Experienced advise with setting up trading desk

Beginner Questions
1

I have decided that I can no longer try and trade using just a laptop for several reasons including the size of the screen and not being able to see the charts in a better size and more of it also I find myself spending so much time opening and closing windows and resizing charts etc and takes me away from the concentration of looking at the charts.

I think that a strong PC with two 21" screens should be a good start. I would appreciate any help and advice from any traders who have experience with this and can advise some dos and don’ts and what is a must regarding required hardware and setup.

Also might seem a bit daft but do most of you use a windows operating system of MAC as I like the simplicity of an imac but not too sure if I would come up against many compatibility issues later on with regards to software and adding any additional hardware I might need as I hopefully become more experienced and have to add to my tools.
Thankyou

2

I use Windows. (I have Windows 7 now, having previously used XP until a few weeks after support for it was withdrawn by Microsoft, and I’m resisting upgrading to Windows 10 until they withdraw support for Windows 7. I won’t use Windows 8.)

I have one screen only (I think it’s probably 24" - they’re measured diagonally, aren’t they?).

I’ve never wanted a second screen. I know many traders have multiple screens but I’ve never seen the point, for myself, because I think it’s less effort to click on a Window tab than it is to have to look in a different direction. I can only look at one at a time, so I do everything on one screen: a few trading-chart windows, my online backgammon games (which give me something to do between trades and keep me patient while waiting for them to materialise) and the BBC iPlayer so I can watch (or at least listen to) [I]The Daily Politics[/I] every day, and all those BBC2 and BBC4 documentaries - anything non-fiction, that I can treat more or less like the radio and not have to concentrate when I don’t want to, or look at the picture-screen very often. When I’m not playing CD’s, that is. I do have a high-powered PC to run it all at once (an Intel “i7 chip”, whatever that means) and very high-speed cable internet.

I can trade from my laptop, if necessary, and I sometimes do when I’m (actually quite often) away from home for many weeks at a time, but it’s not as comfortable as a bigger screen.

3

All you need is one laptop with even minimum performance one execution in right time thats it , set and forget it

4

For the value, you can get a much better (faster) Desktop than a laptop.
Over the years, I’ve found 2 or 3 monitors to be best- for me. I use a 21" CPU monitor (as my “main” screen) and a 30" flat screen insignia TV to house 7 or 8 other charts. Keep my laptop and another screen hooked up to that (totalling 4), for news and anything else I need to access.

Ipad (streaming CNBC) and cell phone as backup tools to access mobile trading in case desktop goes down.
100MB internet.

5

It all depends on what kind of trading you are intending to do. Your success in trading is certainly not solely related to the amount of equipment you can set up. I have only used one laptop for many years. It travels with me wherever I go. At home, at the summer cottage, and like last week, on holiday in the UK Shropshire hills! But then I ONLY ever trade EURUSD and ONLY technical therefore I do not need news feeds or multiple screens. And I usually ONLY have one trade at a time open. On the other hand, when I was working on the trading desk in an international bank dealing room I had four screens - domestic markets, foreign markets, technicals, and news services.

If you are monitoring multiple markets and news etc then you might well need more equipment. What I am saying here is match your equipment with your needs and keep it as simple as possible. Exceptional equipment will not generate exceptional profits - but inadequate info may well inhibit them. Let your needs define your equipment.

6

I do completely understand that big spending will not necessarily increase my trading results however I do want to have every possible chance of success and even if it increased my trading results by a fraction I would consider it a result for myself.
Thankyou for your advice sir.

7

Hey there,

good question…

Here is an old thread about this:

8

Trading does not necessarily require the fastest or newest computer hardware. A laptop is usually sufficient to start manually trading.

In my opinion, having multiple monitors does help with productivity. I find that dual monitors is the perfect amount for most people, once you have a dual setup it’s almost impossible to go back to using just one screen. A triple monitor set up takes time for the user to get used to; I remember I used to always forget to utilize one of them when I first had it set up. But once you’re used to it, a triple monitor setup is just great. I have had quad and hex monitor setups before, and although they look impressive, they are more of a pain than anything and I find lowers productivity.

As for operating system, chances are Windows 10 is your best bet. OS X will have compatibility issues with most commercial trading software and it’s not worth limiting your selection because of it.

