Frequently Asked Questions

It comes down to speed, which we measure with a Benchmark Score. For all-day day trading you want a score of at least 45,000. That is where real stability begins.

A score between 25,000 and 45,000 is fine for swing trading, where you are not sitting on live charts all session. It is not enough for day trading. Below 25,000 is severely underpowered for either.

You can test your existing computer's benchmark score here in about a minute. Here is how our day trading desktops compare.

At least 45,000. That is the number where real stability begins.

Here is the whole scale. Below 25,000 your machine is severely underpowered. Between 25,000 and 35,000 it will run, but it stays limited. Once you cross 45,000 the system has breathing room instead of constant pressure, charts update smoothly and execution feels instant. Above 50,000 you are building real infrastructure, which is what you want for multiple monitors, scanners and heavy charting.

Traders love blaming everything except the computer. They blame the broker, the platform, the internet. Meanwhile the CPU is quietly waving the white flag. Measurement comes before optimization, so know your number first: run the free CPU benchmark test. It takes less than a minute.

Watch: The CPU Benchmark Test Every Trading PC Should Pass

You can, but you should not buy one for trading, and shopping from gaming spec sheets is how traders waste thousands of dollars.

Gaming PCs and trading PCs look nearly identical on paper. Same Intel chips, same RAM sticks, same SSDs. Under the hood they are built for two completely different jobs. It is like comparing a Ferrari to a UPS truck. Both have four wheels and an engine, but you would not deliver a package in a Ferrari and you would not race a UPS truck at Daytona.

RAM is where the biggest money gets wasted. In gaming you are running one thing, the game, so 16GB is plenty. Trading is a completely different animal. You are running a platform with six charts, a second platform with DOM windows, a third on the side, a browser with fifteen tabs, news feeds and your broker back office, all at once, all day.

Gaming specs are optimised for entertainment. Trading specs are optimised for making money. Two different machines, two different missions.

Watch: Gaming PC vs Trading PC — The Specs Don''t Match

Four 27-inch monitors at 1920x1080, arranged two over two, is the sweet spot for the vast majority of serious day traders.

That layout fits a normal desk, runs off a single Nvidia RTX 5060 graphics card, and gives you a dedicated screen for charts, order entry, scanners and news, all visible at once. Look at the traders on institutional desks moving real size. A huge number of them run four monitors, not eight, because clarity beats clutter.

On resolution, skip 4K. It shrinks everything on screen, so you end up zooming, scaling and babysitting your layout all day. Four 27-inch screens at 1920x1080 effectively give you 4K worth of workspace at a pixel density you can actually read. Aim for 144Hz minimum and IPS panels.

If you are just starting out, two 27-inch monitors side by side is a clean setup that fits any desk. Only go beyond four once you genuinely need it, because six or eight means a custom extra-wide desk and several mounts.

Watch: The Trading Monitor Setup Most Traders Get Completely Wrong

16GB is the bare minimum, 32GB is where serious traders should start, and 64GB or more is the professional setup.

Windows 11 on its own can use 2 to 4GB just to run. Add your trading platforms, browsers, market scanners, Zoom and real-time data feeds and you will hit 16GB in no time. At 16GB you are fine if you run a single straightforward platform with a few charts and one browser.

32GB is a good place to start if you run multiple monitors, advanced charting software and a few live news feeds or streams. 64GB and above is for scalpers, algo traders, anyone running several platforms at once, or anyone running simulations or AI-based trading systems.

When you run out of RAM your computer starts writing to the hard drive instead, which is called virtual memory, and it slows everything down badly. Losing a trade because your machine ran out of memory is a huge and avoidable mistake. If you are on 8GB or less, it is time to upgrade.

Watch: How Much RAM Do Traders Need in a Trading Computer?

For day trading at a fixed desk, a desktop wins on screen real estate, sustained performance and lifespan. A laptop is the right answer when you genuinely need to trade from more than one place.

The difference shows up under sustained load. One trader called after his laptop could not keep up mid-session and it cost him real money on a fill. Another called because his nine-year-old desktop finally died, and he had got nine years of reliable performance out of it.

EZ Trading Computers builds both, and there is a free buyer's guide for each: the Complete Guide to Trading Computers for desktops and the Complete Guide to Laptops for Traders.

Watch: Day Trading — Desktop or Laptop in 2026

No. For a serious trader a VPS is one of the worst decisions you can make, and it is quietly costing you on executions.

A VPS is a slice of a giant computer sitting in a data center, shared with other tenants. Would you share a Ferrari with five strangers on race day and expect to win? That is what you are doing when you trade on a VPS.

The symptoms are always the same. Traders call frustrated that their fills are garbage, their bots are misfiring, and the platform freezes at the worst possible moment. When we ask what they are trading on, the answer is very often a VPS. The pros build dedicated machines for exactly this reason.

Watch: Serious Traders Stopped Using VPS Years Ago — Here''s Why

Yes, and we would encourage it. Working out the right build is a lot easier as a conversation than as a spec sheet.

Call EZ Trading Computers on 800-387-5250 between 9:30am and 5:30pm Eastern and you will get a trading computer specialist who knows this hardware inside out — not a script reader working from a list. Tell them what you trade, which platforms you run, how many monitors you want and what you are willing to spend, and they will tell you straight which machine fits. That includes telling you when the less expensive one is the right answer.

There is no obligation and nobody here works on pressure. If you would rather do your own research first, run the free CPU benchmark test and read the Complete Guide to Trading Computers.

Yes! We can customize to any specifications you want! Software, media card readers, multiple hard drives, cases, etc. We can accommodate just about any request. See this page or Just call, click chat or email us

Yes. EZ Trading Computers has multiple ways to pay over time regardless of your credit rating, including “No Credit Needed” options. See all available options here.

Yes! We ship just about anywhere in the world.  Shipping rates vary from country to country.  All International payments MUST be made via wire transfer.  Please Click Here for more info.

No. EZ Trading Computers ships every machine “Plug n Trade”. They are simple to set up and you will be up and running very quickly. We have also created several Quickstart videos that walk you through the setup, and our expert technical support people, who are based in the US, are here to help you for the life of the machine.

2 to 5 business days to build, plus shipping time. We build and ship 90% of systems within 2 to 5 business days, and worst case you will have your computer within two weeks. We use FedEx and UPS, and a signature is required for delivery.

No, we are not BBB accredited. Here is what stands behind every machine instead.

Every EZ Trading Computer desktop comes with a 100% risk-free money-back guarantee for the first 14 days, a 5-year components warranty, and free lifetime technical support from a team based in the United States. Laptops carry a 1-year components warranty with the same lifetime support. You can also read hundreds of verified customer reviews from traders who bought from us.

As for the BBB itself: when we were first approached about becoming an “accredited member”, something about the way it was presented did not sit right with us. This 20/20 report covers what we found.