CPU Upgrade and Ninja Trader - What is more advantageous ?

[Savage1701]

I am considering a CPU upgrade. On the Intel platform I can go one of 2 ways - very fast single core (3.8) or slower (3.2) but dual core. Does anyone have any opinions on which would get me the best beneift for a trading platform consisting of this program, TradeStation, and a browser window? Is NinjaTrader dual-core aware? Does it benefit from it? Or is it better off with just a fast single core CPU? Any opinions appreciated. Thanks.

[KuJaX]

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Go single core, it will be fine. The 3.8ghz processor is way overpriced from its availability. You should be good off with a 3.4ghz

[NinjaTrader_Ray]

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NinjaTrader is not aware of dual core or dual processer machines.

[Savage1701]

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After some thought, I upgraded my system from a 3.4 Prescott to an AMD 4400+ dual core. I went back and forth on a fast single core vs. a dual core system. Numerous reviews pointed out the very real advantage of AMD vs. Intel in the dual core arena.

While I do not have any sort of benchmarks to justify this, I can tell you that my system no longer bogs down running TS, Ninja, TTN.com, and a Browser window. Is an AMD 4400+ faster at single core chores than a 3.4 Prescott ? Maybe, although the 4400+ is second to the bottom on the dual core line, and lacks hyperthreading. But it seems to me that this was the way to go, especially since TS seems to be a whole bunch of processes running under a common shell.

I suppose a fairer test might have been a 3.6 P4 against the 4400+, but the differences here are dramatically positive. I would suggest to anyone looking to run a trading platform to at least consider dual core, especially since WinXP is dual-core aware and shows real benefit in load times as well. Perhaps this is where the extra snap is from, since NT and (I assume) TS are not dual core aware.

All I know is that if it walks and talks like a duck, then there's a damn good chance that it's a duck. For me, this was worth it.