Stock trading with Pro

[GGJstudios]

No, you might be in love with your little list there but most of it is really bad advice - period.

Sorry bro, it just is. And not for a lack of understanding on my part for sure.

You haven't offered any proof that anything on that list is bad advice. If you can't prove it, it's nothing more than your uninformed opinion.

 

[GermanyChris]

that seems like an odd ? for this website.

OK why a mac, the OS matters because it WORKS! Never breaks or causes issues. I have used computers since 1979 and I hate windows and MS products. they are junk. If i had a nickle for every windows computer i had to fix because of some issue or incompatibility issue i would be rich!

It's not odd at all Windows and Linux have been stable for many years. Many financial programs run in Windows only. You need a computer with a couple of graphics cards for your six screens but don't need über power. This all leads me to a nice Asus board with a 3770 16-32 GB of RAM and a couple 7850's..

Not a MP with expensive RAM and 4 PCI-e slots 3 of which will be taken up with graphics cards, but to each their own.

 

[Doc69]

I have a six monitor trading setup, 3 monitors wide and 2 high. During trading hours, I use my Mac Pro on the main monitor, right in front of me, for web browsing, twitter, CNBC TV etc. Then I have a Windows 7 PC with three dual DVI graphics cards, driving five monitors for my trading platforms only. This setup works great. The PC is very stable as I use it for my trading only.

Most trading software is Windows only (I use TradeStation & Power E*Trade Pro). So using a PC for trading makes sense. It also makes sense to use your trading computer ONLY for trading. You don't want it to freeze up on you, or slow down when you're in the middle of a trade. And by having two separate computers, whatever I do on the Mac does not affect the my trading software. And since the trading PC is used only for trading, the OS doesn't really matter.

Also, for charting, you really don't need great displays. 22" Acer V223 works great. And there only $150 each. So 5 of those, and then one great for your Mac, is way cheaper than two or three Thunderbolt displays for example.

I have also found that the best positioning for trading with 6 displays, is to have the two most left monitors straight in front of me, and then the other 4 to the right, angled towards me. That way, if I turn my head slightly to the right, I can easily and comfortably view all six displays. The bottom left one is my Mac monitor and the top left one is the main monitor for the Windows PC.

 

[theSeb]

No, just get a good multi-core machine and skip all the laggyness, poor performance, and so on.

You're right in thinking about a macpro! Something like an 8 core MacPro3,1 with 16GB to 32GB of RAM or even a 3,1 in it's 4-core form will trounce a mini or any of the laptops for multi-app multi-screen use. The RAM is $250 to $350 for 32GB and a MacPro 3,1 is about $700 to $900 depending on configuration.

I can't believe people are trying to talk you into a mini here - totally lame.

A 2013 Mac Mini would easily be able to handle the OP's workload. I didn't see anybody trying to talk into a Mini. I saw people answering a question about a Mini.

Also that list of "tune-up" performance enhancements that GGJ listed is best ignored! About the first half of that list is just dumb - and potentially dangerous too. It's the WRONG way to tune your system! If you're familiar with Windows it's akin to suggesting a user open the Registry and start ripping **** they don't know or want out. If you like kernel panics and broken features/functions then sure, go for it. But you'll be back here in short order asking why this or that no longer works. LOL

Sorry GGJ but you really should take that list off-line and learn the proper way to tune and trim a system. With lists like that it's no wonder Apple decided to make the Libraries folder invisible! I see what they were thinking now.

I am curious just which of the points you think are dumb and which you think are dangerous. The fact of the matter is that none of those points in GGJ's post are either. I am not sure why you're giving out advice on this forum and criticising others' advice when it's clear you have no idea what you're talking about.

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No, you might be in love with your little list there but most of it is really bad advice - period.

Sorry bro, it just is. And not for a lack of understanding on my part for sure.

Unfortunately it is your lack of understanding and knowledge of OS X that makes you post what you have posted. It's frightening that you post with such arrogance and an air of knowledge when you have nothing to back up your opinion with. I would suggest going back to the basics and teaching yourself a bit about OS X.

 

[alexstjo]

OK well i just don't feel or think windows is stable nor will it ever. also after i buy a nice asus board etc i have just about spent the same as a mac pro and it will cause some issue at some point in time.

It's not odd at all Windows and Linux have been stable for many years. Many financial programs run in Windows only. You need a computer with a couple of graphics cards for your six screens but don't need über power. This all leads me to a nice Asus board with a 3770 16-32 GB of RAM and a couple 7850's..

Not a MP with expensive RAM and 4 PCI-e slots 3 of which will be taken up with graphics cards, but to each their own.

 

[GermanyChris]

OK well i just don't feel or think windows is stable nor will it ever. also after i buy a nice asus board etc i have just about spent the same as a mac pro and it will cause some issue at some point in time.

What ever floats you boat man.

 

[theSeb]

OK well i just don't feel or think windows is stable nor will it ever. also after i buy a nice asus board etc i have just about spent the same as a mac pro and it will cause some issue at some point in time.

