Needing a new desktop PC, suggestions?

[nonobaddog]

Yes, I think it would. It should be fast enough. It only has four cores but that will do quite a bit. Has SSD, faster than any hard drive but not the fastest solid state storage. Might want to add a hard drive if storing a lot of video/movies.

It has on-board graphics - no separate card. The Core i5 4570 can run three monitors but I don't have experience on how well that actually works - could always add a video card if needed. It will do 1080i monitors just fine but if going with very high definition monitors the refresh rate is limited to 60 Hz which will cause flickering and headaches if near any fluorescent lighting.

 

[jkaetz]

What about this one folks? Would it fit the bill for our OP?

Deal Available from 12:00am - 11:59pm PT 11-18-2019
	Refurbished: HP ProDesk 600 G1 Tower Intel Core i5 4570 3.20 GHz / 12GB DDR3 / Brand New 360GB SSD / DVD / USB WIFI Adapter / USB Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter / Windows 10 Pro 64-bit $281.99

https://www.newegg.com/hp-prodesk-6...&om_mid=4944&email64=bmV3ZWdnQG1lZXRlYy5jb20=

It would certainly be a step up from his current machine, but it is still using hardware and architecture from 6 years ago. If the OP were on a shoestring budget then it would do. I don't believe that is the case and I believe the OP's use case demands not starting out with an old machine. If all your going to do with it is INGO and Facebook then sure, buy an old system. This is not the OP's use case.

 

[nonobaddog]

Well the use case is in the first post. The question is whether or not this example will meet those requirements.
Just what exactly do you think that this machine will not actually do?

Yes it is a few years old. No, I would not buy it for me. But it will do what is listed.

 

[jkaetz]

Well the use case is in the first post. The question is whether or not this example will meet those requirements.
Just what exactly do you think that this machine will not actually do?

Yes it is a few years old. No, I would not buy it for me. But it will do what is listed.

The OP is doing day trading and wants to have several web browser all watching live tickers likely running a pile of JavaScript in addition to being able to make trades and decisions all very quickly. IMO that is not a system to value engineer.

 

[nonobaddog]

The OP is doing day trading and wants to have several web browser all watching live tickers likely running a pile of JavaScript in addition to being able to make trades and decisions all very quickly. IMO that is not a system to value engineer.

Yeah, I would certainly throw more machine at it if it was me but the suggested machine will do the task. He said he runs "charts, news stream, TDAmeritrade desktop tradestation and then the chat room". That really isn't that much for a computer. The slowest part in decision making - by far - is the human part.
He is doing this stuff now with his AMD 2.20 GHz processor with a Passmark of 2,748.
The Core i5-4570 @3.20 GHz has a Passmark of 7,155 so it would be appreciably faster at the same work.

The biggest task running is Tradestation. The CPU requirements for that are...
Minimum - Dual-core Intel® or AMD® processor at 1.5 GHz or faster
Standard - Dual-core Intel® or AMD® processor at 2.5 GHz or faster
Power User - Quad-core Intel® or AMD® processor at 3 GHz or faster

The biggest drawback for the suggested machine would be the on-board graphics. I agree I would choose newer, faster hardware it I were buying it and I would have a separate graphics card for each pair of monitors desired. His graphics demands are nowhere near that of gaming but high resolution monitors (1200 horizontal or more) are good for what he wants and it is probably not best to share the CPU for that since it limits them to 60 Hz refresh rate.

 

[CHCRandy]

How about this one? Why is it so cheap? I see I can plug 2 monitors in.....thanks! http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6406053

 

[nonobaddog]

How about this one? Why is it so cheap? I see I can plug 2 monitors in.....thanks! http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6406053

That is basically the same computer we have just talked about but with a little bigger SSD and a little more RAM. Pretty old CPU, same graphics concerns.

It would be a step up from your current machine but you can do better.

 

[churchmouse]

How about this one? Why is it so cheap? I see I can plug 2 monitors in.....thanks! http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6406053

Still tripping over nickels my friend.

