Which is better for workstation i9 OR Xeon ?

rb7 · Nov 23, 2020

Scataphagos said:
I'm a KISS advocate.

Read a story one time about some guy saying, "simplify your system as much as you think you can possibly can. When you're done doing that, simplify again!"

I'm onboard with that. Trading usually requires some sort of simple rules and understanding so that we can actually execute. Easier to trade a simple system than a complex one.
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Bottom line, computer gears are nowadays overestimated.
Until very recently, I was using a 2009 rig and it was still fine for my usage. If it wasn't for Win Vista, I would still using it. For many years (if not all!), it was running 24/7. Of course, I changed a few HDs during that period.

Scataphagos · Nov 23, 2020

rb7 said:
Bottom line, computer gears are nowadays overestimated.
Until very recently, I was using a 2009 rig and it was still fine for my usage. If it wasn't for Win Vista, I would still using it. For many years (if not all!), it was running 24/7. Of course, I changed a few HDs during that period.
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I wasn't thinking about "hardware simplification", but rather trading approach and style.

rb7 · Nov 23, 2020

Scataphagos said:
I wasn't thinking about "hardware simplification", but rather trading approach and style.
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Yes I know, I got that.

fan27 · Nov 23, 2020

I just got a Dell desktop with i9, 64 gb ram, 1 tb ssd. I don't live trade on this box but use it for development and research. Very happy with the purchase!

shatteredx · Nov 23, 2020

qqq said:
Hi,
In July I put together Dell 5820 workstation with following specs & many of you helped me then. But due to some circumstances I did not buy it then.

Then i9 was not offered by Dell only Xeon, but now they do. So the question now is which is better ? ( With i9 they do not offer ECC memory )

Intel Core i9-10900X (3.7GHz, 4.7GHz Turbo, 10C, 19.25MB Cache, HT, (165W), DDR4-2666 Non-ECC)

OR

Intel Xeon W-2245 (8C, 3.9GHz 4.7GHz Turbo HT 16.5MB, (155W) DDR4-2933)

I use only tick charts. Do not play games.

The configuration I put together was as follows.

CPU :

Xeon W-2245

RAM :

16 GB ECC DDR4 2933

Grahics Cards :

AMD Radeon WX 3200, 4 GB ( 3 of them for 12 Monitors )

Boot Hard Drive :

M.2 256 GB PCIe NVMe Class 40 Solid State Drive

Extra Hard Drives :

2 x 1TB + 3 x 2 TB ( Total 5. All 3.5 inch Sata 7200 RPM )

Thanks
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According to UserBenchmark, those two CPUs offer very similar performance.

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Xeon-W-2245-vs-Intel-Core-i9-10900X/m1102522vsm969950

DiceAreCast · Nov 23, 2020

So much about throwing pearls at pigs. Your machine is way to overspeced for your needs. Buy for your needs as tomorrow hardware improvements will dwarf your machine you buy today and you have cash towards a future purchase. Don't buy unneeded HARDWARE. Did you properly research pcie lane requirements for your 3 or 4 gpus you plan to purchase. You want to drive 4 displays on each, I bet they need at least 8 lanes, if not 16. Ever considered a used Nvidia NVS810?

qqq said:
Price & Passmark

i9 = $580.00 ( Passmark - 22683 )
Xeon = $ 730.00 ( Passmark - 19288 )

My question is which has better performance when it comes to using tick charts ?
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DiceAreCast · Nov 23, 2020

You need 32gb mem at least and and why being cheap on ssd storage space? Get a 512gb or 1tb. You don't need those expensive CPUs on the other hand. And memory speeds are not essential for your stated needs

qqq said:
The boot drive & my trading software is going to be on M.2 256 GB PCIe NVMe Class 40 Solid State Drive

Isn't that the one doing all the work ?

Others are just the storage drives.
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DiceAreCast · Nov 23, 2020

How do you know its not the software that bottlenecks everything? What exactly is too slow and how do you know the problem can be solved with hardware? It's incredibly important you figure out whether it's inefficient software code, slow i/o, or cpu research constraints that slow things down. Without that knowledge even a brand-new computer might not help you.

qqq said:
Let me explain my needs & may be you can suggest what I need from hardware point of view.

My software stores the tick data in one of it's folders on C: drive during market hours.

I need random tick charts. ( e.g 500t, 1700t, 3000t, 7000t upto 25000t ). The software builds those tick charts from the tick data it has stored in one of it's folder.

Right now I am using Dell T-7500 workstation with Xeon E5645 @2.4 GHz, 12 GB RAM, & it is too slow building those tick charts.

So I need a faster rig.

So what would you suggest ?
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DiceAreCast · Nov 23, 2020

Disagree. More ram is ALWAYS better up to 32gb when running windows. Even more than 32 might still benefit depending on the actual use case. But 32gb is always better than 16gb for ANYONE who uses windows OS and goes beyond browsing websites and listening to music.

Scataphagos said:
"More RAM is always better" is not a general rule. One needs to build his rig to accommodate his maximum use requirements.
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Scataphagos · Nov 23, 2020

DiceAreCast said:
Disagree. More ram is ALWAYS better up to 32gb when running windows and more might still benefit depending on the actual use case. But 32gb is always better than 16gb for ANYONE who uses windows OS and goes beyond browsing websites and listening to music.
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HOGWASH! Your task manager, at "peak usage", will tell you how much RAM you use. Any large amount above that is worthless and wasted.