Critique my Trading rig

Calculus

Calculus

Calculus

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Joined
27 Jan 2016
Posts
47
Guys, I posted a message last week about spec for a new trading rig. But after educating myself over the last several days I've decided to build my own. Also, because I'm having to buy 6 x AOC 34" wide screens I've decided to try to cut costs. This isn't a false economy because my trading software isn't demanding and right now everything is running fine on a 3 year old i5 Dell box.

Motherboard: Gigabyte 970A-DS3P AMD 970

Chip: AMD FX6300 Black Edition 6 Core

Graphics card: VisionTek 7750 Eye 6 2GB DDR5 (offers 6 mini-display ports)

RAM: HyperX FURY Series 8GB DDR3 1600MHz

SSD: Samsung 2.5 inch 250 GB 850 EVO

Network: TP-LINK TL-WDN4800 N900

DVD: Samsung SH-224FB/BEBE 24X Internal DVD

Power: Corsair Builder Series CX 500 Watt

Case: Corsair CC-9011075-WW Carbide Series 100R

Windows: 7 64 bit

Cost for the above, give or take is £665.

Any comments?
 
If trading is your income, I would go RAID 1 on the SSD, so you'll need another one of the same size (if one fails, the other takes over).

Also, if you wanted to go cheap on the graphics cards then I believe you could just buy a few cheaper cards with 2-3 outputs and have them all installed at the same time. Your motherboard has 2 pcie slots, so 2 cards with 3 outputs might be cheaper.

I would also never ever ever ever ever use wireless for trading. That's asking for trouble. I wouldn't use wireless for anything if it can be avoided. In fact, if it was my main source of income I would consider 2x ethernet cards (or use the one on-board + one separate) and have them connected to different routers which have broadband from 2 different providers... or something along those lines.

If it's more of a hobby, then a single drive & wireless will be alright I guess.
 
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Craig

I'm with you on the not wireless for trading. But my office will be re-worked over the next month or so (for 2-3 weeks) so I'll be in the room next door without any wired internet access (and I don't want to start drilling through walls or running cable everywhere. The wireless is just a stop go until I move back.

Thanks for the cheaper cards angle, I'll look into that as well as the RAID 1.
 
As a side note, have you also considered a UPS, attached to your PC and your router? In case of a power cut there'd be a good chance the internet would stay on, so you'll at least have a few mins rather than being cut off immediately (or a lot longer if you powered down your main machine, left the router running on the UPS and continued from a laptop).
 
Yes I have consider UPS Craig but it's for the future. My pocket is getting raided for about £5,000 for the complete setup and any more money at present might send me over the edge!

My trading is not so much minute to minute so any power outages aren't going to be devastating.

On your cheaper graphics cards idea, the monitors will be running at 21:9 3440x1440 so correct me if I'm wrong but cheaper cards won't work will they?
 
Hmm, true, they may struggle at that resolution for each monitor! That's a lot of pixels you'll be displaying :D

Then again, they won't be displaying anything intensive. You should be able to find out the resolution the cheaper cards support.
 
Why do you need a new PC? Just get the graphics card and the monitors.

And really, running an ethernet cable around the wall and through a door is no big deal.
 
Youve lost me... Trading rig? Trading software?

Are you trading Pokemon cards or what? :p
 
Quartz said:
Why do you need a new PC? Just get the graphics card and the monitors.

And really, running an ethernet cable around the wall and through a door is no big deal.
Click to expand...

I want to move my present computer upstairs so need a new one in my office and it's starting to get a touch cranky. Yes, running a cable is no big deal but the builders are going to be sealing off 1/4 of the house so wireless makes sense for my situation.
 
I'd rather go powerline than wireless, assuming your mains wiring isn't ancient, and your router will be on the same ring-main as where you want to place the PC.

(And this is coming from someone who dislikes powerline, just not as much as he dislikes wireless).
 
paradigm said:
I'd rather go powerline than wireless, assuming your mains wiring isn't ancient, and your router will be on the same ring-main as where you want to place the PC.

(And this is coming from someone who dislikes powerline, just not as much as he dislikes wireless).
Click to expand...

Ha! Can't believe I didn't think of this, thanks. Plus, I've got some unused adapters in my cupboard.
 
Calculus said:
I want to move my present computer upstairs so need a new one in my office and it's starting to get a touch cranky. Yes, running a cable is no big deal but the builders are going to be sealing off 1/4 of the house so wireless makes sense for my situation.
Click to expand...

