IB TWS is slow and unresponsive -- is it normal?

Discussion in 'Trading Software' started by Kixp, Aug 22, 2013.

  1. Kixp

    Kixp

    Hi,

    I am a new IB customer and TWS is really slow, unresponsive and laggy on Windows 7 64 bit, 24GB RAM. When I click on a ticker in a watchlist, the interface takes 2 seconds to adjust, even if I don't synchronize any chart window to the watchlist.

    Tried all the usual suspects, nothing worked: uninstalled all Java versions and TWS, restarted windows, reinstalled latest versions of everything.

    I am starting to think it's normal... is it? TWS is usable but the lag is really annoying, I hope it's not normal but with Java's reputation for bloat and slowness, I am not sure.

    Thanks.
     
    #1     Aug 22, 2013
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  2. vikana

    vikana

    Just in case you haven't done so, I recommend that you actually give TWS more memory that it allocates by default.

    Here is my command line [right-click on icon -> Properties]:

    C:\WINDOWS\system32\javaw.exe -cp jts.jar;pluginsupport.jar;hsqldb.jar;jcommon-1.0.12.jar;jfreechart-1.0.9.jar;jhall.jar;other.jar;riskfeed.jar;rss.jar -Dsun.java2d.noddraw=true -Xmx1024m -XX:MaxPermSize=256m jclient/LoginFrame C:\Jts


    The option -Xmx1024m gives TWS 1 GB of memory. That's all I need, but you can give it more as an experiment if you do 100+ live orders.

    I'm not sure if the MaxPermSize is something I set or IB suggested. It's a solid setting, however.

    -Dsun.java2d.noddraw=true is important, too

    Some of the other settings might be different as I don't like to upgrade TWS.

    On Linux you will need to fiddle a bit more with it, but I haven't done in some time, so I have no good suggestions.
     
    #2     Aug 22, 2013
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  3. rwk

    rwk

    I have Win7 Home Premium (64-bit), but I have only the 32-bit Java installed. I never got it working in 64-bit.
     
    #3     Aug 22, 2013
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  4. noregrets

    noregrets

    I switched to IB last month and had the exact same problem on my 64-bit Win7 system. Turns out that it was a glitch in the TWS version (I figured it out from another thread here). I had been using the downloadable TWS, but now I just have it load from my browser by going to the IB homepage -> login -> Trader Workstation Beta and it runs fine. (It stays open even if you close your browser).
     
    #4     Aug 22, 2013
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  5. def

    def Sponsor

    Feel free to start a chat with technical support. They should be able to assist and resolve your issue.
     
    #5     Aug 22, 2013
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