Every trader is somewhat different. Just as some use complex TA indicators others are simple intuitive traders. Some are glued to business news on TV whereas others ignore the news and merely let the market tell them what to do. And some have multiple monitors and systems running while others have a single PC/laptop. When I started 12 years ago I spent 3 hours a night studying charts for the next day. I watched CNBC throughout the trading day with lots of other traders in an office. I made money. But soon I realized that "more" is not necessarily better. Simplifying the entire process; eliminating lots of TA, blowing off business news in real time and trading remote allowed me to improve my trading. Now I have a solitary laptop that I use and my last few years have been the best I've ever had.
What??? You mean a person doesn't have to have eight monitors sprawled out in front of a $5000 desk in order to make money??? ;-)
Expensive setup = Chick Magnet, Distracting, No life, Trading losses Laptop = Married, Time for family, trading profits.
no correlation. I day trade stocks for last few years using old pentium 3.friend of mine making six figures, using even older computer with CRT monitor..
My buddy trades on a five year old laptop and makes six figures every year. Most people I have met with 6+ monitors and high tech computer struggle to break even.
Sometimes, I find that I would trade better when I keep things simple. Trading with just one monitor set-up helps me to avoid a lot of market traps. If I have like multiple monitors with multiple charts on them, I would definitely overtrade and cause some serious trading errors.
Wouldn't a Pentium 3 be a bit slow to handle all the charts, level 2, time and sales, and all other data?
I think a beginner would invest a lot of money invest into a trading set-up thinking that the more they put in, the more they would get out. The profitable traders would rather spend the money in something other than work--especially if there is no additional benefits. However, I am sure there are some profitable traders who like to invest into their trading set-up because they are tech savvy and are into automation.