 

[CHCRandy]

That is basically the same computer we have just talked about but with a little bigger SSD and a little more RAM. Pretty old CPU, same graphics concerns.

It would be a step up from your current machine but you can do better.

How do I resolve the graphics issue you speak of? Multiple Graphic cards? Or can I go with good card and have 1? I am not following how to know the difference between newer and faster hardware.....and different generations. Thanks

 

[jkaetz]

https://slickdeals.net/share/android_app/t/13610686

This is what you want. 8th gen processor and plenty of RAM. no SSD, but can add it for less than $100.

Can you help us understand your priorities? Maybe rank cost, performance, and longevity.

 

[nonobaddog]

I went to Tiger Direct and Newegg and for some reason they seem to have a lot of refurbished machines. They didn't always push those so much. I think you want a newer CPU than the ones they have a lot of.

Somebody already mentioned this but the generation is shown in the model number of the CPU. That Core i5 4570 is a fourth generation because it starts with 4xxx. I wouldn't get one that old. You want one that is at least a 7xxx or 8xxx. The newer generations will do more for you. They are more efficient even for the same clock speed and they will have more cores enabling you do have more processes running at the same time without losing performance. The newer ones are also better at doing work without generating as much heat.

The cost of the machine includes a lot of things that are pretty much constant. It needs RAM memory, storage memory, motherboard, power supply, fans and a case. The cost of the CPU is only a part of the whole so you can go with a better CPU without really adding that much to the cost.

 

[nonobaddog]

https://slickdeals.net/share/android_app/t/13610686

This is what you want. 8th gen processor and plenty of RAM. no SSD, but can add it for less than $100.

Can you help us understand your priorities? Maybe rank cost, performance, and longevity.

That is not a bad deal. But what do you think of these comment on it?
I would recommend getting one with the SSD already in it as opposed to adding one. That one would probably have the operating system installed on the hard drive so he would have the hassle of first installing the SSD and then migrating the operating system to the SSD. I wouldn't go that way myself.

Depending on what he says for priorities, this is what I would be looking for...

7xxx or 8xxx CPU - probably Core i5
12 or 16 GB of RAM
SSD - at least in the 256 GB range with a hard drive or at least 512 GB without a hard drive - need to know storage requirements for photos, videos, music, etc.
Separate graphics card

 

[nonobaddog]

The graphics issue is always interesting. The Intel CPUs have good enough on-board graphics for some users and they will run a couple monitors. I have been saying to get a separate graphics card because the on-board graphics have limits.
1 - they take away from the CPU performance for doing what you want to be doing
2 - they use up more of your cache memories and RAM memory just for graphics
3 - they generate additional heat inside the CPU chip making cooling a little more of an issue
4 - they are focused on standard resolution monitors and won't run higher resolution monitors nearly as well as a separate card

TDAmeritrade Tradestation recommends a separate video card and they seem to suggest higher resolution monitors for better users. That made me assume you want higher resolution monitors. I could be wrong there. 1080 monitors are easy enough to drive but if you go to 1200 or 1440 monitors they will be too much for on-board graphics. (Those numbers are the horizontal lines of resolution, each of those resolutions can be found with screens that are different widths - a monitor that says 1920 x 1080 is 1080 pixels high and 1920 pixels wide while one that says 2560 x 1440 is 1440 pixels high and 2560 pixels wide) I have seen monitors up to 3840 x 2160 already so they probably make higher ones.

I always want to drive monitors at above 60 Hz to avoid flicker and the associated headaches so the video card would have to be good enough to do that. I think all monitors will do at least 75 Hz and some will do more, like up to 165 Hz, but it is up to the graphics card to be able to drive it.

Even a fairly low-end reasonably priced graphics card will be able to drive the monitors better than on-board graphics.

 

[nonobaddog]

For the operating system I think Windows 10 Home 64 bit should be good. I use the Pro version but only because I use virtual machines. If you don't need virtual machines the Home version will work fine.
There are other differences like Remote Desktop, BitLocker and Group Policy Editor but I doubt if you would need them.