What size/resolution/how many monitors do you have on your existing PC?


Calculus said:
Also, because I'm having to buy 6 x AOC 34" wide screens I've decided to try to cut costs.
Click to expand...

Based on your other thread (and your limited knowledge of how resolution affects things), how have you come to the conclusion that you absolutely need 6x 34" Monitors?

You don't HAVE to buy 6x Monitors, but even if you did, you don't HAVE to buy 34" monitors, and you don't HAVE to have 3440x1440 resolution monitors.

Looking at screenshots etc of your trading software - like you say it isn't demanding, but I also don't believe you're going to gain much by going with superwide 3440x1440 over much cheaper 1080P screens - the software simply doesn't appear to have that much visual detail.

Mounting 6x 34" Monitors also appears to be a bit more of a challenge, with a limited number of more expensive mounts vs the smaller models.

Instead of spending £3000+ just on monitors (especially if you have no idea whether the extra resolution will be a benefit), why not try some slightly smaller monitors e.g. 27" 1080P Screens (27" should be big enough to see at a glance)

6x 1080P 27" Screens = £900

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aoc-...n-widescreen-led-monitor-black-mo-013-ao.html


Or if you really believe you need the extra resolution, how about a half way step of 2560x1440 (probably more beneficial as you get the same vertical resolution as the superwides)

6x 2560x1440 27" Screens = £1380

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/aoc-...n-widescreen-led-monitor-black-mo-031-ao.html



My personal view is that spending that much money on monitors, I wouldn't want to be scrimping on the PC. Whilst a "normal" consumer graphics card may work fine, for peace of mind and future support I would be picking a AMD FirePro or NVidia Quadro as I and others mentioned in your other thread (*Note whilst the Visiontek 7750 you mentioned will drive 6 monitors, eyefinity edition cards are relatively rare, and driver support may be an issue - the professional cards e.g. FirePro are designed for this, and the drivers are validated and maintained for longer_
 
Arm, you make some good points. I've just written a long reply but when posting it had me login again and boom, the post disappeared. Will reply again in detail within 24 hours.
 
The AOC 34" dimensions are (without the stand just the panel with bezels) :-


The monitor is 82.5cm width by 37cm height, that's just the panel size from edge to edge with the bezel. The diagonal is 90.5cm with the bezel.


Replied to your email too, but added it here if others need it too.
 
Arm

You always make good points, thanks.

In trading concentration is a big edge, it's really the secret I believe. Give me top concentration and a weak method and I'll outperform anyone with a top method but weak concentration. My trading station is therefore designed with increased and more sold concentration in mind.

Over the last few months I've dropped my time periods in trading so whereas before 20 minute charts was the lowest I went, now it's 1 minute. I look at 3 currency crosses, EUR-USD, GBP-USD and EUR-AUD in 1m, 5m and 20m charts. All relate to each other and it's important to have them all on the screen at once.

However, whereas in the 20m world things don't move that fast in the 1m/5m world they can. Where I am having problems right now is my brain is getting confused when I say have the EUR-USD charts on my 2x27" screens and then flick over to say GBP-USD. The 2 very different pictures take time for my brain to reconfigure. Then I click to the other cross, EUR-AUD and the same thing happens.

So by having 3 screens (I'll get on to the other 3 in a moment) I feel my brain won't get scrambled as much as the charts will all be there right in front of me, all the time. For me, thinking and strategizing is very important and it can often take many hours of watching things develop before I do something later on in the day. Markets can be very subtle, the moves can take time to setup so by having the charts available all the time I believe that will be an edge worth investing in.

Right now I'm using 2x27" monitors but because large charts are an advantage I can only have 2 on one monitor and the 3rd on the other (each chart is about 27cm square). By having a 34" wide screen I can now have all 3 charts (1m/5m/20m) on the same monitor (27cm square). Yes, I'd like to save money by having the 29" monitors but that would make the charts smaller and you have to go bigger whenever possible.

