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Broker: Advantage, Trading Technologies, OptionsCity, IQ Feed
Trading: CL, NG
Posts: 1,038 since Jul 2010
Thanks Given: 1,713
Thanks Received: 3,863
I'm curious to see what those who have used a Mac Pro with Windows via Bootcamp thought of it with regards to speed and reliability. I think I read MetalTrade was using this or anyone else out there, your feed back would be greatly appreciated.
I'm looking to get rid of my Dell T3500 and was considering using a Mac Pro (with two ATI Radeon HD 5770 cards and 4 Dell Monitors) as an exclusive trading machine running Windows 7 x64 via Bootcamp. No virtual machines, etc. No internet browsing and what not. I have another Mac I would use for that. I guess I could always reboot to access the Mac OS if needed.
why add another layer of complexity? Windows/Bootcamp/MacOSX?
macpro will run you $3K-$10K, depending on config.... if really dedicated and runnig windows, just get a dedicated/specialized workstation for trading only...
I like the F-35 from trading computers.. and it will cost you $3K-$5K instead...
I went through the same thing because I wanted a macpro since I liked how they are built, but in the end went with my Sun workstations, because they are dedicated to Trading... for anything else I use laptop or another workstation...
my next setup.. and present to myself.. will be 2 x V12's and 2 F35's... F35 = trading, V12 = Everything Else..
Broker: Advantage, Trading Technologies, OptionsCity, IQ Feed
Trading: CL, NG
Posts: 1,038 since Jul 2010
Thanks Given: 1,713
Thanks Received: 3,863
Thanks Sysot1t! I'm not concerned with the price really. It's more of a dependability issue for me. If I have a computer I can count on for the next X number of years and allow my programs to function with no issues, it's more than worth the extra couple of bucks. I've had multiple Mac's and never had any problems with them (never used them for trading however). I've also had multiple traditional PC's (for trading only) and have experienced countless issues. I guess I don't view my idea as an added layer of complexity as the Mac Pro would be essentially running on Windows 7 64 bit via Bootcamp as it's primary purpose. No web browsing, email, etc. The Mac OS isn't really even a factor with that being said. But if someone has used used Windows through Bootcamp for trading and has experienced problems with programs, speed or system reliability, please let me know. Any input from a Mac Pro user would be greatly appreciated.
Those trading computers you linked to are really nice though .
from a technology perspective, you wont face any issues with bootcamp and windows7 at all... bootcamp is basically a software assistant with a bootloader and partition manager interface... that will enable you to "slipstream" the drivers needed for windows as it installs it.. that is how I view it.
now some caveats... and please keep in mind that I have never went through with the macpro, but my wife and kids only like mac's ... so I have tons of macbook pro's at home, and even I toiled around with a 13" myself.. which I still have...
not all drivers will be available, and you will have some issues with the keyboard and the pad, that was the deal breaker for me... that was as of my last test about 6-8 months ago..
as to PC issues... I like trading computers because they specialize on traders computers, so they understand one needs the stability and performance and hence use better quality components. At the same time, I always have two workstations.. and I always have dual hdd's... and have my laptop...
if money for tech is not really an option... look at a server with win2008r2 (HP DL38x's) but that would be noisy... the main reason for crashes is usually component failures, or driver failures... my experience as a techie...
I've been building my own PC's since I was 8 or 9, so about 23-24 years.
I've built a zillion of them.
Over the years, I've learned to research ahead of time. I take a quality product like an eVGA mainboard, and then do google searches and hit up the evga forum and make sure people are not having problems. Take something like the video card, and do the same. etc etc.
In general, I would always prefer to build my own system instead of paying someone else to build it or buying an OEM product like a Dell.
But regardless of building it yourself vs. buying an off-the-shelf solution, stability is king. Second to stability for me these days is quietness. Speed is down at least third, because now that I don't backtest anymore I don't need a blazing fast machine. Any quad core box with 8GB of memory and raided drives or ssd is plenty fast enough, so I wouldn't bother with overclocking it (adds noise, instability), I wouldn't bother with getting a 4 drive raid array, etc.
More important is quality, quiet components. These are generally expensive, so the "money doesn't matter as much" fits nicely with this. As soon as I get settled into my new house, I will be building a new PC, and I'm going to see just how quiet and how small I can make it
The media server is in a closet, its the loud sucker.
As for Mac vs PC... Mac's are a thing of beauty hardware wise. No doubt about it. But I think buying a Mac to run Windows doesn't make sense to me. I'd rather run OS X and use VMware Fusion or whatever to load up my charting application, leaving the rest of my apps (web, email) native OS X, plus get the benefit of the OS X kernel.
Broker: Advantage, Trading Technologies, OptionsCity, IQ Feed
Trading: CL, NG
Posts: 1,038 since Jul 2010
Thanks Given: 1,713
Thanks Received: 3,863
OK, thank you! That definitely makes sense with regards to potential issues with drivers, the keyboard and pad. I'm looking for the basics really with the computer. I would be using NT7, CQG and TOS for the most part with 4 Dell monitors. Do you think there would be any potential problems with those? Potential issues with monitor drivers?
your apps wont be the issues... your video wont be the issue, as long as you use the MAC hardware and dont start messing with others not certified by apple...
as mike stated... if you do get it... try using fusion first running Win7 and NT7/CQG/TOS... and then use BootCamp as well to see what is easier... it would be a shame not to leverage OSX for what it was meant for...
btw, TOS has a macversion, and it is pretty stable... and IRT has a mac version too ... you are not in luck with CQG, no mac version there.. and certainly not in luck with NT7...
I still say get a trading computers F-35X... heck, for the price of the mac, get two and have a spare stand by whole computer...
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