 

[jkaetz]

That is not a bad deal. But what do you think of these comment on it?
I would recommend getting one with the SSD already in it as opposed to adding one. That one would probably have the operating system installed on the hard drive so he would have the hassle of first installing the SSD and then migrating the operating system to the SSD. I wouldn't go that way myself.

Depending on what he says for priorities, this is what I would be looking for...

7xxx or 8xxx CPU - probably Core i5
12 or 16 GB of RAM
SSD - at least in the 256 GB range with a hard drive or at least 512 GB without a hard drive - need to know storage requirements for photos, videos, music, etc.
Separate graphics card

This is what I also recommend for most people. Relatively easy to find in the $600 range but the OP seems to want to spend less. Same for the SSD. Unless someone wants to game I usually tell people to run with the integrated graphics. Discrete graphics are pretty simple to add if needed.

 

[CHCRandy]

Man, you guys have really been informative to me. I was wondering how to tell what generation a CPU was.....now I know. You also answered another of my questions about hard drives...I now understand you can have SSD and a regular like 1TB hard drive, is that correct? I had assumed you get one or the other.....guess not though. I had been looking at units with something like Intel HUD graphics or something like that, but you guys think I actually need a different graphics card than that, like that AMD jkaetz posted?

Monitor resolutions I have no clue on...I don't even know what my monitor now is. I can tell you though, I recently had my eye doctor make me some computer glasses...glasses I only wear while trading. I love how I don't get headaches with them, but the monitor drives me nuts because I can see that like numbers are made up of hundreds of little dots, those dots bug me....before I couldn't see them, but with glasses it is all I see.

I can tell you cost means a lot less to me than anything, but at the same time I am a frugal type and just don't want to blow money to say I paid the most for my pc. I literally use my computer mainly trading, and when trading I usually have 2 chat room scanners running, one for stocks and one for options, a news scanner, TDA Desktop, TDA Think or Swim which I scan charts and make trades. I do this all right now with one 24" screen. Everything runs ok, just I notice sometimes my trade app gets delayed(which is not good when 15 seconds can mean 20-30%). I just want to get to at least 2 monitors and be expandable to 3 or maybe even 4. Right now I find myself missing news or alerts because I am watching charts when the alerts are made. I would just like to be able to watch more at the same time.

I usually always buy from Dell, but that is not set in stone. I just like them because I have a business account with them. Thank you guys for giving me some knowledge on this stuff. When I go to buy I will post it here before so you guys can tell me your thoughts.

 

[bwframe]

Maybe I missed it, but what kind of system is the OP running now?

 

[CHCRandy]

Maybe I missed it, but what kind of system is the OP running now?

AMD A8-7410 APU with AMD Radeon R5, 2200 Mhz 4 core, 8GB of Ram. Pretty sure it is ancient.

 

[nonobaddog]

Monitor resolutions I have no clue on...I don't even know what my monitor now is. I can tell you though, I recently had my eye doctor make me some computer glasses...glasses I only wear while trading. I love how I don't get headaches with them, but the monitor drives me nuts because I can see that like numbers are made up of hundreds of little dots, those dots bug me....before I couldn't see them, but with glasses it is all I see.

What brand, model and size is your current monitor? Size is measuring the viewing area(not including any frame) diagonally, corner to corner.

You can easily check your monitor resolution right in Windows.
Right click on the background of your screen, missing any icons. That should bring up a dialog box. Then click on 'Display Settings'. Then click on 'Advanced display settings' It should then tell you what your resolution setting is.
Just follow these directions...
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/change-screen-resolution-windows-10-2

 

[nonobaddog]

I literally use my computer mainly trading, and when trading I usually have 2 chat room scanners running, one for stocks and one for options, a news scanner, TDA Desktop, TDA Think or Swim which I scan charts and make trades.

Is TDA Desktop the same as Tradestation? Do you use Tradestation? That is the application that recommended the higher resolution. If you don't use that one you can get by easier with on-board graphics.

Thinkorswim has pretty low system requirements.