Expert: Bobbert - 11/1/2011

Question
I haven't 'seriously' traded online futures/stocks/indexes for over 10 years. So I've been out of the technology loop for it's requirements. I now need to purchase a system that can handle multiple monitors (2+) and is 'lightening' fast, as getting in and out of the markets is only as fast as the system used can 'send' and 'receive' it's orders to the brokerages. Money IS an object so the best bang for the buck would be my hope for a reply. Thanks, Jim

Answer
The performance limitations you're describing are not relative to hardware; they're a function of your connection to the Internet and that speed. Without a quality ISP, you can have the best hardware possible and see no benefits with respect to outbound/inbound communication. As far as your other requirements, multi-monitor support and decent processing power are fairly inexpensive; most anything from Dell, HP, etc in the $500-$750 range shouldn't be a problem. Ensure the system includes dual monitor outputs (this is again, very common) - you don't need any fancy "business graphics" upgrades; a basic GeForce or Radeon card will easily suffice. Otherwise, modern hardware should have no issues with the fairly basic (from a computational perspective) tasks. If you're dong very in-depth quantitative analysis, you may need to invest in additional memory or processing power, however this is unlikely (the level of in-depth analysis I'm talking about is usually only seen in research).

-bob