Please read the conclusion in the url provided by shyhh: http://www.sharkyextreme.com/hardwa...cle.php/2218651 What we can see from this chart is that those wanting to play in the 3.0 GHz or higher waters had better bring a fat wallet, but that the new Pentium 4-2.8C, 2.6C and 2.4C GHz do offer value compared to the 533 MHz models. The Pentium 4-2.8C is a nice alternative to the higher-priced Pentium 4-3.06 GHz, though the Pentium 4-2.6C does look a bit pricy in relative comparison. The Pentium 4-2.4C, which is priced just under the Pentium 4-2.53 GHz, also offers a good bang for the buck for the entry-level buyer I would not suggest a 2.4GHz unless he wants to go to an "entry-level" system. You save very little money and drop performance by 10+%
go with that machine, but tell them to bump the memory up to at least 512. You can definitely hit 256 meg usage on XP, so you are better off having some extra memory to keep your performance high. If you have enough memory, that machine will last you for several years without modification.
Please don't get too concerned with the latest greatest computer platform. There are many folks who are doing just fine with the older stuff. Personally, as a computer tech, I've seen entirely too much overkill in the purchase arena entirely too many times. I have been trading with my laptop unit (PIII 500MHz) unit as well as my 2.0 desktop entry. So most of today's hardware is just fine for charting and running most any of the programs that you might be looking into. Both my units run multi-task most of the time and do just fine. So don't think you'll need top-'o-the-line to get good performance. It is nice to think that buying a 2.0, 2.4, or the like would be good but I'd advise against it. New technology is always coming but we are due a real change next year (I would think if you have access to a personal tech you could get in on it early). Not one bit of profit will be enhanced in going from a 2.0 to 2.4 unit. Put the extra dollars into video output or DSL/T-1 connections for a true performance bang. Fully populate the memory. Get a current (or slightly older) unit that will allow you to have a gig or two of RAM. That will give you the speed bump upward that you desire. Go to eBay and get a great deal on a used unit (or two). Here's a thought: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2735724678&category=14294 Have some fun, build one yourself. Learn a bit about the monsters in the box. It really isn't hard at all. There are several folks here who could walk you through your new task. Give me a PM, I'll fly with you!
As a trading machine, your important requirements would probably be in this order: 1. Screen size 2. RAM 3. Video Card that can do a high resolution 4. CPU Speed 1+ Ghz CPU Speed, 512 MB ram, 19" minimum monitor and should be running around 1600x1200 resolution. Anything else is nice, but subjective to your necessities.
Jeezy peezy, I bet a PIII 733 - 833 Mhz and 512meg to 1Gb of Ram would kick ass for you. And believe me your trading platform won't out perform anything just because it has "Hyper-Threading." The amount of video card ram is related to how many cards/monitors you're going to run, but you seem to be going towards a single monitor setup. How ya gonna trade with that? I bet I could hit Ebay and buy a PIII box or the parts to build one, use the extra dough for ram, three monitors + cards and have a much better trading platform than the purchase you are contemplating... for equal or less money.
building my latest pc this week, got this m/b, an asus one: http://www.motherboards.org/articlesd/motherboard-reviews/1251_1.html with p4 2.8 hyperthread and 1gig memory .. w/case, power and cpu all for about $900 .. it works great so far... have just started the buildup, haven't tested w/multiple video cards yet .... uses the newest intc 875 chipset and has a built in promise raid + extras... i'll let you all know what the verdict is once I use it for a few weeks thru burn in .. all I know now is, from recent bad experiences, is no more intel or gigabyte m/b's... I'm sticking w/asus and tyan .. asus is the better one i thin ... ken
Sheesh! You must do video editing as a sideline. A junker PIII will execute trades just as well and think of the extra screen real estate you could have with the extra $$$.
I have an AMD 1.8 with 756 RAM, and my machine will be able to do just fine with any trading software, although I am tempted to drop another 512 Chip aind take it over a gig in RAM. Mulitple Monitor will be my next upgrade, but I have three networked computers so I don't really need that yet. RAM is cheap and will keep your system current for at least the next 3 years. I use Esig and Instataquote.
this seems like a heck of a cheap way to go. have you dealt with these guys? no supprises? you can get free memory and cd burner and video card and modems at office max after rebate. the only thing you need to buy is a hard drive.