So this question is a little different than the usual Newbie questions. I am obviously new to Forex trading and trading in general. As I’ve gone through tutorials online I always see people who are sitting in front of multiple computer screens with various programs running. I currently only have my MacBook and a desk. My question is this: What would be a good home office set up? and do multiple monitors and/or CPUs add a significant amount of benefit to justify the costs associated with them. Of course as I grow in skills as a trader I am sure I will graduate to using them but should I invest in them at such an early stage of my trading career? Thanks for the responses.
Great question, @kwanbrown1!
Probably not. When you trade, you have to approach it as you would start any business by avoiding unnecessary expenses. As your trading improves, you might consider using some of your profits to invest in better technology, but only when you are confident it will contribute to your success. As your skills and knowledge develop, you may decide that, instead of a monitor, you would rather invest your money in advanced charting or to hire programmers who can help automate your strategy.
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.” - Luke 14:28-30
An economical approach I use is to open multiple MT4 instances and tile the charts. This way you can easily follow a few dozen markets at the same time. MT4 doesn’t consume much memory, so you can have these running with other trading/charting software.
Thanks Captain
Perhaps this thread of Dr. Pipslow may also be helpful to you
Multiple monitors are useful, but don’t go for now! For learning, your personal computer is enough!
You can always use a Big TV - connect with HDMI and have 6-8 windows on it concurrently.
If your home TV is not in use during the daytime, you can use that one !
I got a 44" for a tenner off ebay not working and mended it with a new (used) TCON board for a couple of quid !
It is the beauty of the Forex market that you can execute your trades, analyze the market, and watch prices from your home. Yes, you can set a home office for yourself in this regard in order to have a Work-Life Balance. Thank you so much!
I don’t think that you will require greater office set up to conduct your forex trading. Internet enabled laptop can be sufficient especially in the initial stage. However, why not increase your skills rather than increasing your monetary investment. Skills and knowledge can actually help you to survive here.
No. You do not need multiple screens at all. With your computer or laptop you can do it very easily. Just focus on developing skills. First develop your trading strategy and buy tools and equipment if your strategy demands. Don’t do unnecessary spenses.
Thanks Nathaniel. I am definitely putting more of my focus into my studies. I have been learning for the past 7 months. I just was curious about the effectiveness of having multiple screens as I have seen many others have them. I didn’t know if it would be beneficial to me as a new trader.
Thanks for the advice. Learning is first and foremost. once I become advanced in several months to years I will then get all the nice bells and whistles.
You Said it right. Invest in them when YOU see the need. Start trading and when you realize that one screen isnt enough then get more because you can organize you trading strategy to only use one screen. But most likely when you become advance you will naturally want more screens.
Now this is worth its weight in gold. At the other extreme, one may have spent about £2,000 on a decent laptop with two 24 inch monitors, and then some on "software recommended on the £2,000 trading course in London, for a first year cost of about £5,000. And how much would be left to open the trading account? I spent a lot of time working in poor countries when I was younger, and necessity is the mother of invention. I witnessed working people trading in internet cafes in Canaries, Syria, Dubai. I also worked with oil traders in Canada Square and Moorgate with £20K workstations trading £5M cargoes of crude. I had greater admiration for those internet cafe dudes than the city slickers. For one it is to be able to eat a meal, for the other, it is whether or not to choose a Porsche or a Range Rover as a company car. Who gets your vote?
How is that extra Spenses ? - Besides I can have 4 different pairs up - or 4 timesframes, Play 2 games of poker, watch a you tube vid and read/reply to a post on here - all at once ! - But hey - we’re crap at “multitasking” aren’t we ?
A good computer and 2 monitors, this is what you need to start.
2 monitors improve your productivity very slightly, so don’t buy this if you don’t need to.The MacBook is a great place to start, as it is designed for office work where you can quickly switch between applications. When I started out, I also worked with a MacBook, and the thought of two monitors never crossed my mind. Now we are expanding and we have purchased a coworking space where there are 13 computers, and only 2 of them have two monitors for easy operation, but you can do without them. It was hard to find a good place during the coronavirus pandemic, so we try to take all precautions so that no one gets sick and our office is not quarantined.
Not that I know anything about anything, but wouldn’t the answer depend at least partially on what timeframes your using? Seems to me if you’re trading weekly or even daily charts you could keep track of multiple assets with one screen. But then I’m not good at multitasking, either. My definition of multitasking is: The art of doing several things poorly all at the same time."