If you are looking to buy a new PC for your trading career, then you are probably wondering exactly what you need to buy. This article will explore some of the things you need to think about when purchasing a PC specifically for your trading.
Hardware
For trading, a laptop is simply not going to cut it. Whilst some people ‘get by’ with a laptop, the small screen can make charting difficult, and it is not ideal at all. With this in mind, you need to be first of all thinking about purchasing a desktop. Lenovo Trading PCs are a great place to start, as there are options available to suit any budget.
The good news is, trading PCs do not need to be super powerful. Most of the software you will be running is cloud-based, and even the execution software isn’t very processor heavy. So, a general everyday computer is going to more than suit your needs.
However, there are a few things you should consider. Having more than one screen is hugely beneficial as you advance in your trading career, so choose a desktop that allows you to have multiple monitors as this will future proof your purchase.
Often with trading, you may also want to leave your desktop switched on most of the time so you can hear alerts from your charting software. With this in mind, you ideally want an energy efficient machine with good cooling capabilities.
Anything above dual core is going to be okay, but quad-core would be ideal, as it’s going to make everything run just that little bit smoother for you.
Software
In terms of software, there isn’t a huge amount you must have. But when trading, you are going to be logging in and out of platforms where you hold money or assets. With this in mind, security is of utmost importance. Good anti-virus software is going to be crucial in protecting yourself from fraud and in addition to this install anti-spyware.
Using long passwords which are not easily guessed is also going to help you maintain security when trading (you can use a password generator for this). Where possible, pay for a backup software as well, which will automatically back up everything in the event of a hack.
As far as trading software goes, MT4 or MT5 is the most common execution platform for Forex, and lately more brokers offer crypto paired against the dollar for use with these platforms too. This is free to download from your broker or the Metaquotes website and takes very little space or processing power on your system.
In addition to this, you will need some charting software. Tradingview is a great platform with inclusive data feeds and has packages for every budget (including free!) It is also cloud-based so as long as your internet connection is good it’s a great option and won’t cause any impact on your computer!
If you plan to start trading and want to invest in new tech to do so, then try and purchase something a little above your needs as it means you will not have to update your machine in the near future.
Ensure you protect your data with anti-virus software and back up on regular occasions also.
