Building a reliable, budget stock trading PC

[ronnym789]

Hello all,

I've been doing research on coming up with a PC that will be best suited for my needs and I don't quite understand the hardware specs I should be looking for. The only thing I want to do with this computer is to trade and do homework for school. I was looking at recommended builds for office PCs and I'm guessing that this build would work well.


CPU: Intel i3 3220 ($125)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder CX500 500W 80 Plus Bronze ($37.99)
Optical Drive: Lite On DVD Burner ($17.99)
Boot Drive SSD: OCZ Vertex 4 VTX4-25SAT3-128G 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC ($74.99)
Storage Drive HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB ($59.99)
Motherboard: ASUS P8H77-V ATX Motherboard ($115.99)
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 Low-Profile ($39.99)
Internal Card Reader: BYTECC U2CR-318/Hub 52-in-1 USB 2.0 Card Reader ($7.49)


The only difference that I would make is to get a video card(s) that can support up to 6 monitors. Can anyone explain why this would or would not work effectively for my needs? I'm not looking for any bells and whistles to save on the cost.
Overall, I'm looking to spend about $1,000 on hardware which is to include monitors (of which I'll probably start with 4).

Thanks!

 

[manofchalk]

Build looks good.

You wont be able to get a single card that will support 6 monitors (without going to the high end anyway), that I know of. So you will have to Crossfire/SLI some weaker cards.
I advise two of these cards. Purely because between two of them you have 6 non Displayport outputs. The VGA port can be adapted to DVI quite easily, an adapter will probably be included with the card.
Powercolour HD7750. $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131481

This motherboard is just as good as that ASUS and has more SATA ports, while also being quite a bit cheaper.
AsRock H77 Pro4. $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157302

EDIT: Also how are you going to include four monitors on this budget? A standard 1080p monitor will be ~$200 depending on size.

 

[ronnym789]

Thanks for the reply. Thanks for the suggestion on the graphics card. I guess I'll have to budget some extra cash for the monitors .

By the way, would I get any extra performance getting an Intel i5 processor? I don't suspect that I would and if that's the case, I don't see any reason to get one. Am I correct in thinking this way? Since I plan on using this machine for the next 4-5 years, would it be better to get the chip to account for the needs of the future?

 

[manofchalk]

If all you are doing is basically office applications and internet browsing, then the machine should be fine for the foreseeable future. Over that kind of time frame you cant really be sure though.
Though some stock trading machines do need to be pretty powerful due to programs that calculate risk and all that based on millions of variables. If you are going to be using a program like that, then the machine may need a stronger processor.

Also, may have spoken too quickly about the monitors. Current Black Friday sales have dropped some 1080p 21.5" monitors at a good $100 price point. Obviously you will have to jump on these fairly quick.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824014298
Though you will need to get adapters for the HDMI, as they are not supported by the monitor.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812270113

 

[ronnym789]

Does anyone else have any recommendations for a build? I also just realized that I don't have a computer tower on there yet. Anyone have any recommendations for a tower?

 

[ronnym789]

bump

 

[manofchalk]

The machine you specced out with my changes should be fine.

Have a look at the Coolermaster HAF series or any Corsair case. Get one you like the look of and have the budget for.