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New Computer Build

  #71 (permalink)
TAJTrades
Here, GA
 
Posts: 158 since Jun 2009
Thanks Given: 1
Thanks Received: 86

The best trading computer is highly subjective and prone to ego trips. But here are a few things, broken down by category, to keep in mind when making a decision.


Category: Beginner / learning to trade
Any middle of the road off the shelf computer will do. Save your money to refund your account.

Category: Back testing
As has been mentioned in another thread NT has a gadzillion little files in the database so...
1 A: Fastest and biggest SSD your budget will allow to access those little files
1 B: Fast CPU your budget allows ( I7 or Ryzen 7 of better)
1 C: Lots of memory (Min 16 preferred 64)
2: A beast of a cooling unit (heat kills a CPU). If I could figure out a way to make a liquid nitrogen cooling unit I would. OK, that might be a little over kill lol.

Category: Trading
Two issues here: Internet speed and as best I can determine NT is a massive collection of Arrays and Dictionaries so a machine that can handle that is critical.
1 A: Fastest Internet connection your budget allows as well as the best home/office router(or co-located if need be)
2 A: Fastest CPU your budget allows ( I7 or Ryzen 7 of better)
2 B: Lots of memory (Min 16 preferred 32)

Notice that I did not mention anything about graphics cards. That is very dependent upon your screen configuration.

There are lots of specialty trading computer companies that sell these types of setups as well as retail store, BestBuy, Fryes, Microcenter, and of course Amazon. Or you can be adventurous and build your own.

The only thing I can guarantee about trading is this: The fastest machine in the world will not overcome a poor trading plan and the fastest machine in the world will not overcome a piss poor internet connection.

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  #72 (permalink)
 hyperscalper 
boise idaho
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: NinjaTrader C# Custom
Broker: NinjaTrader LeeLoo Rithmic
Trading: Nasdaq Futures NQ/MNQ
Posts: 314 since Apr 2020
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phantomtrader View Post
Are you co-located at the CME?

Not at the moment. Dedicated server in NYC with maybe a 16ms ping time right now.
In future, I'd like to use Rithmic's data center colocation offer at $500/month
since some of my triggers are "reactive" and so the latency reduction would help a lot.
hyperscalper

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  #73 (permalink)
 lcoia 
Rochester NY/USA
 
Experience: Beginner
Platform: NinjaTrader
Trading: NQ, ES, CL, YM
Posts: 3 since Nov 2015
Thanks Given: 0
Thanks Received: 4


After having built two desktop trading computers in the last 6 six years I'd like to share some advice that should help save you money.
  1. Buy used monitors with DisplayPort (DP) ports. Less than $100 each
  2. Video card: VisionTek Radeon 7750 ($250). It support 6 monitors with DisplayPorts (DP). Do not try using other port types.
  3. AMD CPU processor. Cheaper and currently faster than Intel at most price points
  4. CPU cooler that uses heat pipes. Heat pipes are a modern engineering miracle, work just as good as water cooling.
  5. Uninterruptible power supply for computer and one monitor. If power goes out you want 10 minutes to close out your trades

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  #74 (permalink)
Waryman
Philadelphia, PA
 
Posts: 6 since Jun 2020
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Has anyone tried using an ultra short throw projector to have a wall of screens instead of buying multiple monitors?

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  #75 (permalink)
 bltdavid 
San Jose, CA, USA
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NinjaTrader
Posts: 112 since Dec 2013
Thanks Given: 35
Thanks Received: 103


lcoia View Post
After having built two desktop trading computers in the last 6 six years I'd like to share some advice that should help save you money.
  1. Buy used monitors with DisplayPort (DP) ports. Less than $100 each
  2. Video card: VisionTek Radeon 7750 ($250). It support 6 monitors with DisplayPorts (DP). Do not try using other port types.
  3. AMD CPU processor. Cheaper and currently faster than Intel at most price points
  4. CPU cooler that uses heat pipes. Heat pipes are a modern engineering miracle, work just as good as water cooling.
  5. Uninterruptible power supply for computer and one monitor. If power goes out you want 10 minutes to close out your trades

I have that video card -- it supports 6 Mini-DisplayPorts, not the same thing as regular size DisplayPort. Amazon price is $350, but still worth it. It comes with 6 MiniDP-to-HDMI adapters, so the recommendation to buy used DP monitors is a poor one. Why? Well, A) you don't want to skimp on your monitors, good new monitors are worth the price, and not much more than $100 anyways, and B) because that video card has six MiniDP-to-HDMI adapters included, so get monitors with either a MiniDP port (rare) or an HDMI port (very common).

