4000 $ trading workstation

[fugben]

Im trying to build my business friend a professional work station for stock trading. Heres the system please comment and help improve it:


Motherboard Combo w/ AMD Phenom (Quad Core) 9850 (2.5GHz) (Socket AM2)
6 Monitor Array with 20" LG L206WTY-BS-Black Widescreen Monitors
(2) ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
300GB 10,000RPM WD HD SATA 3gb/s
8GB PC2 6400 SDRAM DDR2 (4X2GB)
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value SB0400 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
Wireless N Network Card (Trendnet)
Asus M3A32-MVP Deluxe Socket AM2+ AMD 790FX CrossFireX A&GbE ATX Motherboard
Whisper-Cool Fan / Heatsink
(Quiet Design - 90mm Fan - Aluminum)
Artic Silver Alumina 1.75g Multi-use Tube
20X Lightscribe DVD+/-RW
(Adds Image Burning On Top Of Disc)
Okia 680 Watt Power Supply (Quad Core Certified)
Vantec SF12025L 12CM Quiet Case Fan
680w Black Gamer Case & Barebones Install & Setup
1 Year Manufacturers Defect Repair / Replacement Warranty

Total Cost with tax and delivered: $4,202

 

[michiganteddybear]

are you gaming on it??? I ask, because to monitor stocks and such, I doubt you need a quad core... or 3870x2's (single core cards will work just as well for 2d stuff)... or 8gig of ram, or a 7.1 sound card, or a 'gaming' case... I am gonna assume that includes 64 bit vista.

gonna connect wireless to the 'net I see.. you could potentially save some issues by going wired, but if you have good solid signal, no problem with wireless dropping out at a critical time (important trade)

6 moniters, 2 video cards.. hmm, at 2 monitors per card, something dont add up, unless the cards you choose support 4 moniters each.

The most important thing to the stock traders is fast updates to the data (internet speed), and how fast the software (usually pretty simple stuff really) can update the screen (again, probably all 2d).

 

[evongugg]

I would get wired ethernet and possibly build a router using m0n0wall.
Intel is a whole lot better than AMD.
Like he said before for stock trading only you can build a less expensive machine.

 

[szwaba67]

Maybe he has software that renders stock quotes onto the Vietnamese soldiers in Crysis... That would be cool, though you wouldn't really be trading stocks, you'd just be blowing up stocks and shooting stocks in the head at point blank range. Still cool.

 

[fugben]

Im using 2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121247

they have 4 dvi ports each. But some people are saying when u crossfire u cant run more than 1 monitor? what if i put the 2 in the mobo but dont xfire them? can i run 6 monitors then?

 

[njalterio]

I think that is a little too much. Do you really need six monitors to trade stocks? From the looks of it you are designing a gaming computer and not really a professional high end machine. When someone says they are trading stocks, from a technical point of view that means they are browsing the internet and streaming video and getting live feeds. Probably the most important thing is that he has a fast connection.

The quad core is fine, that would be put to good use. However not a phenom, if AMD get operton, if Intel get Xeon. Do not overclock.

Ditch the 3870 X2's, since this is not for gaming. Get a matrox video card with two of the matrox triplehead2go adapters that turn each VGA into three independent VGA's.

Ditch the Velociraptor. Get four 500 GB SATA drives and put them in a RAID 10 array.

You do not need a crossfire motherboard, get an appropriate motherboard for whichever processor you choose. Onboard audio will be fine, I doubt he will need a sound card.

Just my suggestions.

 

[fugben]

quadcore and good video cards are important for him. he wants the fasted product

 

[njalterio]

He doesn't need the best video cards for what he is doing. The 3870X2s would not be used effectively at all. For his task he could be using a 3870X2 or a 3850 and never notice the difference.

Matrox designs cards exactly for this type of application. Use them.

 

[fugben]

Ive suggested a matrox card to him (128 mb) but he doesnt like the idea at all and wants to go for 2x http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121247
my problem is how do i get 6 displays working on 2 of those?
i cant argue with the customer but fit a system that works on what he wants.

Thanks

 

[fugben]

Also will a 640 w PSU be fine since the GPUs will probably be near idle power draws.

 

[einstein4pres]

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that your definition of "fast" and his do not necessarily match up. You hear fast and think "renders complex graphics fast". He says fast and means that he's never waiting on anything. This would suggest a high end processor, a very good connection to the internet (wired really excels at this), large amounts of fast RAM, but not high-end video cards.

He also wants stability, I'm guessing, even if he doesn't mention it.

