The requirements for TradersStudio are as follows: Hardware: Intel 3 or above (133 hz) 256 RAM 80 GB HDD CD ROM Software: Windows XP/ 2000 (the latest version is compatible with Windows Vista) IE 6 and above
Don't install Vista if you have a choice... For 99.99% of the software on the market, they are still compiled in 32 bit. They may be Vista compatible, they might run under Vista 64 bit, but they are running under Vista's 32 bit x86 mode. There is absolutely no speed or memory size advantage in using Vista.
A friend of mine bought a computer from tiger direct and i buy power. In the case of Tiger direct, the computer died after a year or two and when he opened it up the hardware was not what he paid for. It had been switched with cheaper inferior hardward. In the case of i buy power, the computer died after a year. Maybe these are anomolies as I never purchased one from either of these two vendors but as always you get what you pay for. My .02.
Well, I have purchased PCs from Tiger Direct, I Buy Power and Cyberpower. Tiger was OK. I Buy Power was adequate and Cyberpower was in the same class. They all worked. If I were to buy again, I would probably select cyberpower as it is cheaper than the other two, allows the system to be shipped without any OS and the savings of not buying OS stay in your pocket). The warranty is for 3 years and tech suport fo as long as you ow the rig. I think you can get a PC (Athlon X2 Am2) for around $400 and Intel Core 2 Duo for $500. No extra useless software, no vista to uninstall, clean HD ready for XP pro ad your trading software. Can't beat that.
I recently built my first computer from scratch after getting burned with some Dell junk and realizing that my shop built computer from off the shelf parts was still running well 5 years on because it was built for me with all decent parts in the first place. I bought most of the stuff from NewEgg but I got burned like a dummy. I didn't realize the video card might have some weird driver issue (the first I experienced, search for Nvidia BSOD windows xp 64 bit). I really should've got an ATI card for my AMD system, but low and behold I can only return this Nvidia card to newegg for an exchange, not a refund. Shoulda realized small print. Now I have this card in a box and refuse to try to get it working after terrible blue screens and numerous tweaks. Then I got an ATI Radeon 2600 pro from Tiger Direct, which was not availiable from NewEgg at all (they had some other brand only, not ATI) and it runs well, plus it seems to have a more complete return refund policy. I would say if you have ever swapped out a harddrive or installed a new power supply, maybe try building your own. I got a system that I can't even find at the gamers places under 2g's and I paid about $900 in parts. THe hardest part was installing windoze and getting drivers working. That took over a week lol.
You could build your own, but it is a waste of time and unneeded stress. I do not have time or the energy to build it and more than enough stress trading. if you do not enjoy building PCs 9 I do not) then follow my advice. If you want to invest a week if not more to building a rig then that is your time and your dime.
Build yourself a slipstream windowxp CD with updated to latest services packages plus preset configuration; aka unattended installations. Every time i need reinstall my windowsxp; i just put in the cd rom and press restart; and come back later with fresh installed windows xp
Not sure why it would take a week to build a new pc. I had mine done in a few hours. It was my first build. Previous to that I had replaced video and memory on computers, but no build experience. I will say that I did spend a bit of time researching my parts and compatibility, but not anymore than I would have shopping for a manufactured computer. For all the grief Dell gets I have to admit my computers before I built my trading computer were 2 Dells and an Acer. All three of them still work and I'm typing this on the last Dell I bought and it's 4 years old.
imo-building your own computer is fun,not to mention that you can build whatever you want or need. last time i build AMD 64 dual core based box it takes me about couple hours on weekend. parts are dirt cheap today like for a bit outdated CPU's,etc. as for video card-cheap NVS from ebay for $15 will work just fine. whole thing cost under $200. case from newegg arrive slightly damaged. after 5 minute conversation they give me 20 bucks back(case cost 25 + free shipping). fix it with hammer within 5 min. ready to go on monday.extremely quiet. cpu stays around 40C while cpu fan is 550rpm http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371006 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811226020 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186009 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813185113 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103215 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034