Just wondering who here is using a Dell Vostro for their trading rig? I'm tossing around the idea of getting a new rig for trading but really don't need the Quad core that Gnome posted (overkill for my trading). Anyway I am looking at the Vostro 400 series (mini tower) probably a core 2 duo model. I just need it to run (2) monitors - a 24" and a 19." Also is it a big deal to get one with xp home as opposed to xp pro? I have a Dimension 8300 now with XP pro... -Guru
Vostro is fine for 2 monitors. Just get a decent video card... Nvidia Quadro NVS 285 or 290 would be good choices. If you want to leave open the option of adding 3rd and/or 4th monitor, suggest Precision T3400... much better mobo.
What about the 128MB Nvidia Geforce 8300 GS? It looks a lot of the Vostro's on the refurb site have this card? Is it a decent card? Will it power (2) monitors? -Guru
8300 GS is kind of a middlin' gaming card.... has a cooling fan, more noise. I personally wouldn't care to use it for all-day trading. You could get the computer with it, sell the card on eBay, and get a decent NVS card.
I appreciate that you have a fondness for NVS cards, but I think you may be too quick to dismiss more modern alternatives like the Nvidia 8000 series. I currently have two PCs running all Nvidia cards, with combinations of a Geforce 5600 and an NVS 280; and a Geforce 8800 and an NVS 285. I have found every one of them to be solid and reliable, with no compatibility problems. The card with the biggest downside being the 5600 as it's very noisy. I have found that there is no practical benefit to using an NVS card, apart from that they are ideal as secondary cards - due to being available as PCI or PCIe x1. They do use less power, and come in fanless varieties - but so do 8000 series cards. The advantages of an 8000 card over an NVS: Often cheaper, They can run two 30" monitors at full resolution, while no NVS is capable of running even a single 30" at full resolution. Up to date software support for directX. More than sufficient memory for running Windows Vista in all it's 'glory'. More than ample 3d capability - necessary for the fancy displays of Vista (which some people may actually want). You don't feel ripped off like you would paying the same price for an NVS card that uses nearly obsolete 10 year old technology. The NVS 280, 285 and 440 are basically obsolete as they do not fully support the most current operating system which is Vista (eventually you have to accept that XP won't be around forever, and software's demands on hardware only ever increase). I do see your point of view in that an NVS card does provide pretty much what a trader needs and no more, hence it should be perfectly suitable. But less isn't always more! What really irks me is that they're the same price or more than the most modern cards which have far more capability at the expense of a few watts of power. The power difference isn't that great anyway as 3d cards only draw extra power when rendering 3d. If you don't use it you won't notice, if you do use it you'll be thankful you have it. On a comparison of the transistor numbers alone, an NVS 285 should retail for about 5 bucks! For a new PC I would definitely recommend a Nvidia 8300 or 8400, and if noise is a problem, get a fanless one. These cards are definitely not gamers cards - in the sense that a 'gamer' would buy one. The sort of 3d capability they have is just stock standard stuff nowadays. An NVS card seems to justify its price by being described as 'professional' - yet what other professional product could you name that has both less features and less capability?
Here's an excellent dual-head card for a professional trading rig: Gigabyte nVidia GeForce 8600GT 256MB GDDR3 GV-NX86T256H - can support two 30" monitors at 2560x1600 - fanless / silent - draws only 43 watts - uses current technology / graphics engine - fully Vista compatible - PCIe x16 - $97 delivered from newegg.com
Kind of the same one but from XFX. has a fan http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3048552&Sku=P450-8650 only 70 after rebate. i have 2 of these
Uhhh hell yes much cheaper. And you bet your ass Dell doesnt throw in quality internals. How do you think PC companies make money jackass?