I want to get a new PC for trading. I'm thinking Pentium 4, lots of RAM, 2 monitors, 2 hard drives (one w/Windows 2000 Pro, the other w/Windows 98SE), and I'll have a broadband (DSL or cable) connection. Now, for INTRADAY trading, does it make a difference which kind of RAM I use? Will my data feeds or executions be significantly slower if I have PC133 SDRAM instead of PC800 RDRAM with the 400-Mhz bus speed? (Please assume I'll have the proper motherboard for the RAM type). How important is RAM type for intraday traders? From what I understand most prop shops are still using Pentium III systems with SDRAM, but I also read a lot of posts here on Elitetrader with at-home traders running top of the line Pentium 4 units and RDRAM. Which brings about another question: Is a Pentium 4 necessary for intraday trading? Comments appreciated.
if you're buying new, there would be no reason to buy something other than a P4 with either RDRAM or DDR. That being said, I run an Athlon 850 with 512 SDRAM, 2 Matrox G450 cards to display on 4 monitors, and I get my fills fast. The faster the processor, the more windows you could have open without worrying about the data "lagging" - also assuming your broadband connection is feeding the data fast enough. Bottom line - if you already have a Pentium 3 or better (at least 750 Mhz) I wouldn't rush out to get a new PC - I don't think you'll see much difference, if any - IMO.
I only buy AMD. Cheaper, faster and it keeps you away from Dell and Gateway. If you must spend a lot of money, buy lots of memory (DDR) and monitors.
I just upgraded to a P-4 1.8 with 512 PC 2700 DDR ram. The old pc was a p 3 667 with 640 megs of 133 mz ram. Both run great , obvioulsy the P4 is faster and better. Go with the p4 . This is what i have for my main trading system: P4 1.8 with 512 cashe 512 megs of PC 2700 ram ( samsung) ati radeon 32 meg agp card ati expert 128 16 meg pci card 2 Quantum scsi hard drives one 40 med IDE western digital hard drive Diamond SCSI card Asus p4s333 MB Sansung suncmaster 950 p 19 inch monitor Mag xj810 19 inch monitor Kingston Nic card. I run both monitors at 1600 x 1200. My system runs great . Just a note my old p3 which is a back up also rans great . Use WIN 2000 do not use win 98 . Different motherboards need different ram it depends on the chipsets. I have built many pc's so if this is the first tiem you are building one get some advise first on components.