Expert: Bobbert - 6/29/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello, Thank you for your time.

I am a broker running Etrade Pro Software and a through that program an Excel Manager. The Excel file it opens is around 50 megs. There is a lot of data flowing through genetic algorithms. My current pc can't handle it (Pentium III, 256 ram)

I need to buy/build a new pc but don't know where the bottlenecks are. Is it ram, a faster processor?

Suggestions would be helpful.

Best regards,

Dave

ANSWER: Processor and memory are your bottlenecks, I'd suggest looking a dual or quad core CPU and 2-4GB of memory. The more the better. Something with this kind of hardware should be available for around $699-$899 from Dell or HP. If you have specific questions about a model (such as hardware configuration, I can't generally provide reliability information model to model, but I can help point you at some reviews) I'd be happy to answer them.

-bob


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: What are your thoughts about building versus buying. I am capable of building a system though I have never done it before. Are there any advantages to building vs bying?

Thank you,

Dave

Answer
Personally I'm all for building, as long as you know what you're doing. If you don't mind learning how to do it right, you'll end up with a better system, if you want to just half-way it, you'll wish you'd purchased something from a store. I'd suggest looking at this:
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/build-a-computer.htm

If that seems easily possible for you, go for it. The best parts website I can reccomend is www.newegg.com, www.zipzoomfly.com is also a great choice (usually free shipping), but they usually have a lesser selection than Newegg.

Check current hardware reviews for an idea of whats a good buy, price wise, look at things like Guru3D.com, c|net, Beyond3D/TechReport/Hexus, etc.

-bob