Laptop

[Mary K. 0]

I have desk top day trading station running well.  My old laptop needs replaced. I use it manly for my other businesses but since it has to be replaced want to get something that is adequate for occasional travel day trading.   I am not a computer person but I can look up specs or just tell me which laptop would be adequate.   I searched and really could not find answer - sorry if this is a repeat question.

[Justin 262]

Day trading software (like DAS) requires minimal processing power... You could spend $300 on a laptop and trade fine.

Rule of thumb: What's your budget? Spend that.

[TommyK667 10]

I recently got the Asus Zenbook 14 inch UX430UA on a sale, and its' great. My main priority is lightness so I can bring it anywhere and review my trades and journal (and also trade), and within my budget. I really don't want to get a cheaper laptop but with a weight and girth of a brick, that would really demotivate me to lug it around.

[Michael McCausland 6]

How do you access the settings menu in DAS when it is too big for your laptop screen.  I need to fix this so that I can get my trades on my laptop to chartlog and other settings that appear on the bottom, including the apply/commit buttons?

[TommyK667 10]

10 minutes ago, Michael McCausland said:

How do you access the settings menu in DAS when it is too big for your laptop screen.  I need to fix this so that I can get my trades on my laptop to chartlog and other settings that appear on the bottom, including the apply/commit buttons?

I suppose you are using a layout file you used on your desktop? What I did was shrink everything in my desktop, then transfer that layout file to the laptop and resize everything to fit for the laptop. So you can see everything.

[Nolan C 0]

I just set up a Lenovo ThinkPad 15.6" E590.  It is not too big, has good specs and fits in a number pad on the keyboard.  I run resolution of 1920x1080 (100% view) and have templates for all my programs.  This resolution also seamlessly connects to HDMI screens with same resolution using the HDMI output for monitor extension.

I'm pretty happy with it.

[Patrick Clelland 2]

I am just getting started with trading and will just be using the DAS sim for a while. I am looking to purchase a laptop on a tight budget, while meeting all the spec requirements on DAS's website. They require 4GB of RAM and was wondering if a laptop with 4GB would work fine, or is there an advantage to adding a little more and going with something like 8GB of RAM? I understand I am going cheap on this purchase getting started, but I want to make sure I'm not compromising performance just to safe a few dollars. Thank you in advance.

[Justin 262]

2 hours ago, Patrick Clelland said:

I am just getting started with trading and will just be using the DAS sim for a while. I am looking to purchase a laptop on a tight budget, while meeting all the spec requirements on DAS's website. They require 4GB of RAM and was wondering if a laptop with 4GB would work fine, or is there an advantage to adding a little more and going with something like 8GB of RAM? I understand I am going cheap on this purchase getting started, but I want to make sure I'm not compromising performance just to safe a few dollars. Thank you in advance.

Hey Patrick, as you've already seen DAS system requirements are quite low. Although in respect to RAM, I think it's a worthy part of your investment. It's not just DAS, but also Windows 10, and Chrome running chat (which is a hog).

Just a quick look on Best Buy shows many laptops between $300-$400 with 8GB of RAM. Which is always why I recommend people to simply buy the best specs at whatever they can comfortably afford; you don't need to break the bank on this.

[Patrick Clelland 2]

Justin,

Thank you for your response and I will go with the 8GB to start. I appreciate it.

[Michael McCausland 6]

I am trading on a great desktop for the opening...but my wife has to teach during the day and uses my room.  I am including my configuration here and a picture of a setup.  For me, it is the connectivity which is either wifi or lan (same speed really at home) so I use my laptop.  More important than the  robust processor and RAM is the ability to use USB 3.1 for video.  My late morning trading station is my laptop in this configuration.  I've made some good trades using this setup.  

[Benjamin Tang 4]

On 5/14/2020 at 12:17 AM, Michael McCausland said:

I am trading on a great desktop for the opening...but my wife has to teach during the day and uses my room.  I am including my configuration here and a picture of a setup.  For me, it is the connectivity which is either wifi or lan (same speed really at home) so I use my laptop.  More important than the  robust processor and RAM is the ability to use USB 3.1 for video.  My late morning trading station is my laptop in this configuration.  I've made some good trades using this setup.  

Hi @Michael McCausland,

That is a nice setup. very portable

can you tell what kind of monitoring you are using?

[Michael McCausland 6]

I am using two HP monitors (HPL2445) that I bought recently from a FaceBook marketplace post.  They are identical but one has some damage to the video screen on some places.  The are very old and pretty heavy. They are all being run through a single USB 3.0 hub with indivudual USB to VGA adapters.  The monitors come on some nice swivel stands which allow for the compact setup.  The final monitor above is an AOC USB monitor also being run through the same hub but requires no adapter, just a little software install.  I plan on using this setup when I travel to NJ where I used to live and my parents still live.