Tuesday, 7 October 2014

Why Industry Standards Are Not Enough For Trading Computers

There is a huge issue for traders looking at computers from big box stores. Often low-end processors are installed in the most affordable machines. Traders need a high benchmarking processor to be able to handle real time information. The school of thought is to buy a computer that will be able to provide you with reliability and speed. This means that you will need to have the right components installed in your trading computer. With out this, over time, you will see a huge decrease in speed because the computer is being overworked.


Custom trading computer retailers are not trying to up sell you when they tell you that industry standards are not high enough for traders. A basic computer from Wal-Mart might be functional for a student or a family that uses it to check email and listen to music. This isn’t what you will be using your computer for daily. In fact, most entry-level administrative workers can use these computers. They are still very functional for word processing and data entry. But again, this is not what you will be using you trading computer for each day. You need a high performance computer for day trading because of the high level tasks you will place on the computer. You will need to be able to processes multiple quantitative indicator computations each hour. Not to mention the multiple charts and online teaching rooms you will need access to through out the day.


Because of these facts, there are computers and mainly components that just don’t give you the output power that you need as a trader. Intel makes great processors. But the i3 or i5 is not going to do the job for you. Similarly, you can spend your day trading from a TV tray instead of a spacious work desk. This can be done, but it is severely limiting and frankly inefficient. This is what you are doing to your self by trading with hardware that is not at the standards that you need to trade. You need at least an Intel i7 or better. Don’t take the retailers word for it. Do your homework and check out these facts online. You will find that these are serious concerns for traders.


Lag time is the enemy of traders. Outdated information or the lack of an ability to submit information lightning fast is not good enough to be a successful trader. There are standards for computer components and hardware that exist for traders that are not the same as the retail computer industry standards.

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