If you are serious about trading, you need to invest in high quality and superb performing trading computers. These high tech gadgets will ensure you possess an edge over the market. Trading is certainly an exciting business venture where you stand to gain profits. However, it can also be daunting because of the risks involved. So you can minimize losses and get the best returns, you need a good machine. Unfortunately, your smartphone and tablet won’t work!
Your device is your lifeblood to important information. Your computer allows you to monitor graphs, numbers, and other figures that show the market movement. As such, you need an excellent machine to access accurate information for making sound decisions. Keep in mind that profitable signals hedge on your chosen equipment.
What Exactly are Trading Computers?
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Sadly, cheap computers from an ordinary store will not work well. A trading computer is a superior, fast machine that you need to order. It is customized and designed to your specifications. Additionally, trading computers maximize your ability to interface with the markets. This translates to making real-time decisions with ease. There are four primary features of an excellent trading computer. Let’s do a quick rundown below:
- Speed: You need a fast computer to keep up with the influx of real-time data.
- Reliability: You must pick a reliable machine with superior processing and memory.
- Multiple monitors: You need more than one high-quality LCD screen to view and monitor different market trends.
- Post-Sales Support: You want a great warranty and tech support service for emergencies and issues.
Why Do You Need a Separate Trading Computer?
When you visit a sports bar with several screens, you’ll notice that monitors can sometimes display different images. The newer ones are a second or two ahead of the older models. In an important game, you’ll feel frustrated with this glitch. After all, you want to be up to speed when your investments are involved! Well, in a trader’s life, this few second delays equates to losing a lot of money. As a trader, lag is unacceptable.
1. Avoids Slippage
Traders need trading computers
to avoid this kind of scenario. When you trade, you input your order to buy or sell. However, when the price your order gets filled at varies tremendously from your expectations, this is dubbed as “slippage.” When the amount of variation is not in your favor, you lose a lot of money.
Do note that this scenario usually occurs when a trader uses a lower-end computer. A cheap device cannot display accurate, real-time information. The market price data could be off by a fraction of a second. Sadly, in the trading world, this minute discrepancy can throw off your entire trading strategy. As a trader, you want to avoid slippage as much as possible. Investing in trading computers
will help you achieve your goals.
2. Provides Superior Components
If you intend to use an ordinary, mainstream computer that’s two years old, you will likely face issues. These computers from ordinary shops, regrettably, are mass-produced with inferior components. They possess low-quality wiring and low-end motherboards in their systems. Though great for daily use, these machines cannot keep up with the fast-paced streaming of trading data.
When it comes to trading computers, everything boils down to what lies beneath the machines. All the individual components must be made using premium standards. With a trading computer, you get a dependable unit perfectly configured to address your complex trading needs.
3. Offers Better Tech Support
Buying a trading computer means getting a great warranty and tech support. Most mainstream PC producers only offer a one year warranty. Should something creep up, you have to call a toll-free number to get tech support.
When you have a system built, you can pick the components you need. If you are unsure about the specs, you can describe what you do to the technician for suggestions. You get a stellar warranty and customer service when you opt for a trading computer. Most of all, you minimize slippage, downtime, headaches, and frustration with a premium machine.
What To Look For When Buying Trading Computers?
If you are a newbie buying your first trading computer, going to an ordinary computer shop won’t work. You will be stuck with a desktop or laptop that cannot accommodate the massive data you will be receiving every day. As such, you need a machine with the best hardware, especially if you plan to be a full-time trader. Consider the following elements:
1. Pay Attention to Processor and RAM
Pay attention to the processor, which acts as the computer’s brain. The calculation of tasks, processing of data, and computation of values fall on the processor. Prioritize a high performing one like an Intel Core i7-6950x with 10 COREs @ 4.0 Gigahertz. For the RAM, tight budgets can work with an 8GB, but a 16GB or more works more optimally. With these specs, your trading software will run without any glitches.
2. Look at the Graphics Card
Most computers possess an integrated graphics chip. However, when it comes to trading, this won’t work out. Trading software demands a lot, especially when it comes to charting. You also need a card to support multiple monitors, which integrated ones don’t support. Buying a separate graphic card equates to supporting more monitors so you can keep track of different trades, charts, and trends swiftly. It would help if you worked with NVIDIA and AMD, the premium brands.
3. Pick the Hard Drive and Cooling System
As a trader, you require impeccable storage and retrieval from your hard drive. As a trader, working with an SSD as your primary drive works better because it can accommodate your desired OS, software, and apps. Install a backup HDD as your secondary drive. And of course, you can’t discount your PC’s cooling system. To preserve your processor, you must eliminate heat, the number one enemy of any machine. If you can afford it, invest in liquid cooling solutions. However, an advanced fan, like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Single or Dual fan, will work.
Final Word
The complex world of trading means you need to be on your toes constantly. The market moves and changes every second. Consequently, you need a reliable tool to help you get your job done. Before buying your trading computer, make sure to arm yourself with the knowledge to know what you need to look for. Sadly, a lot of sellers take advantage of a trader’s lack of computer know-how and charge an “arm and a leg!” Educate yourself on trading computers, the way you do with the markets, to avoid getting ripped off.
