Trading on a slow computer is like racing a Prius in the Indy 500.
You are going to get destroyed!
Traders Need Power and Speed
Don't forget that as a trader, you never want to skimp on processing power and speed.
The processor is the engine of the computer, and if you’re trying to compete in today’s markets with a weak engine, you’re gonna feel it.
Think of it like trying to merge onto the highway in a Toyota Prius, you’re going to get left behind. The eight-cylinder supercharged engines these days are the very specific high-end processors that come from both Intel and AMD.
The Bare Minimum
As of this video, the absolute minimum processor for traders, and this is the bare minimum, is Intel's 13th Generation Core i5 13,400 processor. This processor has 10 cores and it benchmarks at 25,537.
The Intel Core i5 13,400, that's the minimum. Anything less than this processor, and you're going to run into serious lag on your trading platform and when you enter an order, you are going run into slippage.
If you haven't heard yet, slippage is when you enter an order to buy or sell and the price you get filled at is different from the price you expected. This occurs from trading on a computer that is so slow that it can't keep up with the massive levels of real-time data we take in today. Slippage is a very serious problem for folks trading on low-end computers, and it costs traders a bundle.
Test Your Benchmark Score
The i5 13400 will get it done, but it’s pretty close to becoming obsolete. If you really want to futureproof your computer for trading, you need to consider a processor that benchmarks over 40,000. The higher the benchmark, the faster the machine. When I say the word benchmark, you can think of it like horsepower on a car. The more horsepower the computer has, the faster it will be.
If you’re not sure what kind of horsepower your current computer has, go to eztradingcomputers.net/cpu. I’ll walk you through exactly how to check your processor’s benchmark score.
My Top Recommended Processors
So if you really want to eliminate the risk of slippage and futureproof your machine, here are my top recommended processors in order.
- Intel Core i5 13,400 – the bare minimum
- Intel Ultra 7 265K
- AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
- Intel Core Ultra 9 285K - new grand champion
The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, is the new grand champion of processors. This is the fastest consumer-grade processor we have tested at our facilities.
Bottom Line
Bottom line—don’t cut corners on your processor. In trading, milliseconds matter, and the right machine can make all the difference.
If you haven't already, please go ahead and download our Complete Guide to Trading Computers here. This guide is jam-packed with great tips so you can optimize your trading experience.
Article Updated May 14, 2025.