Of course, I'm not a mind-reader.

 

[njalterio]

Regarding the crossfire issue, you may have more than one monitor running while crossfire is enabled. If you are running SLI then only one monitor will be supported when in SLI mode. This is one of the main reasons I like AMD over Nvidia, as I like using multiple monitors.

 

[fugben]

So 2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121247
In crossfire will be able to run 6 monitors for him? 3 dvi cables in each card

 

[njalterio]

If he specifically wants two 3870 X2's in crossfire then I guess you can't argue!
I would get a psu in the ballpark of 850 watts.

Since two 3870X2's are what is happening then you should get a crossfire mobo, which basically means your original hardware configuration stands. However he should know this is completely asinine.

 

[njalterio]

2 of those are capable of running 8 monitors while crossfire is enabled.

 

[fugben]

i told him he doesnt need all the graphics capabilities but he seems mindset on two of these cards.

the reason im concerned is "Guys, Crossfire can only run ONE monitor, even three cards in Crossfire X will only allow ONE monitor to be attached and working. I'm not sure about the 4870X2, MAYBE two monitors can be used at the same time in Crossfire mode. I'm not sure. To run multiple monitors under gaming you need to run a single card only, except for the few games that can support multiple cards separately. "
which was response to my original inquiry.

But is he just referring to gaming there?
Gaming is not important just running 6 monitors with these 2 cards. So crossfire will work? Ill go with a 900 w modular tagan for stability and performacne.

 

[KyleSTL]

Agreed with most. High-end 3D gaming cards are an overkill, workstation 2D cards in the FireMV and Quadro NVS line of cards are typical of trading computers that are commercially available (and I think those people/companies know what they're doing).

The NVS line consumes 12-31W and support 2-4 displays, which is much more reasonable than a 200W+ 3870X2.
http://www.nvidia.com/page/quadronvs.html

The ATI cards are probably very similar in terms of wattage, and also support 2-4 displays (depending on model):
http://ati.amd.com/products/firemvseries/specs.html

 

[njalterio]

He is completely wrong. Crossfire supports multiple monitors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATI_CrossFire#Comparisons_to_NVIDIA_SLI

 

[fugben]

Awesome thanks. Thats all i needed to know

 

[njalterio]

Agreed with most. High-end 3D gaming cards are an overkill, workstation 2D cards in the FireMV and Quadro NVS line of cards are typical of trading computers that are commercially available (and I think those people/companies know what they're doing).

The NVS line consumes 12-31W and support 2-4 displays, which is much more reasonable than a 200W+ 3870X2.
http://www.nvidia.com/page/quadronvs.html

The ATI cards are probably very similar in terms of wattage, and also support 2-4 displays (depending on model):
http://ati.amd.com/products/firemvseries/specs.html

I completely agree with you, however we seem to be dealing with someone who is hell bent on the 3870X2.

 

[fugben]

"Yes, the scaling is taken from ONE card, so it has to run the final resolution of the four monitors. That's why the best idea is to use crossfire, then take that one output through the Matrox solution.

If the 4870X2 has four DVI (or HDMI) outputs then indeed all can be used at once - but not in Crossfire I'm guessing. "

2 will be in mobo with 8 dvi outputs. can i just plug the monitors in to the crossfire setup? or is another solution necessary?

 

[szwaba67]

He doesn't seem too concerned with cost, why isn't an SSD drive in the build?

 

[KyleSTL]

Please tell your friend he needs more research into what kind of computers fulfill his needs. Please show him this website which SPECIALIZES in trading computers and what GPUs come with the various workstation series (even the ultra-high-end F-41X).

http://www.tradingcomputers.com/TCdesktop.html

Here are the cards listed on Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=Property&N=2010380449&PropertyCodeValue=5740%3A38183%2C5740%3A38182%2C5740%3A39099%2C5740%3A38181%2C5740%3A38150%2C5740%3A38149%2C5740%3A38148%2C5740%3A38146&bop=And&Order=PRICE

Also, let him know it doesn't matter how expensive his equipment is, it won't make him 'better' in the market. Convince him you know more about hardware needs than he does. 256-bit interfaces and 320 stream processors won't mean anything to his trading capabilities.

 

[bydesign]

What is the 8Gb of RAM for? He will never use much more than 2Gb. A trader machine shouldn't cost much over $1000K. In fact buy a tower Dell and add the multi display solution and you may come in under $1K.

 

[adlertheman]

buy the 9950 phenom,..if anything!!! and 1066,...mhz,...memory,...!!!