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How to Build a PC

This section is primarily directed to market 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 market 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.

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, HP, Gateway, etc.?

Good question! My main reason for building systems from scratch is to spec out ideal systems for two main uses: 1) stock trading, of course!; and 2) my other occupations, which are multimedia development and internet marketing. Because these systems are being used for stock trading and other high-end uses, but not necessarily gaming, component choices are made that are optimal for a trading environment (i.e., state-of-the-art Pentium CoreDuo or AMD X2 chips, motherboards with PCI-E slots for high-speed graphics and 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 some of the 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-E slots for monitor expansion.

Following are recommendations for optinal components to be used in building a trading system. Immediately below each component are suggested alternatives, if any, for that component type.

Monitors/Displays

Samsung SyncMaster 214T 21.3" LCD Monitor

Samsung SyncMaster 204B 20.1" LCD Monitor

Samsung SyncMaster 215TW 21" LCD Monitor

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