer) without specifying their requirements and I am not referring to "driving 8 monitors" to trade NQ/ES, they usually have no clue of their needs or trading in general. An entry level low cost option is the most appropriate option for those indivduals. You don't need cutting edge equipment to sim. (Nor do you need 8 monitors, typical noobie concept) For those that desire high end equipment and can afford top of the line. Fantastic, but scats recommendations aren't directed at those individuals, or those who have a specific need for higher performance. HFT, algo etc.. those individuals know their requirements and obtain equipment appropriatly. Personally, I do a mix. I prefer to build my own high end equipment, gaming etc. But I also buy used workstations on ebay, upgrade SSD & RAM for gen purpose office apps / multimedia. Dell outlet for new equipment scratch/dent is also a great option (update SSD&RAM). Bottom line this thread is directed towards people looking for cost effective options. No need to puff up chest feathers and argue ones EGO.
Another issue is the warranties. When you piece together your own system, and something is faulty, each manufacturer will likely say the problem is not with their component. OTOH, when you simply buy a pre-built system, blame is not an issue. Again, to each their own.
Even more. Makers of workstations plan to sell "hundreds of thousands" of any particular model they offer. Of course they don't want service issues on tons of computers, so they test compatibility and reliability for the mobo and all components offered. BTW... Newegg Flash had HP workstations with Xeon E5-1650 CPUs (6-core... 2012 vintage... Passmark 11,800) for $349 yesterday. They were off-lease with 90-day warranty. Same "class" as Dell Precision T5810. If I were in the market to upgrade my system right now, I'd definitely consider this... though as a fan of "Dell Precision", I'd check into 5810s available through Dell Financial Services. Same deal... off lease, 90 day warranty. If they don't have these right now, they soon will have.
That's true and it's a valid point but you do end up paying for the warranty via a higher price. Never had much a problem with warranties myself except with an US manufacturer who didn't want to honor it and kept delaying it for months, the now bankrupt BFG.
For same number of cores and clock speed, should be virtually identical. I've used Xeons for years but wouldn't pay up for one in a "normal" trading rig. (I once tried to run custom indicators and tic charts... had my CPU pegged @ 100% all of the time. I don't know if a more powerful CPU would have handled it.) But (1) if you want THE top of the line performance, (2) you're willing to pay for it, and (3) your software can utilize all of its capabilities... Xeon. However some of the best "single thread" performance comes from i7.
From my research i found that the i7 is very similar to the xeon. The xeon tested to higher tolerance for 24/7 commercial use. Found also in commercial severs. Where as the i7 is found in gaming and desktop at box stores for consumer single use. I guess can't go wrong with either. thanks.
Scataphagos, thank you for commendation for Dell workstation, I bought T3500 with W3690 six years ago, almost every day it is on from 6am to 10pm without any problem, only replaced SSD and added some memory sticks. Recently, when I compare T3620 with T5810, with similar CUP and Graphics card, T5810 is more expensive than T3620, could you explain why? I check the benchmark, the newer cpu E5-1620 is not much better than my six year old 3690, do I have reason to upgrade to newer workstation?