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The expandability is the main difference... I keep my workstations for a long, long time, so I rather like to have enough slots for GPGPU's, PCIe SSD's and also enough bays for internal RAID with 2TB drives and plenty of ventilation.
I am looking to replace 4 workstations with a single one basically.. so instead of having two Sun Ultra 20M2s and the WS490 and the XW6400, I will just have a single workstation (z800 or z600) with 4 or 6 ViewSonic's 21.5" monitors and then the W520 with 2 monitors and the laptop LCD (so 3 total) ..
not sure if I will replace my 4 24" LCD's today... but they are bulky and the 21.5" are smaller and with the same resolution and 3x3 stacked take the same space pretty much..
Z800 will be for trading/backtesting/etc which is why I want the X56x0 2P with 6 Cores each.... and the W520 for my consulting and to trade away from home, which is why I want it portable...
I might instead get the z600 since the CPU is the main thing for me given the plan is to last me 3-4 years... which that would more than do it.. and the z600 has sufficient slots and bays.. the z800 just gives ultimate flexibility...
The alternative is going with trading machines.. but I have not completed the comparison .... the W520's keep posting without he microssd drives, which is the really #1 thing for me since I want two internal drives, one mssd and one msata for storage..
so I am in no rush to wait, patiently..
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
Thanks for explaining your thinking. Upside potential and expandability should be factors, I feel. How do you feel the Z series line stacks-up against these from Trading Computers?
Hi, I think it will GREATLY help everyone if you can let them know what is your BUDGET. There's no point in looking at Mercedes if all you can afford is a Kia. By doing so, the members will be able to NARROW you selection.
I personally can trade successfully with Pentium4, XP operating system, and two CRT monitors....just food for thought...
"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." --- "Therefore, I Believe it and I will see it. And every day and in every way, I am healthier, wealthier, and wiser."
Ideally, I am / was looking for something in the 500 - 750 range. If however noteworthy performance differences can be had, or the expandability for such, for let's say a couple hundred more (1k), then I'd consider paying more.
With an iMac as the only desktop, I'll be needing something, but don't want to go needlessly overboard at this stage. That said, I want something plenty competent to handle backtesting, a decent number of charts on 4 monitors, possibly a couple more screens someday. It will be a dedicated machine, and at most might see light duty, related surfing via Google Chrome (incognito mode).
"plenty competent to handle backtesting" is a very broad statement and rather unspecific as to what your expectations would be... I get ansy if something takes 30 minutes to come back, others might be fine with taking 6 hours and walking away... both things are fine, but they require different compute resources...
with your budget in mind, look at the z200 for sure.. go for the faster GHz and as many threads as you can get... but dont focus too much on which CPU given that GHz is not a good measure between CPU archs, only within the same arch... for example..
HP z200 W7P-64 i5 750 2.66GHz 250GB SATA 2GB DDR3 1333 No-Optical ATI FirePro V3700 256MB Rmkt WS$679
HP z200 W7P-64 i5 650 3.2GHz 500GB SATA 4GB(2x2GB) DDR3 1333 DVDRW(LS) Intel HD Rmkt WS$799
HP z200 W7P i5 650 3.2GHz 500GB SATA 4GB(2x2GB) DDR3 1333 DVDRW(LS) Intel HD Rmkt WS$799
HP z200 W7P i5 650 3.2GHz 250GB SATA 2GB(2x1GB) DDR3 1333 DVDRW(LS) Quadro NVS 295 256MB Rmkt WS$829
I don't always have time to elaborate, but I do now... I currently backtest daily a portfolio of about 460 stocks / ETF's. This is through Prodigio, server side. The time frames are over months, and sometimes over a year. Daily runs are just for the current day. I plan to do this in MC.
The Z200 sounds like the ticket for me. I'll read-up on CPU "arches" to make sure I understand. Thanks for the direction.
Edit / Add:
I believe arch is in reference to architecture, which makes sense in the context used. And for threads, I found this:
there is a worksheet within the excel spreadsheet with the description key... but yes -64 means 64bit.. only those with -64 would be the 64b edition...with regards to the i5 650 vs 750.. the intel ARK website will give you lots of details.. but basically the 650 is DC and threaded, the 750 is QC .. two different architectures as well... but as I said, the ARK site will give you more details... as to the video cards, they all have video, the "Intel HD" are the integrated ones... IMO, best bang for the buck is the one with the NVS295...
I'm finally about to buy a Z 200, with these specs:
HP z200 W7P-64 i5 650 3.2GHz 500GB SATA 4GB DDR3 1333 DVDRW(LS) NVIDIA Quadro NVS 295 256MB Rmkt WS
It seems that there are two open slots. Would one be able to receive another NVS 295? From this, I'm not so optimistic that it can support two of the NVS295's:
"There are two free slots in the machine, one PCI-E x4 slot and one PCI-E x1 slot; the Quadro graphics card occupies the remaining PCI-E x16 slot."
So, I'd be able to purchase the x1, but does anyone know if there would be issues with such a 4 monitor set-up, where two are on a x16, and two on a x1?
make sure to have the latest list it changes daily... as to X1 vs. X16... it comes down to bandwith... but in the end, charting is 2D... if it makes you feel better, make sure to use the X16 for the ones that will have the chart and the X1 for the rest of the tasks... but as I said, 2D... it will be fine... you will need to order the right part number for the NVS295 using the X1 format. VCQ295NVS-X1-PB if using display port..
btw, get 8-16GB of RAM since you will be 64bit... that would be the only change to what you are looking at...
"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." --- "Therefore, I Believe it and I will see it. And every day and in every way, I am healthier, wealthier, and wiser."