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. 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 two reasons.

First is the distraction factor. It's a lot easier to select from a toolbar that has 5 shortcuts on it rather than 20. We can all do several things at once, but we should be realistic about the types of results we get when we dedicate ourselves to a task versus when we are multi-tasking.

For example, which computer configuration is more likely to result in time spent doing quality research and analysis for stocks, options, forex, and futures trading?

PC #1

1. Shortcut to Brokerage Software
2. Shortcut to Analysis Software
3. Shortcut to Internet Explorer
4. Shortcut to Trading Files
5. Shortcut to Gmail

PC #2

1. Shortcut to Brokerage Software
2. Shortcut to Analysis Software
3. Shortcut to Internet Explorer
4. Shortcut to Firefox
5. Shortcut to File Folder - Trading Files
6. Shortcut to GMail
7. Shortcut to Yahoo! Mail
8. Shortcut to Microsoft Outlook
9. Shortcut to Steam Game Engine
10. Shortcut to FTP Client
11. Shortcut to My Music
12. Shortcut to Facebook
13. Shortcut to Quickbooks
14. Shortcut to World of Warcraft
15. Shortcut to Sports Illustrated Website
16. Shortcut to Real Clear Politics

You get the idea. There are a lot of potential distractions when your computer has a lot of programs on it. If your computer only has your trading applications to choose from, you are much more likely to focus on the very important task at hand (after all, your hard-earned money is on the line!). Some people have the discipline to sit down for hours and do good, quality, profitable research, regardless of any distractions. For others, it may be helpful to separate your trading machine from your regular computer so that you can have a dedicated tool that is just intended for market trading and market analysis.

The second reason to consider using a separate dedicated computer for your trading is the performance factor. Having all those extra files, applications, and services inevitably results in slower access and response times. Also, since you are less likely to have a bunch of unrelated windows open at any given moment, your system will be more stable and less likely to crash or freeze up.

Another benefit is that you will receive fewer prompts for program updates and system re-starts since you won't have as many applications loaded on the machine. When your immediate goal is to conduct fundamental and technical analysis for winning trades, every second spent updating a program or restarting your computer is simply time wasted.

These are just a couple of reasons to consider using a dedicated computer for your trading and investing endeavors. It may seem like a strange idea at first, but think about it this way. Professional hedge fund managers, mutual fund managers, and other proprietary traders use dedicated computers at work that are specifically configured to run trading applications at a very high level of performance. If it's good enough for the professionals, you may want to consider it for your own success.