My first post on ET, been lurking for a few months Looking at ordering a new computer as my current one is 4 years old. Need help on what computer is ideal for trading. I use Ameritrade TOS, Strategy Desk and Command Center. Also looking to get two 24" monitors. Looking for suggestions on both. I have read through the last 5 pages of the hardware forum about this stuff but I am so damn confused with all the varying opinions. Are there consensus thoughts on specs? Thanks in advance.
It really depends on your needs. Can't tell from these descriptions. It's highly related to how you trade. If you only use the platform for charts and order entries, and not a lot of charts, probably any low end box would do. (I have a few low end boxes bought last year, about $400 or so.) If you have a lot of custom indicators on your charts and you have multiple monitors, you may consider some mid ends. If you do automated trading, back testings, a lot of number crunching, then consider some high ends and beef up on the RAM. Low ends: about $400-$500 Mid: about $700-$900 High: about $1100-$1300 or above (e.g. Intel i7 920 with 9GB RAM) One thing that you should look at though, from my shopping experience recently... many of these new boxes don't have too many open slots. If you want to drive multiple monitors - especially if more than 4 monitors - you need to make sure they have enough empty slots for you. Some of these boxes have only 1 PCIe X1 slot.