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Date/Time: Sat, 10 Jan 2026 21:45:50 +0000



Post From: SSD, CPU, GPU - 2026 requirements given assumptions below

[2026-01-09 14:00:46]
A77 - Posts: 20
Hello.

There are threads in the past on what CPU, GPU and SSD to go for, but I don't think I've seen a thread on what matters the most for a real life example as opposed to "minimum requirements" to run the program on a basic level. I think it would be helpful for Sierra to give an answer as it can help guide people to avoid overpaying for laptops or PC parts.

To make it applicable to real life trading, let's assume the user intends to have the following:
- A minimum of 12 charts up, some with hundreds of days worth of tick data (but timeframe is probably hours or daily bars)
- Assume at least one or two charts are execution charts with a low tick/time interval.
- The user would want to see real-time data coming in smoothly with no lag. When I say no lag, I mean to avoid "bursts" of data you can get from having an overloaded cpu/poor SSD/poor GPU as opposed to a consistent predictable stream of data visually coming into your screen. I specify "visual" because I think most traders are not algotraders and there's a difference between Sierra Chart receiving the data in the background vs being able to output it on the screen with very low latency.
- Finally let's say the number of symbols is 6 in total.
- You enable OpenGL

To give people a general idea, would a laptop like the Dell XPS 14 with Intel® Core™ Ultra X7 358H (4.8Ghz) & 16 cores, M.2 NVMe SSD and Intel Arc GPU (integrated, not dedicated) be enough?

Or would I absolutely need a laptop with a dedicated GPU, and if so, does it need to be Nvidia? Overall I think this is worth answering because this usercase above is probably what most people have in mind as a minimum. (Also, I know that the OS being native x86 and not ARM is important though, but please correct me if this is wrong)

And what matters the most, SSD, GPU or CPU when buying a PC in general?

Thanks in advance.
Date Time Of Last Edit: 2026-01-09 15:09:58