Good recommendations for a trading computer setup?

[Johnny]

Hello guys,

My name is Johnny and I`m new to the forum and NinjaTrader. Due to some good recommendations and a very brief experience with NT, I have decided to use this platform for my trading purposes.

My trading will be short-term intraday trading (not scalping though) of the S&P 500 (ES contract) index.

First I need to get myself a good trading setup though, as I don`t want to put money at risk with this old laptop of mine

I have heard that Dell delivers good solutions for traders. I was recommended the Dell Precision T3500 somewhere online and from my point of view it looks pretty decent, but I`m pretty much clueless about specs and such.

I think I will go for two 22" screens from Dell as well. In addition to that I will get a decent laptop for back-up purposes and perhaps some additional charting if needed.

What do you guys think?

Any experiences with this setup or recommendations of something better?

My budget is tight, but I want to make sure that I get a decent workstation.

Thanks very much in advance,

Kind regards,

Johnny from Norway

[NinjaTrader_RyanO]

Hello Johnny,

Thank you for your post.

As long as your PC purchase meets the minimum requirements then you should have no issues trading with NinjaTrader.

http://www.ninjatrader-support.com/HelpGuideV6/helpguide.html?InstallationAndSetUp

Anything above and beyond those minimums will only increase performance, but perhaps other users in the community can offer specific recommendations.

[Johnny]

Ryan,

Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I did not find it the first time around

I would still greatly appreciate it if anyone could help me further.

I will most likely buy the Dell if no one has any objections or better recommendations.

Thanks again,

Johnny

[MXASJ]

Hej!

If it helps I've been using a Dell T3500 for about six months and love it. I'll probably be ordering another one later this year.

I opted for two of the NVS295 video cards and run four monitors. FWIW I got the Xeon3520 and 4MB RAM.

Good luck!

[Lost Trader]

FWIW, my laptop met the NT minimum specs and performed like a dog running Ninja. If you think about it, the same criteria for a gaming computer (fast CPU HDD, & video) are also exactly what you need for a trading computer (imho).

My shopping was one year ago, but I compared not only DELL, etc but got quotes from several companies that build custom gaming machines - they also have mid-range options. I would never spend $6 grand on an glowing Alien showboat. But I did get a Quad-core 2.83GHz Intel Q9550 with 12M cache, 2GB RAM (XP Pro), and 1.5 TB RAID 5 HDD storage and dual cross-fired ATI Radeon graphics cards from Vigor Gaming.

I'd take a good look at Nvidia now, and prices have dropped a lot since the new Intel CPU design came out. It's worth checking out.

[eDanny]

I agree with Lost Trader except there is no need for expensive video cards designed for gaming. These cards are powerful 3D rendering monsters which suck current and run hot/loud. NT uses standard 2D graphics and any decent card will perform as well as the most expensive. Remember, this is a numbers crunching game.

[Lost Trader]

True, eDanny, I did not get top of the line video. These are the mid-range 4850 and I got them basically to get more Video RAM for when charting on multiple monitors. I always kind of wondered if that were the real problem on the laptop where Video RAM is fixed on the mobo and cannot be upgraded.

BTW, Johnny, would you really get Windows 7? Does NT support it yet?

[NinjaTrader_RyanO]

Hi,

Windows 7 is not supported, but NinjaTrader should work on a Windows 7 PC.

[eDanny]

I always kind of wondered if that were the real problem on the laptop where Video RAM is fixed on the mobo and cannot be upgraded.

Shared ram is always detrimental. First, it steals memory from the system. Second, it is typically slower ram than that found on vid cards. When selecting a laptop it is always best to pick one with a real card inside and also one with a digital video output instead of VGA for a second monitor.

[Johnny]

Thanks for the input guys

I think I`ll go for the Dell T3500 and most likely upgrade the processor and RAM (4GB).

But what about the graphic card? I used to know this stuff when I was gaming years ago, but now I`m clueless

This one is included in the standard package here in Norway: 256MB PCIe x16 ATI Fire Pro V3750 (2xDP+DVI or DP+2xDVI or DP+DVI+VGA) Graphics Card .

The next affordable option is this one: 512MB PCIe x16 NVIDIA Quadro FX 580 (2xDP+DVI or DP+2xDVI or DP+DVI+VGA) Graphics Card

Beyond that, it starts getting really expensive.

Most likely, I will be using only 2 monitors in the beginning. Possibly 3, if I can get a good deal.

Would I need another graphic card if I were to use 3 screens?

The computer will be used for trading exclusively and most likely only NT.

Thanks in advance and sorry for my ignorance on the topic

Regards from Norway,

Johnny

[eDanny]

In my opinion 256 MB video ram is plenty for one or two monitors. My second card has 256 MB and is driving two screens with no trouble at all. Yes you will need a second card for a third monitor. Make sure both outputs on the card are digital.

[Johnny]

In my opinion 256 MB video ram is plenty for one or two monitors. My second card has 256 MB and is driving two screens with no trouble at all. Yes you will need a second card for a third monitor. Make sure both outputs on the card are digital.

Thanks eDanny.

I appreciate it

Kind regards,

Johnny

[roonius]

In my opinion 256 MB video ram is plenty for one or two monitors. My second card has 256 MB and is driving two screens with no trouble at all. Yes you will need a second card for a third monitor. Make sure both outputs on the card are digital.

There are video cards supporting up to 4 monitors.
For example:

http://www.amd.com/us/products/workstation/graphics/ati-firemv-2d/ati-firepro-2450-mv/Pages/ati-firepro-2450-mv.aspx

[thomasgalvin]

Hi johnny,

I know that there are so many providers of trading computer. But the one that i know is tradingcomputersnow.com. You can get your computer configured from there easily. I have got mine from them and I m impressed by them.

Hope you also like them.

[DH008]

Johnny,

Safety first!

Imagine this: You are in a big trade and all of a sudden your hard disc dies. Or your internet connection is gone. And you don't have a stop loss order in place.

You will loose a lot of money.

To be on the safe side I would recommend the following:

Use RAID-1 / hard disc mirroring. That means you have two hard disc's. If one fails the other one keeps on running without interupting your work.

Have a second pc with an other/different internet connection. The only thing you need on this pc is your order platform so that you are able to handle your orders in case anything goes wrong with your main pc.

Connect your main devices to an UPS (uninterruptible power supply - you just need a small one, lets say 15 minutes of batery power). In case of a power failure you are still able to exit your positions.

good luck!
DH