For hardware, a medium-grade PC or laptop should do the trick. If you wanted a custom built machine, a 4th-gen (or higher) i5/i7 CPU, 16GB DDR3 memory, and a GTX 700 series (or higher) graphics card will be more than enough to support a dual or triple monitor set up. If anyone needs help with choosing parts to build a computer, I’m more than happy to help. :slight_smile:

With that being said, as an algorithmic trader the requirements for hardware are higher than that of a manual trader. My personal setup is a bit complex, but here’s the basics:

CPU: Intel Core-i7 5960X
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4 32GB
Motherboard: ASUS X99 Deluxe
Graphics Card: EVGA Titan X SC (2 of them in SLI)
Power Supply: Corsair AX1200i
Main Storage: Samsung 950 Pro M.2 512GB
Secondary Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 1TB (2 in RAID 0)
Operating System: Windows 10 Pro
Monitors: ASUS ROG SWIFT PG279Q (3 of them)

For cooling, I’m on a fully water-cooled loop.

If anyone is interested in the parts I chose and why, just ask, I can justify it. And yes, it’s a COMPLETELY OVERKILL build for majority of people, at almost $11,000. I use this setup for developing trading strategies, but also for video and photo rendering, virtual reality and other hardware intensive tasks.

I’d post a picture right now, but I’m in the middle of renovating the office. Should be good by Monday, and I’ll take some. :slight_smile:

9

When setting up what I wanted to trade on I took on the saying of “dress for the position you want not what you have”. Meaning if I wanted to be serious about this then not only invest the time but also invest the tools to give me the most advantages :slight_smile: I didn’t go too crazy ,but I went ahead and invested $1,700 on a 3 screen HP set up from my local Best Buy. They had sales going on all of this equipment.

–Tower HP - ENVY Desktop - Intel Core i5 - 12GB Memory - 2TB Hard Drive
– 3 27" HP LED Monitors

I like the three screens because I hate toggling between applications on single monitor. I have my center screen running my trading software and a 5 m chart. Right screen runs two sets of charts (15 M & 1 H) then my left screen runs 4H charts. I originally planned using the third screen for internet sessions revolving around research, but that fell to my laptop screen :slight_smile: I also have a tablet connected to wireless and a phone on 4G for backup. Does this make me a better trader than a dude on a laptop…NOPE, but from a physiological standpoint it is a lot more calming for me to simply look across multiple screens then constantly clicking around looking at different charts.

10

Think of it this way, if you are a 20 handicap golfer playing with a second hand set of clubs you bought at a yard sale. Is spending 5 grand on a costume set of clubs going to make you a scratch golfer, not likely, it may even make you a worse golfer having clubs you do not know how to use.

Plan and simple, unless you are a professional fund manager, managing multi client accounts, there is little need as a retail trader to have a professionals setup. Now if you are like me and want more desktop space, most laptops ( at least mine does) allows you to attach an external monitor and extend your display. When working at my desk I have my laptop plugged into a 22" monitor so I can have charts on one screen and research on the other, but when on the go all I need is my laptop and a good Wi-Fi connection. If my laptop would to die tomorrow, I likely would replace it with the Microsoft Surface Pro, I think they are cool. Bottom line, save your money

11

Clark must game in his other life

12

Not as much as I used to. :slight_smile:

13

Thank you all for your feedback some great information to consider.

I do hope one day I’m able to help out others when I myself become a consistently profitable trader.

14

With a “[U]when[/U]” and not an “[U]if[/U]” there you are [I]certain [/I]to succeed! Great positive thinking! :smiley:

15

Still lots of wiring and hardware to work on, but here’s the current state of my office, had some decent natural light this morning so I couldn’t resist taking out the camera. Might even go fly the drones once the wind dies down a little.

16

Is that a brain cooler over your head? Cool! :smiley:

17

Either that, looks like, or a bit of dental or neurosurgical equipment? The chair itself looks straight out of a Porsche, or something … and what’s with the drones in the background? :wink:

18

That is the Yeti microphone and pop filter, Radius II shockmount, on a Rode PSA1 microphone boom arm.

The chair is from DXRacer’s Drift series line; very comfortable for long periods of sitting.

One of my hobbies is photography/videography, especially aerial. The one on the right is the DJI Phantom 4, and the one on the left is the DJI Phantom 3 Professional. Both shoot in 4K video. :slight_smile:

This was shot a month ago at sunset, right above my backyard, about 300 feet up.

19

Cool … I see: they really are drones; I wasn’t sure! (Was also wondering if you’d had Amazon deliveries and kidnapped them.)

20

Fantastic!!!