This section is primarily directed to day traders, but may be useful to anyone who wants to attempt to put together their own PC, or have one configured for them. If anyone has any questions, feel free to e-mail me!)

In the course of building my own PC's to use for day-trading and multimedia development, it became clear to me that many of you might want to share in what I've discovered during the process. I'll cover all of the components used, and why the particular parts were chosen. I am not yet completely set up as a dealer, so most of the prices shown reflect the best retail price I was able to obtain at the time. (Any non-retail pricing is noted.) I hope this information is useful to you!

Want me to build one for you?

I am in the process of setting up an integration business for building trading systems, and am determining fair markup, logistics, etc. If you would like for me to custom-build a trading system, loaded and ready with your software of choice, send me an e-mail message. Until I am set up as a dealer, the best thing for me to do for you is get the best price I can for the parts, then add a set fee on the top for building and configuring the selected components.

Why build a PC from scratch when you can just buy a good one off the shelf from Dell, Compaq, Gateway, etc.?

Good question! My main reason for building one from scratch was because I wanted to spec out an ideal system for two uses: 1) stock trading, of course!; 2) my main occupations, which are multimedia development and internet marketing. (I'm not a full-time trader . . . yet!). Because I was going to use this system for stock trading, I wanted to take advantage of the fact that I was building it to spec to make selections appropriate for stock trading (i.e., state-of-the-art Pentium 4 chip, selecting a motherboard with as many PCI slots as possible for future multimonitor expansion, etc.). If you don't want to hassle with home-built issues like variable warranty coverage and the like, by all means, get one from Dell, Gateway, or one of the other fine box builders. My personal favorite is Dell, because I like their service and configuration options. I also have a section that discusses the specific selection issues to consider when configuring a Dell PC to buy.

My main negative issue right now is with the Compaq Presarios, Hewlett Packard and similar machines from other manufacturers currently being sold in retail outlets that have been designed for first-time home users, containing tons of useless software and memory-hogging operating system overhead, and containing limited expansion options, such as minimal PCI slots.

Following are recommendations for components to be used in building a trading system. Immediately below each component are suggested alternatives, if any, for that component type. Where possible, current prices are listed. Your prices will be lower or higher depending on your source and choice of manufacturer. Within each component type, I list the choice made in building my most recent system, along with prices paid at that time.

Case/Enclosure

Recommendation: Enlight 72370X3C Case w/300w Power Supply In my opinion, Enlight makes some of the most dependable cases in the PC business. The 72370X3C has the correct alignment holes for current motherboards and Pentium 4 chips, and has relatively easy-to-install drive bays. Includes 300w power supply, (4) 5.25 inch bays, (2) 3.5 inch bays, 1 internal 3.5 inch bay (my primary hard drive is installed here), and 1 cooling case fan. A word about power supplies: If you are installing the number of plug-in boards/ide drives/etc. listed in this guide, a 300w power supply will be sufficient. However, if you plan to install multiple hard drives, max out your slots, etc., you may want to upgrade to a higher wattage power supply. You can also minimize system noise by upgrading to a quieter ball bearing-centric model.

Street Price: Price on this case varies from $40 to $90 online. I paid $51.79 for mine in late 2001.

Alternatives: You can always blow a C-note and go for one of those cool-looking aluminum cases with the usb and gameport connectors on the front and/or the neon lights on the inside. I haven't found one I like yet, but some of them are really easy to take apart. And hey, they DO look cool. But if you're not using this system for game-playing, over-clocking and other nerdly pursuits, save your money. For alternate power supplies, Enermax offers high-end quiet models.

Motherboard

Recommendation: Intel

Street Price: Price on this case varies from $40 to $90 online. I paid $51.79 for mine in late 2001.

Alternatives: You can always blow a C-note and go for one of those cool-looking aluminum cases with the usb and gameport connectors on the front and/or the neon lights on the inside. I haven't found one I like yet, but some of them are really easy to take apart. And hey, they DO look cool. But if you're not using this system for game-playing, over-clocking and other nerdly pursuits, save your money. For alternate power supplies, Enermax offers high-end quiet models.

CPU

Recommendation: Intel

Street Price: Price on this case varies from $40 to $90 online. I paid $51.79 for mine in late 2001.

Alternatives: You can always blow a C-note and go for one of those cool-looking aluminum cases with the usb and gameport connectors on the front and/or the neon lights on the inside. I haven't found one I like yet, but some of them are really easy to take apart. And hey, they DO look cool. But if you're not using this system for game-playing, over-clocking and other nerdly pursuits, save your money. For alternate power supplies, Enermax offers high-end quiet models.

Memory

Recommendation: Rambus

Street Price:

Alternatives:

Floppy Drive

Recommendation: Sony/Teac

Street Price:

Alternatives:

Hard Drive

Recommendation: Western Digital

Street Price:

Alternatives:

CD/CD-RW/DVD

Recommendation:

Street Price:

Alternatives:

Graphics Adapter(s)

Recommendation: Rambus

Street Price:

Alternatives:

Monitor(s)

Recommendation: Rambus

Street Price:

Alternatives:

Keyboard

Recommendation: Rambus

Street Price:

Alternatives:

Mouse

Recommendation: Rambus

Street Price:

Alternatives:

Windows Operating System

Recommendation: Windows XP Professional Full Version OEM You need the full version of whatever Windows operating system you choose, since you're installing it onto a new system. In my opinion, Windows XP Professional is the most stable Windows o/s to date. Everything is very plug-and-play and easy compared to previous versions, especially when networking different systems.

Street Price: I've seen this available for $128 online, which is a good price for the full version. Due to a dealer relationship at the time, I got my Windows XP Pro for free.

Alternatives: Some traders have reported problems using Windows XP. Personally, I haven't had a blip with Windows XP Pro in my CyberTrader Pro world, but I am exploring to see if it's a RealTick problem or whatever. I'll report news here once I get it. I'd stay away from the Home version and stick with XP Pro. If you're paranoid about this, then go with Windows 2000 Professional. Don't even consider Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, or Millenium. Too buggy, and being left behind feature-wise. I have a couple of old trading systems running Windows 98 SE right now, but would never consider building a new unit with 98 now.

(I am currently in the process of revising the content for this section on building a trading system and expect the new information to be complete by the end of April 2002. Thanks for your patience!)

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