We welcome the opportunity to be of service to you in optimizing your trading system configuration. We would be pleased to provide guidance to you before ordering new equipment or installing new software. The requirements noted below are simply presented as a point of reference.
Our intention is to provide the Assent trading community with appropriate forward looking guidance. That said, to be clear, although ANVIL can and does certainly run on machines that fall below the "current minimum" standards, we believe that the serious trader, who wishes to be equipped to handle market surges and intra-day "spikes" will want to consider upgrading if you're currently trading with a configuration that is not at the recommended levels.
Indeed, the recommendations listed below have evolved over the recent past in part due to remaining mindful of the tremendous surge in market data that the direct access marketplace has seen over the past few years. As well, if you intend to trade options through our platform, you'll need a powerful computer to keep up with the level of market data you'll likely be subscribing to.
PLEASE SEE SPECIAL NOTE AT END OF PAGE IF YOU ARE A REMOTE TRADER USING MS VISTA AS YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM. THE F5 REMOTE ENCRYPTION PACKAGE AVAILABLE ON OUR REMOTE SOFTWARE ACCESS PAGE: http://sslsoftware.assent.com/
Our trading systems are extremely fast, very feature - rich and provide incredibly useful functionality when they are installed on properly configured computers. Our trading systems are specifically built to take advantage of multiple linked CPU's and hyperthreading. When combined with certain charting or similar applications that traders commonly use, feature - laden trading platforms such as ours use a fair amount of resources to perform up to designed standards. It’s always a good idea to make sure that your system has enough capacity to meet today’s needs and allow for future growth. And, it's always a good idea to keep your hard drive optimized, by carrying out disk re-fragmentation steps and un-installing programs that you no longer use or need.
Depending upon trading styles and the extent of the stocks that are actively being monitored, some traders prefer setting up a trading station that utilizes multiple display monitors. If this is applicable to you, make sure that you include this requirement in your discussions with any potential computer equipment suppliers you contact. Give some thought to the actual layout of the trading station you'll work from, as certain types of display monitors can generate a fair amount of heat. You'll want to make sure that your equipment configuration has a sufficient amount of space for ventilation.
We strongly recommend the use of an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) device to protect against power surges and outages.
| Minimum | Recommended | Performance | |
| Processor: | Intel Core2Quad Q9300 2.5GHz | Intel Core2Quad Q9550 2.83GHz | Intel Core2Quad Q9650 3.0GHz |
| Memory: | 2GB | 4GB | 4GB |
| Video Card: | Dual 256 MB Dual-Head (Dual PCI-e for 4 display support) |
Dual 256 MB Dual-Head (Dual PCI-e for 4 display support) |
Dual 256 MB Dual-Head (Dual PCI-e for 4 display support) |
| Hard Drive: | 7200 RPM SATA | 10k RPM SATA, RAID1 | 10k RPM SATA, RAID1 |
| Operating System: | Win2k Pro, WinXP Pro, Vista | WinXP Pro, Vista | WinXP Pro, Vista (or 64 -bit) |
| Anti-Virus: | Symantec | Symantec | Symantec |
| Dell Model: | Dell Precision T3400 | Dell Precision T3400 | Dell Precision T3400 |
A Summary of the Above Classifications:
"Minimum"
A budget - minded, barebones system that generally will run the standard trading software without problems, yet leaves some room for more advanced trading layouts.
"Recommended"
Our most commonly deployed system configuration. As designed, the specifications are on the high-end without entering server-class hardware. These systems represent good value even with the technology pricing curve and will outlast the minimum recommendations by a substantial amount of time. These systems will support a 2-screen setup with room for expansion and most any advanced layout. They usually do not come out-of-the-box equipped for 4 screens but can fairly easily handle such an accommodation by using a 3rd party additional video card. A user who purchases this PC expects to be able to use this device for some time and it should be able to successfully handle market data spikes and such.
"Performance"
This configuration comes out of the box ready for 4 monitors thanks to its use of dual video cards. The specs listed represent lower-end recommendations but provide the hardware baseline of a system that is performance-minded and geared towards the future.
Note to Remote Traders: If you are using an operating system other Microsoft's Vista, up until the Fall of 2007, we typically recommend Norton Anti - Virus software over other commonly used packages as that seemed to perform best within the SSL remote connection software configuration. However, in the Fall of 2007, we started deploying the F5 remote software solution, which works better with MS Vista, and is also compatible with other MS operating systems such as those listed above.
Also, if you are trading from an Assent branch office, prior to purchasing any new equipment, you should specifically consult with an Assent technician and Branch Office Manager regarding the appropriate procedures and requirements for obtaining new PC's and other devices. In certain cases, the branch office locations may have been configured with communication circuits that may offer connection speeds that differ somewhat from Internet - based remote platforms.
