Custom build for trading

[bondtrader]

Hi all,

I am a professional bond trader looking for some advice on building a machine that fits my needs. My life revolves around a small number of programs/applications:

bloomberg
excel
citrix based platforms (bonds.com/tradeweb)
.exe trading program - Axe Trading
Skype (voice and IM)



The bulk of my processing centers around extracting data from bloomberg into excel (via bdp functions) and analyzing that information to derive values which are then fed into Axe Trading (which then disseminates pricing to the marketplace).

It is important to mention that AxeTrading is a program that not only sends out pricing but will also receive requests for quotes (RFQs) from clients. In essence this program allows me to send pricing and have clients execute against those prices.

I cover multiple markets so i can have 15-20 spreadsheets extracting and calculating on a real time basis. The data is constantly ticking. My biggest issue at this time is that excel freezes up on me (program not responding) for 20-30 seconds before freeing up again.

I work with 6 monitors and would like feedback about using eyefinity 6. I have a budget of $5k for this and am open to using outside of the box alternatives (i thought maybe a server could get the job done?). Feedback is appreciated and apologies in advance for my lack of technical expertise. Thanks!

My current setup:
GIGABYTE P67A-D3-B3 Mobo,
Intel Core i5-2500K CPU,
Corsair 4GB DDR3 RAM x2
Seagate 1.5TB HDD
Diablotek 600-Watt PSU

 

[ScrewySqrl]

$5K is probly overkill.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($289.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: GeIL EVO Veloce Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: GeIL EVO Veloce Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: OCZ Agility 4 512GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($351.90 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Eleven Hundred ATX Full Tower Case ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($65.48 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($18.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($129.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1636.25
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-30 22:07 EST-0500)

this will handle 6 monitors at once, has a 500 GB SSD, 32 GB of RAM, Win 7 Professional, and a 4-core-8-thread i7-3770. Didn't bother with the K model--you won't be overclocking a business machine. the SSD, 8 threads, and 32 GB RAM should reduce your swapping issues that cause excel to freeze up.


the SSD at 512 GB may be overkill for your needs (likely your system will never use that much), but even so, at $1700, is a small fraction of your $5K target.

 

[bondtrader]

thanks Sqrl, very straight forward. You mention this should "reduce" my freezing issues, is this something I simply need to learn how to deal with?

 

[ScrewySqrl]

the freezing is caused by swapping -- switching data between RAM and the Hard drive, because you use the hard drive as extra ram. Having 32 GB and an SSD should reduce that to almost nothing -- now the swapping should happen a lot less often, and when it does, it'll be 2-5 secs instead of 20-30, but things always expand to fill available space, so it will at least occasionally occur.