I am thinking about purchasing a custom built 3 monitor setup desktop. Can I run my Direct access platform along with a separate charting platform like quotetracker without any problems or will it slow down because of the two separate data feeds?
Yes I am running quotetracker alongside a direct access platform .... any new computer you buy will handle it no problem. For best performance look for a dual or quad core processor. Of course, you also need at least cable/DSL speed internet connection.
I disagree. Cable blows away DSL. For about $40 a month, you can get 30mps/5mps. On CVC, I go down about once a year for 5 mins. The speed is as fast as FIOS. DSL is the worst choice. And that goes for reliability as well.
For those looking to build their own custom system -- as I was -- or to have one built for them -- as I did -- may I offer a quick, but hearfelt and enthusiastic, plug for saxsystems.com. I wasted too much time on Dell, etc., in terms of overpriced underperformance, maddening customer service, etc. The ability to work directly with the (exceedingly/extremely knowledgeable) person who actually designed and built the system to my precise specifications as issues and/or new needs arise is priceless -- priceless in terms of time saved, stress aleviated, pitfalls avoided. Mike Sax (of the eponymous Sax Systems) uses top-shelf, built-to-be-punished components and his price/performance point is superior, imho, to Dell/TradingComputers, etc., not to mention anything I could homebrew on my own. I'm in no way related to anyone at Sax Systems. Nor am I receiving any kickbacks of any kind. This is just my opinion. PM me if you'd like to know more.
Go to DELL, get as much memory as you can afford. Then choose Fiber or Cable or DSL. DSL should be your last resort. DSL still run on copper landline.
Sounds like you are now a Dell Hater!. Just for fun, I priced an equivalent Dell vs the $1199 unit Sax has on eBay... By the time you add monitor, OS and shipping, the Sax unit is approx $1634 + shipping on monitor, too. Almost exactly the same with Dell is $1068, shipping included. I'm a Dell Lover, and I say "Go with the Dell"... besides, you'll save about $600.
Wait a sec, I'm a Dell-lover. Not as much as I used to be -- I used to LOVE Dell, before their customer service regressed to the industry mean -- but I still respect them. Until recently, I used Dell exclusively. Those were the days when I used my computer for word-processing, Quicken, TeleChart, and the occassional round of Flight Simulator. But when when my computer(s) became my lifeline, then "mission-critical" criteria took over, Dell no longer made the cut. Your "apples-to-apples" comprison is, in fact, anything but, as you ignore the differences in the components used in the two machines. This is no small matter. The quality delta manifests itself in terms of durability/reliability (a far more robust power supply, server grade drives in redudant RAID-1 configurations, cooling design vastly superior to the Intel stock stuff peddled by Dell) as well as performance (faster frontside bus, overclocked processor, four PCI-e slots). All well and good, one might say, but is this really necessary? After all, isn't McPC good enough for basic trading, if one sets aside the reliability advantage inherent in the use of no-compromise components? Possibly yes, possibly no: It depends on what you want to do. I expect my rig to keep up with some rather processor-intensive market-breadth algorithms of my own design. A lot of people don't bother with this stuff -- frankly, I can't blame them -- so they may not need what seems necessary to me. But the fact is this: My Dell XPS couldn't keep up. My custom rig can. So I suppose I can say I speak from experience.
I agree that Dell's support has left much to be desired, but not necessarily about their hardware. (In comparing, I used components which almost exactly matched the Sax System... the only difference was I added $50 to the Dell system to compensate for their not having a 512mb equivalent video card. You can't presume that Dell's components are inferior just because "they're Dell". All of Dell's components are "off the shelf" except for mobo and PSU.) I've had 5 Dells, 2 of which run all market-day long. (The other 3 were sold when upgrading, still in perfect working order.) The only failure I ever had was a Lite-on CDR which Dell promptly replaced under warranty.
In your previous post, you surmised that I was a "Dell-hater". In this post, you seem to contend that I presume Dell's components are inferior just because "they're Dell." Both assertions are erroneous, entirely so. I don't understand why you persist in advancing your opinion by mischaracterizing my own. For the record, I don't assume that Dell's components are inferior "because 'they're Dell'". Indeed, I don't assume anything about Dell's components. Instead, I determine the manufacturing of its critical components and make my judgement on the relative quality/robustness (or lack thereof) on this basis. Your statement that Dell's components are "off the shelf" is, to my way of thinking, essentially meaningless, as the "shelf" of retail components is vast and vastly varied in quality and capability. Or, to put it another way, all motherboards are not created equal, even if they do sit on the same "shelf". As for the reliability issue, I, too, have had a generally positive experience with Dell. I did have a hard drive failure on a year-old Precision workstation, but such things can and do happen, and I certainly don't hold Dell responsible. When this occurred -- during a market session, no less -- it occured to me that perhaps I should seek to use components, such as hard drives, that have a greater MTBF (mean time between failure) rate than those used by Dell. Unnecessary? Perhaps. It gives me one less thing about which to fret. That's just me, though. But, as I said in my previous post, let's set the quality issue aside for a moment, as that is somewhat subjective. What is not subjective is performance, and, in this regard, my Sax Systems machine is superior to any offering I've used from Dell. It uses faster memory, cores with faster clock speeds, and a faster front side-bus, all supported by cooling technology that is simply in a different class, assisted by a case of solid extruded aluminimum that is built to last a lifetime (not kidding about this -- the case is unreal). Bottom line: You say that you configured your Dell system with components that "almost exactly" matched the Sax Systems configuration. I would contend that the devil is in the details -- in the "almost" part.