I think what Rufus said is dead on. Most funds operate on little more than a batch of Dell computers and proprietary broker trading interfaces that would make Tradestation look high tech. One's tech needs are dictated not by "standards" of what a "big league' fund is 'expected to have". They are dictated by the demands of one's choosen strategy. Presumably if you don't have the resources to purchase lots of heavy iron, you wouldn't choose a strategy where having heavy iron would provide the crucial advantage. Like nononsense said, the most important bit of trading technology is between ones ears.