Budget trading computer - my first build

[OurHero]

Hello,

I just found (and searched)this forum but I couldn't find a recent similar question. Thanks in advance for your help figuring out the following:

Budget: $800ish

Support for 6 widescreen displays (6 x 23").

Zero gaming or video, so two AMD radeon HD 6570s? Is this about right, or should I be looking at another setup?

Once the graphics cards are determined, working backwards...

What motherboard/CPU combo will work and suit my needs without going crazy? Does the Intel i5 or AMD Phenom 2 neighborhood sound right? Would an i3 do just as well? I probably don't need a 6-core processor, correct?

Motherboards are where I'm the most clueless. Suggestions very much welcome for this part.

Should I go for a solid-state drive even if it breaks the budget? I need very little storage anyway, but speed is critical.

Case & cooling: I don't plan on overclocking, so air-cooled case and processor fans should do, yes? Suggestions?

Power supply: 600-700w should do, yes? Suggestions?



Thanks in advance - any help is much appreciated.

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

Hi!
-First: I believe the graphics cards will suit you, but I am not sure since I haven't worked with multiple monitors yet
- Second: If you want a cheaper CPU, go with the AMD Phenom II x4 955. If you want a more expensive (obviously better) CPU, then you can go with the Intel core i5 2500k, if you don't plan to Overclock then you can go with the cheaper i5 2400 and 6 cores is a waste of your money
- Third: Since I don't know which CPU you want to use, I will give a suggestion for both the Phenom and the i5
i5 [Socket LGA1155]: MSI P67A-G43 $120 @ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130583 (Crossfire/SLI Ready)

Phenom [Socket AM3]: ASUS M4A88TD-V @ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131646 (Crossfire/SLI Ready0

Phenom [Socket AM3+]: ASUS M5A97 @ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131757 [2 PCIe 2.0]

Note: You realized I put 2 AMD Phenom MoBos, the reason is that one is socket AM3 while the other is socket AM3+, If you plan on upgrading your CPU later to the upcoming Bulldozer CPU then you should get the AM3+ MoBo

Fourth: SSD is not really worth the money now, even with the faster speeds, they cost too much and waiting an extra few seconds won't hurt (hopefully), if you really want an SSD I would recommend the brand OCZ (I heard they made really fast SSDs)

Fifth: Cheaper the case = the better the components inside it, go for a case under $50 such as the NZXT Gamma @
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146061

Sixth: I would go with a 750 watt PSU just to play it safe, because you are using 2 gfx cards

 

[boiler1990]

I just found (and searched)this forum but I couldn't find a recent similar question.

Trading computers come up every once in a while, but they don't need a ton of horsepower to run so they're pretty easy to configure.

Zero gaming or video, so two AMD radeon HD 6570s? Is this about right, or should I be looking at another setup?

As long as you get 2 GPUs that support 3 monitors each, you'll be fine running 6 monitors. Note that the 6570s have a DVI, HDMI, and VGA port, so you'd potentially need several different adapters to get them to work with your monitors. Just be aware.

What motherboard/CPU combo will work and suit my needs without going crazy? Does the Intel i5 or AMD Phenom 2 neighborhood sound right? Would an i3 do just as well? I probably don't need a 6-core processor, correct?

Since you don't need a ton of power, I don't think you'd need anything better than an i5-2400 + H67 board. You'd easily be able to get away with a higher-end Phenom II X4 and an AM3+ board for a Bulldozer CPU upgrade down the road. The i3-2100 is a very fast dual core, and keeps up with the Phenom II X6s sometimes, and would also be a good choice. You have a lot of options

Motherboards are where I'm the most clueless. Suggestions very much welcome for this part.

Basically, if you go AMD, get an AM3+ board; if you go Intel, get an H67 board. You won't need to overclock on an Intel platform, so don't spend the extra money on a P67/Z68 board with features you'll never use.

Should I go for a solid-state drive even if it breaks the budget? I need very little storage anyway, but speed is critical.

I don't think you'll get much benefit out of it. Most SSD users up until now have just stored their OS and a few programs they use all the time (Office 2010 for me). IF you only have a trading program or two that doesn't take up a lot of space (a few gigs), you could get a ~64GB SATA II SSD and store any files on a second hard drive.

Case & cooling: I don't plan on overclocking, so air-cooled case and processor fans should do, yes? Suggestions?

The stock fans and heatsink in the case should be enough since you won't be pushing your computer at all.

Power supply: 600-700w should do, yes? Suggestions?

I think ~650 would be enough, but it depends on the power draw of the GPUs. The 6570s are meant to be low-power cards, so they should be fine. Take a look at the official AMD specs though, because they will list the max power draw of the GPU.

 

[Proximon]

Roaring has given good opinions but I'm going to disagree quite a bit. Mostly based on my experience building office machines.

In your case, you will have many programs open and your machine should do a lot of multi-tasking easily. You want ease of access... if you need a program urgently you might not want to wait those extra seconds for it to fire up. Time is money

So quad core as a priority, but speed of the CPU will have to take a back seat to other considerations because of the budget. You also need an SSD.

Two 6570s... I think you'll need an active adapter for each card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814999030

So at around $800:
■SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-222AB - OEM
■Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
■ASUS M5A97 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
■2x SAPPHIRE Active DisplayPort Adapter 100924 DisplayPort to DVI Interface
■2x SAPPHIRE 100321DDR5OCL Radeon HD 6450 512MB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
■G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT
■AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX640WFGMBOX
■Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
■SAMSUNG 470 Series MZ-5PA064C/AM 2.5" 64GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) w/ Desktop Upgrade Kit and Norton ...
■Rosewill FUTURE Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case,come with Four Fans-2x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan,1x Top 120mm Fan,1x Rear ...
■Rosewill Green Series RG530-S12 530W Continuous @40°C, 80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC "Compatible with Core ...
TOTAL: $807.87