Running windows XP/ intel 2.66 cpu, should upgrade?

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by innovest_11, Jan 6, 2013.

  1. #21     Jan 7, 2013
  2. ofthomas

    ofthomas

    ok, please realize that we have only been discussing workstations here, not portable computers(laptops)... in the case of laptops, I personally only use Lenovo Thinkpad business class laptops and no-others... quality and support are above all the rest, and this comes from actual experience...

    I've used all the vendors out there when it comes to compute because of my job, and I have formulated my choices and opinions based on actual experience from supporting and architecting trading floors, and back office systems...

    anyone can quote anything... pcworld to me has never been reliable.. but to each its own... if I look at research, I use gartner, forrester, yankee, tower and the likes...

     
    #22     Jan 7, 2013
  3. Eddie Z

    Eddie Z

    You will absolutely have a much better experience with a new computer...You have to remember that Windows XP came out in 2001 so your operating system is actually 12 years old! Also your hardware wasn't designed for the level of real time data we take in today...

    Remember, trading is a profession....Imagine a Indy 500 driver running the race in a car with technology 5 years old...
     
    #23     Jan 7, 2013
  4. ofthomas

    ofthomas

    the age of the OS has little to do... XP is still stable depending on what you are doing with it... and for market data, the end user computer is the least of the worries... retail does not get a raw data feed at all and IB bursts their data, so he is not receiving every single tick across thousands of securities... and your bottle neck is your network... as such an improved computer will help more with charting that data, doing analysis, calcs, etc... very little with the incoming market data... which is what I understand you are referring to from the comment above..
     
    #24     Jan 7, 2013
  5. Bob111

    Bob111

    ----Remember, trading is a profession....Imagine a Indy 500 driver running the race in a car with technology 5 years old...---

    :D :D :D yeah...great argument..

    OP is not trying to compete with HFT..i'm doing ok and can afford few Ferrari's..but i'm using 2000 nissan altima for my everyday needs..why?cause it does the f** job. all i need is a ride to the liqueur store and back twice a week :p
     
    #25     Jan 7, 2013
  6. ofthomas

    ofthomas

    no, dont say that!!! ... all those people with 8+ monitors will get angry... they need the fastest computer and the greatest amount of monitors to beat the market... :D
     
    #26     Jan 7, 2013
  7. If your system is functioning fine and you don't have the money for a new system then I would say just stick with what you have.

    I used to have a really old, sucky computer and I would have lag problems and my CPU was always running at high usage percentages. One cheap upgrade I did was to just add some RAM. I probably upgraded my computer for well under $100. That solved my problem for a year or so. As websites became more sophisticated, they started really bogging my computer down. I was having problems just surfing the internet. I decided to just get a new computer.

    If you sit and watch the Dell Outlet, you can scoop up some really good deals. It takes a little bit of stalking. New inventory comes in constantly and you can get some fantastic deals if you keep your eyes open. The good ones always go quickly. Also, they tend to give out a lot of 15% off coupons.

    A couple of years ago I bought a a nice desktop and a nice laptop from them. I think the desktop was $330 and the laptop was about $450. At the time they were very modern computers with good specs. Of course, any tech you buy will be outdated in 6 months, but they still work great now.
     
    #27     Jan 7, 2013
  8. LOL! Actually, that Indy 500 analogy isn't valid at all.

    For most of us traders...

    1. Most all apps load into RAM and then run from there.

    2. The CPU gets used a few seconds at boot and shutdown... and then momentarily throughout the day.... IOW.. it sits more or less idle 99+% of the time.

    My average data stream with eSignal runs about 27K/s all day long. (Not a typo... "K"). Any dualcore CPU is capable of handling what, 100,000X (500,000X?) that amount?

    Therefore and for trading... a high-powered rig is about 99% wasted.
     
    #28     Jan 7, 2013