Stock Trading Computers
What’s Important?
Stock trading computers are much different than most computers that are suited for gaming or other uses. While a gaming computer CAN be used for stock trading. There are ways to save money on certain parts while still increasing performance.
The CPU is arguably the most important part of any stock trading computer. When searching for one, you want to make sure it's suitable for the software you are using. Most trading softwares nowadays benefit from fast single threaded performance. In most cases, you want to find a CPU with at least 6 cores and a fast single thread speed. The more cores you have, the more simultaneous instructions can be done at once. Single thread speed is defined by the amount of work completed in a certain amount of time that runs on a single stream of instructions/on a single thread. Single thread speed is most benefited by stock trading applications such as ThinkOrSwim. Also, you should only choose a CPU with a lot of cores (more than 8) only if your certain trading application will utilize them.
RAM is the most over invested part of a stock trading PC. Although it is very important to the performance of a system, 16-32GB should suit your needs.
The GPU is one of the most overlooked parts of a stock trading computer. Many traders nowadays run the newest, cutting edge graphics cards to run their setups. This is a huge waste of money with little to no performance benefit. For most stock trading setups, workstation cards such as the Quadro p620 are great choices. They are specifically designed to be run all day and every day with no performance loss. Gaming graphics cards on the other hand, are designed to squeeze as much performance as possible out of them. This can lead to crashes and instability while trading.