So if I'm only looking at 3 crosses where do the other 3 monitors come in? In the FX markets the different crosses are all quoted in a traditional way, so it's EUR-USD rather than USD-EUR. However, there's nothing wrong with USD-EUR, it's just a mirror image of EUR-USD. In my trading I'm far better on the long side (buying) than the short side (selling, expecting lower prices). Therefore by looking at the markets from an always long perspective it again helps with my concentration. So above my EUR-USD charts on one monitor I'll have the reverse, USD-EUR. Looking at the reverse is a massive edge for me because even though it's the mirror image it just looks different. The reverse charts are also a big money saver for me, so many times I've wanted to trade the EUR-USD long but a quick look at the USD-EUR shows this to be a weak trade. In trading it's often a case of not who makes the most on profitable trades but who loses the least on losing trades. Sort of like football, if you have a strong defence goals are worth far more because you go 1-0 instead of 1-1.

As for the Graphics card I've ordered you could well be right Arm and I should have gone 2x Firepro 4100w. I did it to save about £50 and in the past when I've tried to save money (on all sorts of things) the decision has often cost me. However, I am confident things will work out but I'm ready for any problems. Fortunately my cousin is head of IT at a nearby school so I can always ask him for any help. The other alternative if things don't work out is to go the Firpro route.

Also relating to concentration I've bought a sit-stand electric desk for just under £600 (Conset 501-29). I'm not a morning person so I believe standing in the mornings can only help with my concentration. Even though I get a minimum of 8 hours sleep a night I still feel dead for the first 3-4 hours. Anybody who's not a morning person will know this feeling. So the whole setup (monitors + desk + standing) is designed solely for increased concentration. However, multiple screens in trading have to be used properly because too many lead to distraction and lack of concentration as they are too many things going on and your mind is pulled multiple ways. But my screens are there for a reason, not to be flashy, but for better concentration. Will it all work, I'm confident it will but at the same time I don't know for sure so time will tell.

When I build everything here I'll list some photos and tell you all how it's going (if you're interested that is!).

Thanks everyone for your help, you've all educated me on tech. And all of this proves one of my long term sayings - the internet biggest secret lies in the Forums.

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Arm, you're right about the charts and not having that much visual detail. Mine are even more simpler than most in that I don't have much apart from the bars and a simple line. LG does a cheaper model than the 3440x1440, the LG 34UM67 at 2560x1080. Cost is about £350 versus £500. The resolution question is one I'm still struggling with and I don't 100% understand (somebody said you have to see them both to understand). In your opinion do you think the cheaper one would be more than adequate for my needs?
 
Now I've found an even cheaper LG 34", the 34UM59 coming in at £330.00.

So the main question becomes, will I notice much of a difference showing 3x27cm squared (simple) charts on my screen running at 2560x 1080 which update with a minuscule bar movement every few seconds over a 34" monitor at 3440x1440.

Or put it another way, the cost savings over the 2 deals is £1,020.

One thing I do know is this, the higher resolution monitor WON'T be responsible for any addition profits I might earn from the markets. But as I'm at my desk for 10+ hours a day, will the higher resolution be better for my eyes? (not that they're bad, but they are getting worse either from the screens or natural older age, or both,I just don't know).
 
Give me a few minutes and I will try and produce an image that will better explain resolution differences.


edit:

f59ns8e.png



Using the above set of images:

The first chessboard can be taken as the starting point

The Second chessboard, shows what happens if software scales the image to fill a larger resolution - i.e. there isn't any extra information, the information is just made bigger. (Also same effect as going for a physically bigger monitor of the same resolution - the pixels just get bigger)

The Third chessboard, shows if software uses the extra resolution to display extra information rather than scaling. The size of the squares (information) remains the same as the first chessboard, but more squares are visible. The overall size is the same as the second chessboard.



With regards to your trading software - assuming it runs in windowed mode, if you make the window smaller, does everything shrink but display the same information, or does some of the information disappear from the edges (or you see more information when you make the window bigger) ?

If its the latter, then you will benefit from higher resolution as you will e.g. see more historical information or more categories without scrolling etc.


Assuming your software doesnt scale everything up, then the higher the resolution (at a given physical size), the smaller the information will be (but you are seeing more information).


Hope this helps to some degree - although reading it back to myself, maybe not as much as I would hope.
 
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Calculus said:
But as I'm at my desk for 10+ hours a day, will the higher resolution be better for my eyes? (not that they're bad, but they are getting worse either from the screens or natural older age, or both,I just don't know).
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Eye strain is a serious matter. Are you taking regular breaks from the screen? At least 5 minutes every hour? Note that this is not necessarily a break from work - you could be doing paperwork, for example - but it's a good opportunity to make yourself a pot of tea, comfort break, etc. Staring at screens for extended periods is NOT good for you.
 
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