Nowadays, it is almost impossible to trade forex without the use of computers or laptops. Gone are the days when the traders used to go to the exchange, shout out their asks and bids, and these were then matched on the floor of the exchange. Nowadays, it doesn’t happen this way. Everything happens on the laptop for trading forex and the traders, big and small, can sit in the comfort of their homes, watch the bids and the asks come up on the screen and they can buy and sell as they please. Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages but with a daily visit to the exchange being ruled out nowadays, the traders do not have much of a choice but to trade on their computers or laptop.
Thoughts on Best Laptops for Trading Forex Crypto in 2021
The laptops that you choose for trading depend on your comfort factor first and foremost. Some are comfortable with Macs while some are comfortable with windows based laptops. So, the OS is the first choice that you need to make. Next would be the trading platform that you would be using. This is important as this would determine what sort of configuration that you would be needed for your laptop. If the platform is heavy with a lot of features then you need to go for a laptop that has a lot of inbuilt RAM. If the trading platform is light, then you can afford to go for a laptop that has lesser RAM.
Once you have decided on the platform and the broker, then you can choose the right laptop. It is important that you have the right tools for trading. For any occupation for that matter, the person who works needs to have the right tools for it else it is likely to make the job even more challenging. So always choose a good laptop for yourself and if you have the habit of analysing multiple charts or multiple timeframes at the same time, then having multiple monitors may also be a good idea.
There are a variety of laptops that are available for trading and the users can choose either Mac-based laptops or can go for Acer or Dell or HP depending on his requirements and also depending on the configuration of each. Also, make sure that you have a good warranty period as well so that in case of any issues with the laptop after a few days or months, you will be able to make use of the warranty to seek for a replacement if and when necessary.
What is the Best Trading Software for Beginners?
Unlike a decade ago when only a few brokers were around and hence there was only a few trading software around as well, today we literally have thousands of brokers in the FX market, both big and small. Though many of the smaller ones are likely to be scams who are looking to take money away from the traders, still there are so many brokers out there that it is different to choose one from them. One of the important parameters that you need to consider while choosing a broker as a beginner is to see what kind of trading software that they allow.
Of course, you always have a choice of choosing one broker and picking a totally different trading platform for your charting and analysis but it is always good, easy and comfortable if the trading/charting platform and the broker are the same, especially for a beginner. Many retail FX brokers nowadays offer MT4 and MT5 trading platforms. One has to remember that these are third-party platforms and are not owned by the brokers themselves. These are licensed by the brokers and it is very famous among the retail traders as it is very user friendly, has a huge amount of features, and has a charting platform that is loved by the traders for its simplicity. It also has the option to program indicators and auto-traders which is also loved by the traders. Though the company has stopped making additional MT4 licenses, it still continues to rule the roost as far as the retail traders are concerned.
Over the last few years, probably due to the high cost of licensing the MT4 platform, many of the brokers have also started developing their own trading platforms and though none of them match the popularity of MT4 as yet, some of them like the FXCM platform are good and are user friendly as well. There are other platforms like Ninja trader which are also third-party platforms and brokers or individual users can also buy licenses to the platform, stream prices into it and use it for trading or technical analysis. Ultimately, as again, it all comes down to what software the trader is comfortable with using. Some prefer MT4 while others may prefer other trading platforms but the beginner trader needs to be very careful in ensuring that he is comfortable with the trading platform he is using and it could make a big difference. As we repeatedly say, trading by itself is a big challenge and the traders should not complicate it even further by having tools that they are not comfortable with, especially at the start of their trading career.
How Many Computer Screens do I Need for Trading?
This is a matter of personal convenience, in our opinion. But when you start off trading, you are better off having 1 screen or a maximum of 2 screens. Some traders believe that they need to start off their trading career with the best tools possible and also believe that the amount of success that they achieve would be directly proportional to the kind of tools that they use and the kind of support that they get from the tools. So, when they start out, they have a fully professional set up with several screens, high-powered laptops, and other tools that they can possibly get their hands on.
Though this may be useful and might work for certain traders, it may not work for many. First of all, the investment needed for such a setup is likely to be very large which means that the traders has to be very profitable in order to make back all the investment and so he would be under pressure right away. Also, as a beginner, you are never sure about how successful and profitable your trading career would be, and when you do not know that, it is always better to keep the investments low. Trading is just like any other business where you would want to keep your investments low at the start so that you know what you are getting into and once you start feeling confident about the business, then you are likely to pump in more funds. This is the same approach that you need to be following for trading as well. Start off with a minimal setup that you are comfortable with and you believe would be enough to remain profitable.
