when I started in 1985 I worked on the second largest installation in Europe (the largest being in Switzerland: the institute for nuclear research) The installation we had ran over 15000 terminals and the combined computing power was less than what we have today in our laptops....talking about overkill or talking about bad tuning and bad software?
Look, I'm not trying to degrade this(what is my attempt at a discussion) into yet another ET pissing match. I didn't say the card was running 4 monitors, I said it was a 4 monitor system. Please read what I wrote a little more carefully. I don't see how suggesting that the video card COULD be the problem, even after admitting that you have pointed to something that is much more likely to be the problem is offensive to you. It's not ridiculous to "expose the truth" but that's not what I'm taking issue to. I think if you would read my comments with an open mind and drop attitude for a moment you would realize that I'm just saying that there are other ways to think about this. Esignal has a known problem, you pointed to it, you get the girl scout cookies, yippee. I was just trying to explain my point of view and where it comes from. You insulted me when attacked my knowledge of these issues and I was trying in a nice way to explain that I do know a bit about this. Obviously I'm looking for a discussion and you're looking for an argument, so I am not going to participate in this conversation any longer. I sincerely hope that you recover quickly from whatever it is that I did to piss you off. One more remark before I go. I didn't mean I could prove to you that upgrading the video card remains effective (especially now that I know you aren't interested in hearing other points of view), but I simply meant to myself and to the people who foot the bill for this type of expense. It was one of our easier decisions when building this trading environement. Good luck to you in all your endeavors, - The New Guy
I honestly don't get your point? Are you simply insulting my credentials without actually knowing them or is there something I'm missing here? - The New Guy
TNG, as far as I know there would be zero difference between having a video card running a 2D application with 8MB vs the same card with 64MB (or any higher value). As long as the video card has sufficient memory for the desired screen resolution I don't understand how additional memory would provide any additional benefits (again, in the context of this discussion, obviously extra memory is very beneficial for other applications, specifically 3D graphics, as you mentioned). I'm not a graphics expert nor an eSignal expert however it is my understanding that when used for 2D images, the graphics card memory is used as a frame buffer to hold the image and that's all. Having additional memory on the card would not have any affect and in fact would not be utilized. Perhaps things have changed since I did any graphics programming or DirectX has ways of utilizing extra video card memory to improve speed even in simple 2D applications; Those are the type of things I am looking for references to.
I don't know why people feel the need to point out what CAN be done. Sure, you could run linux on a computer with 8Mb of RAM and trade off of it if you want. But why would you want to? Despite the fact that you all seem to think I'm 12, I have been around for a while. In IT the only way I have found to trust solutions implicity is to test them yourself. I recently tested the difference in high-end video cards and thought that the results from there might be useful here. If you guys don't find this information useful then no big deal. But I really don't see how implying that I'm young, inexperienced or unknowledgable is getting anybody anywhere. Thanks, - The New Guy
I don't have a good answer for you. I assume there are spikes in the memory usage that cause some sort of buffering problem. I don't spend too much time figuring out why on these issues. All I know is there was a noticable difference between 128MB nvidia cards and the 512MB ones I tested. Its a difference that most of the traders I support would report as "slowness", which is something I'm constantly battling against. I'll tell you this though, even just opening/closing windows you can notice a difference (imho) in the crispness and responsiveness of the computer. Furthermore, how much is a 256MB card these days? Why not just get one and not have to worry about it anymore.... - The New Guy
I really don't think video cards are tested in way that is useful for trading. I assume it's because windows 2D graphics is considered a "dead issue", and it's all about 3D graphics these days. Also, what type of user other than a trader is going to notice a 100ms delay twice a day? When that delay comes at a fed release (which inevitably it does) they are going to notice, but I know of no other user that is going to notice that. 3D rendering is very memory intensive, but usually a constant memory burn, which is much more easily measured and quantified. If your card operates at %20 memory usage %99 of the time, that's considered perfect for most users. For traders, it's how it performs during that %1 slowdown period that really makes the difference. Stealth trader, To clarify what you interpreted as me twisting facts around to suite my needs, the installation as I understand it is one monitor on an 8MB card, and three monitors on a 128MB card. If I were installing a new set up for one of our traders at our office I would absolutely go with two monitors on a 256MB card and another two on a seperate 256MB card. It has been my experience that that set up will have a performance advantage over the current set up. Thanks, - The New Guy
If I remember correctly then eSignal has an EFS-Performance monitor. Maybe you could use it to find out which EFS-study (if any) is using up most of CPU-time. Regards Bernd Kuerbs
IOW, all the engineers and techs who build and test video cards are wrong and you're right for no other reason than you can "see a difference." Thanks for clearing that up!!! And a special thanks for telling us numerous times how smart and experienced you are! I stand humbled before you. Of course, there are those who also believe that the earth is flat too, even though all evidence proves otherwise. But hey, who am I to judge? Now that you have educated us on how talented you are, how about explaining what you recent drivel has to do with curing the original posters question as posed. In summary, me thinks your company is not getting their monies worth, that is, unless you are there for no other reason than the entertainment value. I'm not sure why, but the following came to mind when I read your posts today: -------------- Med School First-year students at Med School were receiving their first Anatomy class with a real dead human body. They all gathered around the surgery table with the body covered with a white sheet. The professor started the class by telling them: "In medicine, it Is necessary to have 2 important qualities as a doctor. The first is That you not be disgusted by anything involving the human body." For an example, the Professor pulled back the sheet, stuck his finger in the butt of the corpse, withdrew it and stuck his finger in his mouth." Go ahead and do the same thing," he told his students. The students freaked out, hesitated for several minutes, but eventually took turns sticking a finger in the butt of the dead body and sucking on it. When everyone had finished, the Professor looked at them and told them, "The second most important quality is observation. I stuck in my Middle finger and sucked on my Index finger. Now learn to pay attention." ------------------- st
I doubt if it the main problem, but the G200 is a very old card now. I've found that the G200 MMS Quad is dramatically slower on a Linux system than the dual head Nvidia NVS 280 which is a newer card intended for this type of 2D application. I've seen a review that rated the NVS 280 as substantially quicker than a G550 which is much newer than a G200. Windows milage may vary, but the G200 is old.