Moving to Demo Account Testing - Advice

Hello All,

For all those who are testing their ideas by using a demo account, do you just run your EA on your computer and leave it switched on all day or do you use a VPS?

At this stage I am thinking of purchasing a cheap PC (which will be solely used to run MT4) and leave my EA running on it 24/7, and would welcome other views on the pros and cons of this approach…

In terms of purchasing a cheap PC I am currently looking at the following specs. Again any advice / recommendations welcome. My initial concerns are overall performance, and how the machines handle heat (as they will be switched on all day).

[B]Dell Latitude E6410 laptop[/B]
Processor
Intel Core i5-520M (up to 2.93 GHz)
Chipset
Mobile Intel QM57 Express
Memory
4 GB DDR3 RAM
Upgradeable to 8 GB
Storage
320 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive
Optical Drive
DVD+/-RW
Graphics
Intel HD Graphics
Audio
High Quality Speakers
Stereo headphone jack
Microphone jack and integrated, noise reducing microphone array with speech enhancement
Display
14.1" Widescreen WXGA Anti-Glare LED
1280x800 Resolution
Ports
Network connector (RJ-45)
USB V2.0 (4) 1 USB/eSATA combo
Microphone jack, Headphone/speaker out
IEEE 1394
6-in-1 card reader
54mm ExpressCard or Type I/II PCMCIA
Docking Connector
VGA
DisplayPort
SmartCard Reader
Connectivity
10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet
Wireless 802.11 b/g/n
Power
Lithium-ion Battery
AC Adapter
Dimensions
Width: 335mm
Height: 25.4-31.2mm
Depth: 238.3mm
Weight
1.93 Kg
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)


[B]Dell Inspiron M102z laptop [/B]
Processor
AMD E-450 Dual Core 1.65 GHz, featuring AMD Fusion technology
Memory
4 GB DDR3 RAM
Storage
320.0 GB Hard Disk Drive
Camera
1.3MP webcam with 1x digital microphone
Graphics
AMD Radeon™ HD 6320 Graphics
Audio
SRS premium Surround sound
2 X 1.5W speakers for total of 3W
Display
11.6" HD Widescreen, with 1366 x 768 resolution
Power
6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion Battery
AC adapter
Wireless
Standard 802.11b/g/n
Ports
Combo PowerSaver / USB 2.0 (1)
USB 2.0 (2)
Integrated 10/100 LAN (RJ45)
15-pin VGA video connector
Audio jacks (1-line out, 1 mic-in)
7-in-1 Media Card Reader
AC adapter connector
HDMI
Dimensions & Weight
Width: 205mm
Height: 24.3mm front 35mm back
Depth: 292mm
Weight: 1.5Kg
Operating System
Genuine Microsoft Windows 7 Premium


[B]Acer Aspire TimelineX 1830T SSD laptop[/B]
Processor
Intel Core i3-380UM Ultra Processor (Dual Core, 3M cache, 1.33 GHz)
(Ultra low voltage for longer battery life).
Memory
4 GB DDR3 RAM
Upgradeable to 8 GB
Storage
120 GB Solid State Drive (SSD)
Webcam
0.3 Mp Integrated Crystal Eye Webcam
Graphics
Intel HD Graphics with 128 MB of dedicated system memory, supporting Microsoft DirectX 10; Dual independent display support; MPEG-2/DVD decoding; WMV9 (VC-1) and H.264 (AVC) decoding; HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) with HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) support
Audio
Dolby-optimized surround sound system with two built-in stereo speakers; Optimized 2nd Generation Dolby Sound Room audio enhancement, featuring Dolby Headphone, Dolby Natural Bass and Dolby Sound Space Expander High-definition audio support; S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) support for digital; speakers; MS-Sound compatible; Built-in microphone
Memory Card Reader
Secure Digital (SD), MultiMediaCard (MMC), Memory Stick (MS), Memory Stick PRO (MS PRO), xD-Picture Card (xD)
Ports
3x USB V2.0 ports
1x HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) with HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) support
1x external display (VGA) port
1x Headphones/speaker/line-out jack with S/PDIF support
1x Microphone-in jack
1x Ethernet (RJ-45) port
1x DC-in jack for AC adapter
Communication
Ethernet, Fast Ethernet
Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n
Power
Lithium-Ion battery
AC Adapter
Display
11.6" HD 1366 x 768 (WXGA) pixel resolution LED-backlit TFT LCD
Physical Description
96 (W) x 42 (D) x 28.7 (H) m
1.40 kg
Operating System
Genuine Microsoft Windows 7 Professional


[B]Lenovo ThinkPad T410 laptop[/B]
Processor
Intel Core i5-520M Processor (3M Cache, 2.40 GHz)
Memory
4 GB DDR3 RAM
Upgradeable to 8 GB
Storage
320GB SATA Hard Disk Drive
Optical Drive
DVDRW SuperMulti
Graphics
Intel HD Graphics
Audio
High Definition Audio
Ports
Express Card 34mm
DisplayPort
VGA Port
4 USB ports (1 eSATA Port, 1 Powered USB)
RJ-45 Port
RJ-11 Port
Firewire 1394a
Combo Jack
5-in-1 MMC Reader
Communication
Gigabit Ethernet
Wireless 802.11b/g/n
Modem
Keyboard
Ergonomically designed keyboard and multi-touch TouchPad flush with palm rest, wider left- and right-click buttons, VoIP Fn+F6 hotkey and optimized position of LEDs
Power
Lithium-Ion battery
AC Adapter
Display
14.1" Widescreen Display
Physical Description
333.5mm x 239mm x 27.6-31.9mm
2.23kg
Operating System
Genuine Microsoft Windows 7 Professional

Hi All,

Just thought I’d bump this up in case anyone who might be able to contribute missed it.

I have a couple of related questions:

[B]1[/B] For all those who are testing their ideas by using a demo account, do you just run your EA on your computer and leave it switched on all day or do you use a VPS?

[B]2[/B] For those that run your EAs on your computer, do you have any advice regarding pros & cons and do you have any issues running your computers 24/7?

Thanks