Trading Computers
One critical and often overlooked aspect of trading performance is the computer you use to trade. As traders, we often focus our efforts on finding the best system or right instrument to trade, the latest indicator, and lowest latency brokerage, but unless you’re trading on a high performance, purpose-built trading computer, your system never reaches its full potential. That’s why I started Orbital Computers 7 years ago – to provide the highest performance, highest quality desktop and laptop computers, built specifically for traders. In this article we will cover what aspects of computer hardware are most important to maximizing trading performance, what to look for in a trading computer, and why Orbital Computers’ Trading PCs are the finest available. If you’d rather have a trading computer expert guide you through configuring a trading PC, please visit our website or give us a call at 877 976 7510 and we’d be glad to give you a personalized recommendation.
How do we speed up trading performance?
The fundamental question when considering computer hardware for trading is – “how do trading platforms work and what components do these platforms stress?” The goal of a properly designed trading computer is to process large volumes of market data as fast as possible, to seamlessly display that data on multiple screens, to send and receive order
data to the exchange with the lowest latency possible, and to do all of this with rock solid reliability.
We’ll quickly cover a few core components and what aspects of those components are most important to the speed aspect of trading:
CPU – The Central Processing Unit is the brain of your computer. The CPU performs most calculations for normal trading workloads – generating charts, calculating indicators, processing orders, running your trading platforms, and much more. There are 2 important specifications to consider on the CPU: CPU Frequency (value given in GHz) and number of CPU cores. For most traders, best way to speed up your trading platform is to use a current-generation CPU with the highest frequency possible. Having a high CPU frequency leads to faster single-threaded processing of tasks, which will be the ideal way to speed up trading workloads. Aside from the CPU frequency, we also must consider the number of CPU cores. For most normal trading workloads, a 6 to 8 core CPU should be more than sufficient as trading platforms generally aren’t heavily multi-threaded, meaning they primarily operate off one or a few CPU cores, at those cores’ max frequency. The big exception to that rule is for back testing and simulation tasks, which can often be multi-thread optimized and can make use of many CPU cores to rapidly process the task in parallel. The fastest single-thread performance CPUs available today are the Intel Core i7 9700KF and i9 9900KF/KS, which run at 4.90 GHz to 5.00 GHz. These processors offer approximately 5.00 GHz frequency and 8 cores, which make them the ideal choice to maximize trading performance while keeping costs reasonable. The CPUs are available today are on the Orbital Silenced Trader X2000.
RAM – Random Access Memory is where most of your trading related data is stored while you are actively trading. Your trading platform and most of the charting data resides within system RAM, which allows the CPU to access and process the data rapidly. The more data, charts, indicators, platforms, web browser windows you have open, the more RAM is required. RAM capacity tends to be one of the most important specifications for trading performance. You don’t have to go overboard on RAM – you just need ‘enough’ and having ‘more than enough’ won’t increase performance (it won’t hurt performance either, but you can save money here). So how much RAM is ‘enough’? From our in-house testing, most traders should aim for about 4GB to 6GB RAM per monitor used for trading, with no less than 16GB. For a strong 4-6 monitor setup, 32GB RAM would be ideal without being wasteful. RAM and network latency also play critical roles in maximizing trading performance. You want your order data to get to the exchange for execution as fast as possible. Opt for a hardwired ethernet connection instead of WiFi for the lowest network latency possible. All the RAM Orbital Computers uses is modern high frequency, low latency DDR4 modules with additional aluminum heat-sinks to always keep them running at full speed.
Proper System Design – A common problem with using off the shelf PCs from big-box stores for trading is their lack of proper power supply, cooling, and other supporting components. Modern computer hardware is designed to throttle performance down if any components start to run near their thermal or power limits. Big Box computer manufacturers will often put decent processors in their PCs but then fail to cool or power them properly, so they never run at their full potential. That’s where Orbital Computers are different. We use top of the line CPU coolers from Noctua and Corsair that ensure the system stays We offer Fractal Design cases with sound deadening material on all internal panels, nearly silent hydraulic ball bearing fans, removable dust filters on all case intakes, silent fan mode fully-modular 80 Plus Gold certified power supplies from Corsair, and the finest Austrian designed Noctua CPU coolers. When combined, the total system is greater than the sum of its parts. Orbital Trading Computers are designed for Stability First. Once we achieve stability, we push performance further, so long as it does not decrease stability. We’ve been building high-performance trading computers for 7 years now, with thousands of happy customers.
Multiple Monitors – One major aspect to a well-rounded trading computer system is the monitor setup. Most day traders, particularly short term scalpers, benefit from having multiple screens to show them what’s happening across the markets. For example, a rapid move in Oil might have broader implications for some equities you may be trading, so keeping an eye on various market segments can be a helpful tool in your toolbox. From my experience, the ideal monitor setup for most traders is somewhere between 4 and 6 monitors – that provides enough screen real estate where you can keep an eye on all the important charts, while not being overloaded with excessive amounts of data. My suggestion to most newer traders is to get a PC that has support for 4 monitors but start with 2 or 3 screens and add additional monitors as you progress. For a 2 or 3 monitor setup, I recommend not buying a dedicated monitor stand, provided your desk is wide enough that you can set 3 monitors side by side. For 4 monitors and above, a monitor stand is all.
A current trend is to use ultra-wide or large scale high resolution screens like the LG 43UD79-B – these screens are in the range of 42.5” (versus a normal desktop monitor around 24”) and can be segmented into 4 virtual workspaces, essentially creating a 4 monitor setup without bezels in between the screens. The benefit to doing a large scale 4K monitor instead of a true 4x 1920x1080p quad monitor setup is mostly a cleaner and simpler setup with fewer wires and no bezels, less mounting hardware, and lower power requirements. However, your usable screen real estate – the primary feature we’re looking for – is slightly limited compared to a proper quad 24” monitor setup. The 42.5” single monitor provides about the same screen real estate as a 4x 21.5” monitor setup. For about the same price, you could do a 4x 24” monitor setup and gain a substantial amount of additional usable screen space. This kind of multi-monitor setup also allows you to expand the number of monitors one at a time to keep initial costs down. Just a quick word on using 4K TVs for trading use – while it may look like an attractive, cost effective option, using TV screens for trading is not recommended. Even high quality 4K TVs have excessive amounts of input lag and can cause eye fatigue if employed similarly to a monitor.
Why Orbital Computers?
Operating under the principle of Stability First, Orbital Computers are purpose-built for traders. We don’t cut corners, we individually stress test every PC prior to shipping, and we offer an industry-leading warranty by default. All systems come with a 3-year parts warranty, lifetime tech support provided by Orbital employees exclusively from our WA state office, lifetime labor, 3 years on-site service, overnight parts replacement, and more. Shipping is always free within the contiguous US. All of this is offered at industry-low prices. If you’re looking for a top of the line trading computer, click here to contact us and we’ll put together a customized system that meets all your hardware and pricing requirements.
For a 3% discount and more information go to: https://orbitalcomputers.com/configure.php?id=76
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