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It is not necessary (on the assumption of a decent size/speed PC and all other things being equal) but in my opinion it is wise to keep them separate. As you know we, as traders, are easily spooked by disconnects, slow downs and just plain weird PC performances. By keeping trading software on a separate machine you reduce the amount of diagnostics needed when there is a trade related issue and as you probably know your mind kicks in to ghz region when there is an issue!
So for me, trading is on a separate machine.
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. Oscar Wilde
I do every thing on one computer. With the power you get today from one computer you do not need a second rig.
Just keep your pc clean, tray to not get weird stuff on it.
I don't think it matters if your PC was purchased in recent years. With multi-core processors, multi-threading and several gigs of RAM common place in today's PC's, our machines can handle a lot more simultaneously than simply having a trading platform up alongside a few web pages. Just have a look at your task manager. Most of the time our machines are 'Just Chillin'.
Another thing to keep in mind is that even if you use separate machines, it's probable that they are both connected to the same router and internet connection. So if you've got a really old computer, ok then maybe it makes sense. But if you're worrying about bandwidth or anything like that then I don't see the point.
Obviously this is all said with the assumption that the PC is kept virus free, defragged and running optimally.
I've worked with IT for a good amount of years and i can get behind the replies so far.
Depends slightly on your angle however.
Performance-wise, most newer respectable rigs(8Gb ram and an SSD disk do wonders) will be more than enough for anything you throw at it trading wise. Any lag you experience is mainly due to downloads in progress or simply old ineffective platform/indicator-coding taking its time. If you start editing CAD, photoshop/image-rendering, video encoding- then you'll have legitimate needs for higher end equipment, but until then you will very unlikely need more compute power as long as you dont bog your system down with junkware and torrent clients etc.
Security-wise, you will gain some benefits from separating trading from browsing/mails/daily usage. However i think those gains are so minor, that its far from worth it. Just run a decent up-to-date/patched windows 7/8.1 with Windows Defender and you'll be "safe enough". Windows Defender is actually really decent, and much less of a resource hog than your Norton/McAffee crap bloatwares- which WILL slow down mostly any rig.
Some useful hardware to consider investing into however, would be stuff like a UPS battery to keep you going through power failures, or at least allow a safe shutdown. A backup/emergency laptop with an independent wireless internet access (3g/4g)- also great for when you need to travel. Newer routers like Asus lineup also support fallback connections, where they will log on to a wireless 3g/4g connection, should your main internet connection (cable/fiber/dsl) go down.
I have a separate rig, similar to what you're describing with Mac for general use and Windows box for trading. I have a few reasons for this, some of which are...
I record the screen of my trade sessions so I don't want to gunk up the video with flashbacks from the futures.io (formerly BMT) forum the next time I watch the video (as good as they are).
Occasionally my two year old son has to watch planes landing on YouTube, so he watches one screen while I watch the other - and I secretly hope he learns to trade through osmosis.
I often interact with my Mac during trade sessions. I queue audio, look something up quickly, etc. I don't want to accidentally punch some keys and enter in to a trade because I forgot to Alt+Tab.
My Mac runs all sorts of junk, Flash player, time machine, spotlight indexing, lots more. Yes there's tons of power in my Mac but it still does weird stuff sometimes.
I've been a professional programmer for 15 years and I know how fickle computers can be.
For the sake of less than $1k for a pretty good PC I figured the cost was well worth the reduction in risk.