[Note: The Amazon reviews indicate the product advertising may be wrong, some reviews claim the 6 MiniDP-to-HDMI adapters were actually 2 MiniDP-to-DVI and 4 MiniDP-to-DP adapters. Read all reviews!]

I wouldn't worry about the water pipe cooler -- if you want a silent computer you'd want to reduce as many fans as possible, so get a closed loop water cooler for your CPU -- no mess, no fuss, cheap, and less noise.

As far as a UPS, yes, but I'd put all the monitors on the UPS, not just one. Also, make sure to buy another UPS for your DSL/cable modem and router -- although when my power goes out my internet goes out, too -- the UPS doesn't help me because my cable company's local drop-point is also without power. A UPS combined w/DSL modem probably does better during power outages, since the traditional cooper-wire phone service should not be affected.

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  #76 (permalink)
 hoppy123 
orlando
 
Experience: Beginner
Platform: esignal
Trading: forex emini oil gas
Posts: 81 since Jan 2017
Thanks Given: 26
Thanks Received: 64

my old computer is giving problems . lookingto buy this one for $500 to run 4 monitors . Only run ninjatrader about 12 charts and open a couple chrome windows for news service .
Will this speed and quality be ok .Its from ebay

Item specifics
Condition:
Seller refurbished: An item that has been restored to working order by the eBay seller or a third party not approved by ... Read more
Model:
HP DELUXE SERVER/WORKSTATION/TRADESTATION
RAM Size: EXTREME 64GB Operating System: WINDOWS 10 PROFESSIONAL
Brand:
DELL
Graphics Processing Type: Nvidia 4K 3D HD UHR ENTERPRISE DISPLAYPORT
Most Suitable For: Multi-Monitor Office Work Custom Bundle: Yes
Modified Item: Yes Connectivity: ENTERPRISE DISPLAYPORT DIRECT
Processor: DUAL INTEL XEON QUAD CORES 8 True Physical Cores! Processor Speed: INTEL XEON DUAL QUAD CORE 3.16GHz! (8TRUE CORES!)
Operating System Edition: Professional Hard Drive Capacity: 2TB!
SSD Capacity: ULTRAFAST 512GB 6GB/SECOND! MPN:
Does Not Apply
Screen Size: MONITORS ARE NOT INCLUDED UPC:
Does not apply

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  #77 (permalink)
 
pfsthib's Avatar
 pfsthib 
Sulphur, LA USA
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Ninjatrader
Trading: ES, NQ
Posts: 65 since May 2014
Thanks Given: 37
Thanks Received: 80


hoppy123 View Post
my old computer is giving problems . lookingto buy this one for $500 to run 4 monitors . Only run ninjatrader about 12 charts and open a couple chrome windows for news service .

Will this speed and quality be ok .Its from ebay



Item specifics

Condition:

Seller refurbished: An item that has been restored to working order by the eBay seller or a third party not approved by ... Read more

Model:

HP DELUXE SERVER/WORKSTATION/TRADESTATION

RAM Size:EXTREME 64GBOperating System:WINDOWS 10 PROFESSIONAL

Brand:

DELL

Graphics Processing Type:Nvidia 4K 3D HD UHR ENTERPRISE DISPLAYPORT

Most Suitable For:Multi-Monitor Office WorkCustom Bundle:Yes

Modified Item:YesConnectivity:ENTERPRISE DISPLAYPORT DIRECT

ProcessorUAL INTEL XEON QUAD CORES 8 True Physical Cores!Processor Speed:INTEL XEON DUAL QUAD CORE 3.16GHz! (8TRUE CORES!)

Operating System Edition:ProfessionalHard Drive Capacity:2TB!

SSD Capacity:ULTRAFAST 512GB 6GB/SECOND!MPN:

Does Not Apply

Screen Size:MONITORS ARE NOT INCLUDEDUPC:

Does not apply



I was told to run NinjaTrader you need a benchmark of 15000 or more on your CPU. Check it here.

