Obviously something is going on in the program to drag your PC down. I had a similar problem that was eventually traced to a program that ran the DSL connection. Switched to cable and no more problems. I've had issues with a java program where I got similar problems as you but if i opened it in a different monitor it was ok. Finally I switched it to another computer and never had any more issues. Before I went to the expense of buying a new PC, I would try to download all the windows and java updates to make sure you aren't missing some critical item. Unless you have some component failure, I would think your PC is more than adequate. I am running more programs with less computer OK. As gnome said, trading is not really very computer or vid card intensive.
How did you trace the problem to the DSL connection? I'd like to be sure my cable connection & modem are not at fault.
Everything is updated. I don't keep XP's Automatic updates running, but I manually download all the vital stuff regularly and have been to the Java site many times during this problem to verify the latest version. Remember that I'm on 3-4 year old equipment and the processor is an Athlon XP 2.2Ghz 512kb L2 cache/single core AMD. Your CPU is below this one? This problem really got noticeable when Scottrade switched to TotalView from Level II quotes. (And going from 1280x1024 to 1600x1200 res.) Is TotalView proprietary or do other brokers use some form of it?
I run 14 Lev II windows and 17 charts, plus some other stuff on one PC which is a 2.8 Ghz machine with 512 mb of RAM. Vid cards are a coupleof old Matrox Mill and Geforce FX5200. My CPU useage seems to range from 10-55% normally, although I suppose it could spike higher. Something is clearly dragging your computer down, but I don't believe it's a matter of the computer not being up to the job. How many Total View windows do you have open? I don't see an obvious reason why Total View would be any more demanding than Lev II. Sorry I can't be more of a help. I know these problems can make you crazy.
Another ET member talked to me on the phone and asked me if I had the particular program installed. He knew it could cause trouble. It doesn't sound to me like that is your problem, but I am far from an expert. If anything, it sounds like you are getting more data than you can handle, but I don't see why that would happen.
Scottrade seems to think a pretty basic PC is adequate. This is from their website: Technical Requirements Minimum - Windows 2000 with Internet Explorer c5.5 (or later), 256+ meg of ram, 100+ meg free harddrive storage, and a 56k modem. Recommended - Windows XP, Internet Explorer v6 (or later), 256+ meg of ram, 100+ meg free harddrive storage, and a broadband dsl or cable modem. Guided Tour See the Demo
Sounds like you had a similar problem to mine which was fixed with more/multiple CPU power. I think I'm going with the Q6600. Not only multi-core, but faster speed per core and a giant increase in L2 cache per core. Thanks for all the great input from everybody.
Just a hunch...but have you been into your device manager to try to fix this problem? I don't know nearly enough about your rig to be able to diagnose what you have going on, but a simple uninstall of the network adapter will not hurt and it just might, might I say, solve this. You have to restart the computer after you uninstall the driver. Don't update it. Uninstall it. It will reinstall itself correctly upon restart. If you need assistance PM me, but you sound capable. Good luck.
Maybe Scottrade's right even in my case. It works fine normally. It's only those (maybe) 15 seconds a day when problems occur. I have been trading with the problem for a half a year now it seems. A normal trader wouldn't be concerned, but as a day trader I am seeking out stocks that seem to run wild and cause the problems.