as Benji mentioned – stable OS. I run a Dell B130 (couple years old at this point) with a 1.5 Ghz processor and 512 Mb of DDR ram ( at 533Mhz )
Running 2 or 3 MT’s and 2 Oandas is not a problem… However I typically run:
Pidgin, Iceape browser, Iceape mail, Oanda FXTrade(2-20 charts), Meta Trader(5-10 charts), usually one game when I’m waiting for a pattern or for a trade to get going(netpanzer, bzflag, or some sort of opensource FPS. I specificly select lower end games as my laptop struggles with any real decent game, .
I finally got a LCD panel that is now for the forex platform/charts only… Now I can finally read and glance at the charts without worrying about missing a move!
Anways this is what I’m saying: I can(and have) taken a 133Mhz processor, 32?-64?Megs of ram and run Oanda on it, with Linux – I can’t do that with Windows. Granted running more then a couple of charts was a bit on the rough side, but the platform still responded in a timley manner provided a stable internet connection… Now the graphics left alot to be desired… Tiny resolution (800x600 being the max, or just out of reach – I dont remember which)
If you want a stable trading platform, I would strongly discourage windows – but on the otherhand I discourage windows for anything except games – and even then it is a marginal performer at best…
Windows is a resource hog, has programs you most likley dont need, dont use, and dont want. It has programs running that again you most likley dont need, dont use, and dont want…
Linux on the other hand can very easly be made to be light and fast allowing you to use things you really want with the full power of your computer… give it a try Ubuntu is geared twords people new to Linux… give it a shot Oanda runs fine, metra trade does too with wine…
just my overbloated .02 – just like windows… er sorry couldnt resist…