sunking59

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I'm looking to get ideas for a build. I want to run 4 to 6 monitors. I am only going to run the tradestation platform for analyzing stock charts. I need to get ideas for motherboard, video cards....how many?, amount of ram, cpu, HD, optical drive, operating system, UPS, Modem, etc., This going to run tick charts with real time data flow. I need something that will not freeze up. Would like to use solid state HD, max. RAM, best MOBO, Best CPU, best OS, best cables, ETC.. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.
 
What size monitors?

Will TradeStation run under Vista 64-bit or not? The answer lies in the Tradestation forums, and I'm not going to register just to view them to answer the question for you.


 
Also, if you go to those forums, try to find out if Tradestation uses quad processors properly. If yes, get the i7 920 or the Q9550. If not, get the P5Q-E/DDR2-800 combination with an E8500.
 

sunking59

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What size monitors?

Will TradeStation run under Vista 64-bit or not? The answer lies in the Tradestation forums, and I'm not going to register just to view them to answer the question for you.

I will be running 24" monitors. Tradestation will run Windows XP-64 bit and/or Vista 64-bit. Quad processors have no advantage.
Thanks for your help!!!
Waiting for you reply.
 
All right. In that case a high-clocked dual-core CPU is best.

Between XP-64 and Vista-64, I'd pick Vista simply because it will be around longer. It gives you a better chance to find compatible software and hardware 2 or 3 years from now. On the other hand, I'm using XP-64 at work and find it very stable, no complaints.

Since you want all those monitors, you need lots of PCI-E slots. Basic rule of thumb: number of slots * 2 = max number of monitors. The P5Q-E has 3 slots (so you can have up to 6 monitors). So do a bunch of 780i boards, but those are usually less stable and more expensive than the P45.

Then there are things like the K9A2 Platinum
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130136&Tpk=K9A2 Platinum
which would allow you to use up to 8 monitors. Of course, that would require four video cards and you'd need an AMD CPU for it.
 

sunking59

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All right. In that case a high-clocked dual-core CPU is best.

Which CPU would you recommend?
Which RAM is best...ie: speed, type, manufacturer.
Which Video Card is best...ie: speed, type, manufacturer... Should I match the Video Card with the MOBO ie.: Asus with Asus...Gigabyte with Gigabyte.
Also would love suggestions for Case.
To power three video cards and everything else what PSU would you recommend? I was considering the Antec Signature 850W SG-850.

Thanks.
 

alcattle

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E8x00 series are the best right now, not sure which one would suit your needs.
4GB (2x2GB sticks) is a good start, if you have a lot of programs open, 8GB might help. G.Skill and Muskin are highly rated brands.
1st thing to look at is the resolution of the monitors and get Video cards that will run it plus a little. I would guess 4850 512gb would do a good job, might be overkill with no gaming involved.
850W would be in the ballpark, I am not sure about that series from Antec, most are good pieces.
 
OK, I'll assume you prefer Intel so let's stick with P5Q-E and E8500.
There's an E8600 too but it's less bang for the buck.

RAM:
G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $50. I'd get two of them for a total of 8GB. It's possible that the second kit is not really needed, but it's only $50 and IMO it's more likely to be useful than not.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209

Video cards: my first idea was HD 3650, but then you mentioned there'd be two 24" monitors per card. That's a lot of pixels. Maybe something like HD 4670 or 9600GT. HD 4850 is much better, but I also think it's overkill. You'd have a big heat problem on your hands too.

Absolutely no need to match Gigabyte with Gigabyte and so on. An Asus video card should work fine in a Gigabyte motherboard.

SAPPHIRE 100255L Radeon HD 4670 512MB $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102792

Case: Antec 900, NZXT Tempest, RC-690, etc. Go to www.newegg.com and search for them to see details. All are roomy and well cooled. The first two are $110 and have blue lights. The third is $80 and black.

The Antec Signature series gets fantastic reviews. However, the prices are enormous too. Your PSU requirements depend on the video cards. For three HD 4670, a PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W ($70 at newegg after rebate) is plenty. For three HD 4850 a 850W PSU makes sense, sure.