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/



Sent using the NexusFi mobile app

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  #78 (permalink)
 lcoia 
Rochester NY/USA
 
Experience: Beginner
Platform: NinjaTrader
Trading: NQ, ES, CL, YM
Posts: 3 since Nov 2015
Thanks Given: 0
Thanks Received: 4


bltdavid View Post
I have that video card -- it supports 6 Mini-DisplayPorts, not the same thing as regular size DisplayPort. Amazon price is $350, but still worth it. It comes with 6 MiniDP-to-HDMI adapters, so the recommendation to buy used DP monitors is a poor one. Why? Well, A) you don't want to skimp on your monitors, good new monitors are worth the price, and not much more than $100 anyways, and B) because that video card has six MiniDP-to-HDMI adapters included, so get monitors with either a MiniDP port (rare) or an HDMI port (very common).

[Note: The Amazon reviews indicate the product advertising may be wrong, some reviews claim the 6 MiniDP-to-HDMI adapters were actually 2 MiniDP-to-DVI and 4 MiniDP-to-DP adapters. Read all reviews!]

I wouldn't worry about the water pipe cooler -- if you want a silent computer you'd want to reduce as many fans as possible, so get a closed loop water cooler for your CPU -- no mess, no fuss, cheap, and less noise.

As far as a UPS, yes, but I'd put all the monitors on the UPS, not just one. Also, make sure to buy another UPS for your DSL/cable modem and router -- although when my power goes out my internet goes out, too -- the UPS doesn't help me because my cable company's local drop-point is also without power. A UPS combined w/DSL modem probably does better during power outages, since the traditional cooper-wire phone service should not be affected.


The VisionTek 7750 has miniDP ports on the card in order to fit 6 connections. And while it supports miniDP to HDMI and other port types you should NOT use them. You should only use miniDP to full size DisplayPort. How do I know? I had a 6 monitor setup with 4 DisplayPort monitors and 2 HDMI. The card is supposed to handle mixed monitors, but in my experience the non-DisplayPort monitors kept going black. I even tried using the DVI ports on the monitors, same problem.

I returned the card to VisionTek, they tested the card and found nothing wrong with it, but they used all DP monitors.
I replaced the 2 HDMI monitors with DP, all 6 monitors are full size DisplayPort, and have never had a problem since.
Also, the card is currently sold on Amazon for $222.

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  #79 (permalink)
 bltdavid 
San Jose, CA, USA
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NinjaTrader
Posts: 112 since Dec 2013
Thanks Given: 35
Thanks Received: 103


lcoia View Post
The VisionTek 7750 has miniDP ports on the card in order to fit 6 connections. And while it supports miniDP to HDMI and other port types you should NOT use them. You should only use miniDP to full size DisplayPort. How do I know? I had a 6 monitor setup with 4 DisplayPort monitors and 2 HDMI. The card is supposed to handle mixed monitors, but in my experience the non-DisplayPort monitors kept going black. I even tried using the DVI ports on the monitors, same problem.

I returned the card to VisionTek, they tested the card and found nothing wrong with it, but they used all DP monitors.
I replaced the 2 HDMI monitors with DP, all 6 monitors are full size DisplayPort, and have never had a problem since.
Also, the card is currently sold on Amazon for $222.

You're right, I see that card on Amazon for $222 -- apparently other versions
of the same card sell with a different mix of adapters, which seems to be
reflected in the cost.

I'm using that card now with 6 monitors using MiniDP-to-DVI active adapters for several years.
I have had zero issues, the monitors have never 'gone black'.

64bit Windows 7 Ultimate
2 ASUS 24in PA248Q monitors
4 ASUS 23in PA238Q monitors

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  #80 (permalink)
 
AllSeeker's Avatar
 AllSeeker 
Mumbai, India
Legendary Pratik_4Clover
 
Experience: Beginner
Platform: TradingView & ZerodhaKite
Trading: NIFTY, BANKNIFTY
Frequency: Daily
Duration: Minutes
Posts: 1,423 since Jan 2019
Thanks Given: 5,245
Thanks Received: 5,006


A little contradictory view since I don't want any netwbie to get scared off from the big numbers in the thread, these things are not compulsory, quite a few people trade from mobiles these days, I wont comment on their methods but the fact is, as a newbie investing in machine is not neccessarially top priority. If you can get 2nd monitor, its a good enough addon and "most" if not all broker terminals work on even low end laptops. I still use one such a machine (5 years old university allocated i3 laptop), I can still do back tests on Tradingview. But then again I'm bit of a penny pincher

Of course, these machines are greate additions, but you really need to be running something like dozen monitors and full on algo black boxes to even reach a point where you are getting best out of the machine you have paid for. And it doesn't neccessrially improve your skill.

This is for newbies like me who might be contepleting on where to spend money in early phases, not for professional traders

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Last Updated on November 30, 2020


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