At first, it may seem silly to think that you should use a separate PC for trading. However, it takes real focus and dedication to be a successful trader, and there are certain benefits to having a separate, properly-configured computer dedicated to your trading and investing.

Trading stocks, options, forex, and futures is not like paying your bills, where you just log on and pull up a screen and follow the prompts. Instead, it involves using a lot of complex tools while simultaneously formulating and adapting multiple trading strategies. Small delays and distractions can result in missed opportunities, especially for spread traders and intra-day traders. Your trading computer is like an engineer's workspace and toolbox. You want your trading tools to be readily available, without clutter. Having a computer that has only been loaded with the applications you need for trading can actually result in a better trading or analysis session for a couple of reasons.

Online Market Trading

Have real-time stock charts and real-time quotes displayed on multiple monitors always been available for online trading? Was it always easy to track hundreds of stock and options symbols at the same time, in real time? Of course not. The entire world of online trading barely existed 15 years ago, and at that time it was almost entirely limited to professional stock traders. Brokerage platforms and websites delivering real-time streaming stock quotes and stock charts were simply not available yet for the average Joe.

Besides, it didn't really matter because the computer hardware available to the average person at the time was just not capable of running the types of modern trading applications that feature real-time stock quotes, real-time charts, real-time news, and the long list of "real-time" things that we have come to know and enjoy. So, how exactly did we get here?

The Power of the PC

Thanks to the geniuses in Silicon Valley and other spots around the globe, the power of the personal computer has grown exponentially over the past 20 years. Despite this, very few day-traders and active investors actually use the full power of their personal computer systems.

Most day-traders run a single piece of software on a mid-level computing machine which, at this point, means a computer more than 2 years old. This software is usually a brokerage-provided trading application that combines a brokerage service (i.e. a way to actually execute trades) with tools for news, charting, and analysis.

Usually, these applications are fairly comprehensive and are a great starting point for any trader. Besides using a single piece of software, most stock market traders get all of their information and analysis from the internet. However, the internet is not always the best method for gathering data.