You can also use the money that you had over-invested in tools and fund your account even more so that you can practice better risk management and you would also be in a position to take in more profits as the deposits in this situation would be higher. So, if you can afford it, you can probably use the funds to deposit into your trading account rather than spend them on expensive equipment right at the beginning. Once you gain confidence and see that you are beginning to make some consistent profits, you can always evaluate again and see whether you need any more additional equipment for trading and if you still believe that you need it, you can go ahead and get them with the profits that you have generated. If you would in this manner, it means that you have your emotions under control and it also shows that you are planning your investments in a good manner. Of course, we are not saying that this is the method that everyone should follow and there are many traders who begin with a massive setup and have found it useful for being profitable and have been able to have some profitable careers as well but it all comes down to what you are comfortable with and saving whatever money you can where you can. This should be the motto when you start off your trading.
How to Set Up Your Day Trading Computer
You need to, first of all, decide what type of a trader you want to be. This is very closely associated with the type of person that you are. It is always believed that you need to do a self-analysis before you decide on what type of trading that you want to do. This is very important as many times, traders choose a type of trading that is opposite to their general character and sooner or later this leads to a disaster. The traders need to avoid these kinds of disasters and ensure that they choose a trading method which their mind is in sync. After all this analysis, if they do decide that day trading is what they are going to do in the long term, then they need to start forex trading computer set up in a slow and steady manner thinking of each and every challenge that they are likely to face while day trading and how their planned setup is going to solve these problems for them.
The first thing is to see what laptop you are going to use and purchase the right one for yourself. The trading software is likely to determine what type of laptop and what configuration you would be needing but assuming that you are clear what trading platform you are going to use in the long term, you need to buy a laptop that can easily install this trading platform and still remain powerful and fast. One important thing to keep in mind is the fact that in day trading, speed is going to be very important. Though the trading speed may not be as important on day trading as in scalping, when the markets are volatile and moving very fast, speed does become very important as you may get a signal to immediately enter or exit a trade depending on your strategy. In such cases, you would need a powerful lapto[p that is fast at all times even when the trading platform and other applications are running so that you can enter or exit trades in a very quick and reliable manner. If the laptop becomes slow or crashes at the time when you are taking a trade, then that could have some serious consequences and lead to losses that may even be bigger than the cost of a good laptop. So, make sure that you have a good and high-powered laptop that is reliable when you start your trading.
Then decide on the number of screens that you are going to use. Most traders are comfortable having just one screen when they start off their trading as they need some time to process the information that they see on the charts and so if they are made to see several charts across a variety of screens, then it is very likely that they get easily confused and overwhelmed by all the information and that could lead to wrong trades being made. So, the trader has to decide whether he goes for a single screen and maybe an additional screen to watch the charts but anything beyond that is likely to be an overkill especially for a trader who is just starting out on his trading journey. Once the required number of screens are set up, another important thing is to have a reliable power and internet connection.
Having a reliable power and internet connection may not be a big deal in developed countries like the US and the UK but in the developing and underdeveloped world, this could mean the difference between success and failure. You can imagine the situation of the trader who is in the middle of important trade with high leverage and no stop loss, like most retail traders and suddenly the power or the internet gets shut down. He will not even know what is going on in the markets at that time and that could mean that the entire account could blow up by the time the power or the internet comes back again. That is why it is important to have high-speed and reliable internet and a power backup as well, at all times, especially when your trade sizes start getting bigger and the stakes become higher. You can also have a backup internet connection as well and maybe you can have the backup connection at a lower cost and plan but power and internet need to have backups so that you avoid unnecessary losses and tension in the long run.
Conclusion:
So, by going through all the methods and suggestions above, the trader by now should have understood how important it is to have the right laptop for trading and the correct and powerful trading setup so that he can focus on his trading. Many traders believe that the right tools and the right setup is half the job done and they could easily enhance the skills of the trader by more than 20%. Make sure that you keep this in mind and this setup not just includes your laptop and your screens but also includes the mouse that you use and also the internet and the power connections, especially when you are trading from a developing country. The trader may also choose to trade using a VPS if he wants to run a robot or if he wants to have a reliable connection but all these are up to the trader and as long as he is comfortable with the kind of setup that he has, he should do well and he should focus on his trading and trading plan and make sure that all this effort in setting up the platform does not go waste.
