When you are looking to day trade, one of the most important things that you will want to do is ensure that your computer or laptop has enough power. Because desktop and laptops are completely different due to space limitations in a laptop, they are going to provide many different experiences. The best laptops for trading is generally always going to be underpowered compared to an equivalent desktop computer because of the physical space difference available in each. Below, we will be going over whether or not day trading on a laptop is effective enough compared to a desktop.
Day Trading On A Laptop Vs A Desktop:
Pros Of a Desktop:
1. More Power
The biggest advantage that you get with a desktop PC is the ability to have much more power to utilize. Because a desktop PC is going to offer you a lot more power that you can utilize, it is going to offer the best possible day trading experience. When you are running custom algorithms and indicators, you are going to need to have fast processors and a lot of memory on your PC. The fact is, you will have much more space for proper cooling with desktop PCs and you will have more RAM slots on your motherboard to increase the amount of memory that you can allocate to these algorithms. Along with this, you will have much more space for a larger graphics card to compute the algorithms.
2. Overclocking
Another great thing that you are going to get with desktop PC’s is the ability to overclock everything from the CPU to the RAM and even the graphics cards. Because you are not going to have heat build-up due to having a larger casing, it is going to allow you to overclock everything in your PC to max out the performance that you are able to get from it. This alone is going to allow you to get the best possible performance out of your PC and it can increase the value that you get out of each component in your PC that works on the computations and algorithms.
3. Cheaper
Another significant benefit that comes from a desktop PC that has full-scale power is the fact that it is going to be much cheaper to purchase and/or build. Because desktop components are much more affordable, you are going to be able to build and/or buy an extremely powerful desktop PC without having to spend thousands of dollars. Whereas, if you want the equivalent type of power that you might need with a laptop, it is going to cost much more due to the convenience of portability and the cost to make each component.
Advantages Of a Laptop:
1. Portability
One of the only advantages that you are going to get with a laptop over a desktop PC would be the portability factor. Because the laptop is going to be small enough to carry around with you, it is in a form factor that will allow you to take it on-the-go wherever you might be. This is going to allow you to get work done outside of the office.
Overall, a laptop might have sufficient power to be an effective day trading machine, but you are generally going to want to opt for a desktop PC if possible. Luckily, there are plenty of different laptops entering the marketplace with desktop-like power specifications that make them viable alternatives to those that are really looking for power solutions to take with them on-the-go. Therefore, you can find viable laptops that can handle the processing and graphical power that day trading requires.