[Tryst]

Hi all,

I am in the process of getting some new PC kit for trading in my spare bedroom which I will be doing out soon and would like to get some ideas in terms of the hardware and software which people use, and to also get there opinions on how they think their set up works for them.

I'm hoping that the information people post about their home set up will help other people in a similar situation to myself, or maybe people who already have a setup and are looking for an alternative.

The setup I am intending is to have three 23" monitors (already purchased), with a half decent PC. I won't be day trading as such (as have a full time job) but I would be looking to swing trade maybe in the indexes and commodities in the evenings. The main focus though will be on the staged analysis based charting. So, my intention is to have a monitor for the weekly, a monitor for the daily chart, and then a monitoring which is for general internet usage but also for the 30min/1hr chart.

The PC I still haven't bought, but I am looking for a decent spec'd one, maybe a refurb from PC World or something. I have been advised to get a solid state hard-drive, but tbh I won't be day trading off 5 min charts so speed of execution isn't a necessity.

So my two simple questions are....

1) How many monitors do people use? If more than 1 monitor, how have you handled this on your PC/graphics card?

2) What trading software do you use and what are your thoughts? I know there is some brief coverage of this on this thread already, but I would like to know I am fully aware of what is out there before making a commitment. I am aware of the following:
- ProRealTime (currently using this for EoD data, and find it is very good)
- ShareScope (not used but has been recommended)
- IncredibleCharts (seems like the budget line of charting software)

Thanks