Windows 7 is very stable. It runs beautifully on my Macs.

 

[Doc69]

OK well i just don't feel or think windows is stable nor will it ever. also after i buy a nice asus board etc i have just about spent the same as a mac pro and it will cause some issue at some point in time.

You can get a Windows 7 i7 quad PC for well under 1K. I've had one for over 3 years and have not had even one crash or freeze. I can not say the same for any of my Macs. However, the PC is only used for trading and thus has no other software or drives installed. A Mac like that would not have any problems either. Then, if you don't need the expandability of a Mac Pro, you can pick up a Mac Mini with 16GB and an SSD and have the best of both worlds for very little money.

As I said before, you absolutely do not want to run your trading platform on the same computer where you do everything else. It should be a separate machine. And if you don't like to have two keyboards and mouse setups, you can use the Synergy software (synergy-foss.org) to control multiple computers with one set of keyboard and mouse.

 

[alexstjo]

I have looked at pc pricing and can't see where i can get a i7 quad WITH 2 video cards under $1K

You can get a Windows 7 i7 quad PC for well under 1K. I've had one for over 3 years and have not had even one crash or freeze. I can not say the same for any of my Macs. However, the PC is only used for trading and thus has no other software or drives installed. A Mac like that would not have any problems either. Then, if you don't need the expandability of a Mac Pro, you can pick up a Mac Mini with 16GB and an SSD and have the best of both worlds for very little money.

As I said before, you absolutely do not want to run your trading platform on the same computer where you do everything else. It should be a separate machine. And if you don't like to have two keyboards and mouse setups, you can use the Synergy software (synergy-foss.org) to control multiple computers with one set of keyboard and mouse.

 

[utekineir]

I have looked at pc pricing and can't see where i can get a i7 quad WITH 2 video cards under $1K

you could build one easily for that range, not like you exactly need gaming level video cards or $1000 monitors for charts.

Highballing numbers here

tower <$100
power supply <$100
motherboard <$100
cpu $300
2 x htpc oriented video cards roughly $200
ram <$100
128 gb range ssd <$100
windows license ?


I like what the guy above talking about running 2 platforms was getting at.

A dedicated platform for trades and data accompanied by a seperate dedicated platform for reasearch and other tasks seems like the way to go overall in terms of stability and performance.

Couple years back I had successfully dabbled in day trading for a bit using solely iOS, even that has the potential to work successfully despite the limitations in data that can be observed concurrently.

 

[Tesselator]

Well if it's two machines then it would only be 1 card for each right?

I think $1k is a little optimistic but $1.4k ~ $1.6K it's doable - for a smooth riding setup.

I don't think I would actually run windows on it tho. It's probably just me but Win7 still gets bogged after 6 months of heavy-ish use partly due to it's registry scheme (although it might not if all you do is install and run 3 or 4 apps - and nothing more). If you part-select for a Hackintosh you can run OS X on it tho.

I see the logic in two separate machines but I think the initial costs would be higher and the resale value lower down the road.

In any case I think it's pretty clear the OP isn't interested in running windows. And if he's not then he's not and that's it. I can certainly understand his reluctance in that regard. My current setup is 5 new-ish Xeon Win7 machines, a Win8 laptop, and two Xeon based Macs (one old and one newer) and I dread having to do anything in Windows. OTOH, I look forward to sitting down to an OS X session... Everyone's different...

 

[utekineir]

I see the logic in two separate machines but I think the initial costs would be higher and the resale value lower down the road.

To daytrade and bypass the weekly roundtrip restrictions you need to be working with a minimum of $25k in an account and the short term capital gains tax adds up real quick.

Op can handle the cost of 2 tax depreciable machines if hes doing it right.

 

[Doc69]

I have looked at pc pricing and can't see where i can get a i7 quad WITH 2 video cards under $1K

You don't need the latest and greatest PC to run your trading platform. Trading software don't take that much CPU power, mostly they are pulling data from the internet. But 6GB of RAM or more is advisable.

If you don't want to build your own PC, there are plenty of Dell Precision quad core workstations for under $900. Then you can add one or two extra basic graphics cards, for under $100 each.

I built the following trading PC three years ago, and it cost me $1,098 with 3 video cards. It's still way more powerful than I need, and I run TradeStation with 5 monitors and have at least a couple of hundred charts loaded at any time. I expect to use it for many more years to come.

My trading PC built in 2009:
• Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz Processor $280
• ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - $195
OCZ OCZ3P1600LV6GK DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz 6GB Platinum XTC Triple Channel Kits $95
• 3 x HIS H465PS512P Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail $71
• LG Electronics GGC-H20L LightScribe Blu-Ray/HD DVD Combo Drive $116
• Western Digital Caviar Black 640 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 32 MB
Cache, 7200 RPM SATA II WD6401AALS $70
• Antec Sonata III 500 Quiet Super Mini Tower ATX Case (Black) $129