Our 12 monitor trading computers are custom engineered to provide the best performance and multiple monitor support. We’ve custom engineered one specific Intel trading computer model for our 12 monitor system. We’re very transparent with the components we use. In this article we’ll cover what makes our 12 monitor system better than our competitors and show you the components going into it.
Keep the article date in mind. We leave older articles on our technology blog so be sure to check our most recent posts regarding 12 monitor computers. Components change frequently with our trading computers. As new parts come out (motherboards, chipsets, processors, etc) our recommendations will change. This guide is for our 12 monitor trading computers in 2023 and going into 2024. We try to write new guides and articles each year to keep our customers well informed with the newest products and changes to our inventory.
In this article, we’ll go through the entire configuration of our Trader 12X Extreme 12 monitor trading computer. Our trading computers are 100% built, tested and ready to use right out of the box. Windows has been installed and updated. We design our trading computers to be as easy to use as possible.
To see the newest configuration for our 12x trading computer, check out the Blue Aura Trader 12x Extreme.
To house our high end 12 monitor system we use the Lian Li Lancool 216. The Lancool 216 features mesh panels for optimal airflow. It works great for both air and water cooling setups. This case is unique in that it includes two 160mm case fans in the front vs 140mm or 120mm on most cases. Modern cases such as the Lancool 216 have a more open design for better airflow and cooling.
Is it quiet? Absolutely! We set the fan profile to minimize noise so you can trade in a quiet environment.
The Lancool 216 comes in 3 styles – Black, Black RGB and White RGB. We don’t always list all 3 versions but if there is a particular version you’d prefer we can use any of the models. Most traders prefer no led lighting, so that’s the default model we use for the builds.
The front panel includes standard power and reset buttons, 2x USB 3.0 ports, USB Type-C port and an audio port.
For the majority of of 2023 we should be selling Intel’s 13th Gen processors. The best chip right now is the Core i9 13900KS (which we require liquid cooling for). The Core i9 13900K is overall a better bang for the buck and we can still use air cooling for this model.
| Cores | Our Cooling Recommendation | Max Turbo | |
| Intel Core i5 13600KF | 14 Core (6 Performance Cores + 8 Efficient Cores) | Noctua Air – NH-U12S or U12A | 5.1GHz |
| Intel Core i5 13600K | 14 Core (6 Performance Cores + 8 Efficient Cores) | Noctua Air – NH-U12S or U12A | 5.1GHz |
| Intel Core i7 13700K | 16 Core (8 Performance Cores + 8 Efficient Cores) | Noctua Air – NH-U12A | 5.4GHz |
| Intel Core i9 13900K | 24 Core (8 Performance Cores + 16 Efficient Cores) | Liquid or Air – Noctua NH-U12A or a High Quality AIO Liquid Cooler | 5.8GHz |
| Intel Core i9 13900KS | 24 Core (8 Performance Cores + 16 Efficient Cores) | Liquid Cooling – High Quality AIO Liquid Cooler | 6.0GHz |
Sometime in the fall of 2023 we expect Intel to release their 14th Gen processors. This prompts the question – should you wait? We generally tell customers not to wait for future releases, the performance gains from one gen to the next are usually very minimal. If you’re in need of a computer right now, buy the best that’s available currently, otherwise you’ll be waiting indefinitely. There will always be new chips coming out, technology only moves in one direction – forward!
We use two models of cards for our 12 monitor trading computers. The PNY T600 and the PNY T1000. NVIDIA GPUs power the world’s most advanced desktop workstations. NVIDIA GPUs provide performance and features, far beyond what’s available from integrated graphics, for a wide range of usage from editing, coding, viewing 2D and 3D models and video, to working with trading applications across several displays.
At first glance, these cards are indistinguishable from each other. The T1000 is newer and a little more powerful. We prefer the T600 as it comes in at a much better price point, and with the minimal performance differences it makes more sense. With supply chain difficulties over the last couple of years we’ve used both cards as product availability has varied. You probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two under normal usage.
Lets go over some of the key specs for each card:
| CUDA Cores | GPU Memory | Peak FP32 Performance | Memory Interface | Memory Bandwidth | Max Power Consumption | |
| PNY NVIDIA T600 | 640 | 4 GB GDDR6 | 1.709 TFLOPS | 128-Bit | 160 GB/s | 40 Watt |
| PNY NVIDIA T1000 | 896 | 4 GB GDDR6 | 2.5 TFLOPS | 128-Bit | 160 GB/s | 50 Watt |
Both cards perform similarly. They can both drive four 4K monitors per card, with three cards installed in our Trader 12 Extreme the system can drive up to 12 monitors. With DisplayPort 1.4, they can drive even larger resolutions – up to 5K on four monitors or 8K on two monitors (per card).
The main differences are shown in the chart above. They both utilize 4GB of GDDR6 memory, the main difference being the CUDA Core count and the Peak Performance rating, which wouldn’t be noticeable under most usage scenarios. We’ve sold the T600 for many years and traders are very happy with it, but if you want to spend the extra money for the newest model the T1000 is available on all of our trading computer models.
The T600 and T1000 come with 4x mini-DisplayPorts on each card. Because it’s a single slot card design they can’t fit four full size DisplayPorts. Instead, each card comes with four adapters that convert the mini-DisplayPorts to full size DisplayPort connections.
Although it’s possible to convert port types, we strongly urge customer to only use monitors that have DisplayPort inputs. Yes, in a pinch you can convert DisplayPorts to HDMI with adapters, but we don’t recommend it, just stick with DisplayPort to DisplayPort connections for best results.
We use Crucial (Micron) memory in our high performance trading computers. 4800MHz is the speed we recommend for maximum performance and stability. Higher speeds can lead to instability and more potential for blue screens and lockups. 4800MHz is the standard right now for the most reliability. There are 3 kits available:
Can the RAM be upgraded or increased later on? Yes, absolutely! We often get questions from customers about upgrading the RAM in the future. It’s easy to upgrade the RAM later on, just make sure that the same model of RAM is used, there’s a sticker on the RAM sticks with the model number. It’s always best to match the ram with an identical pair of sticks when upgrading.
We offer both air and liquid CPU cooling options for our 12 monitor trading computers. While some companies only offer the Noctua NH-U12S air cooler we offer the improved dual fan (and larger) NH-U12A for better cooling.
When it comes to liquid cooling a 360mm AIO cooler is much larger and better than a smaller 240mm. Should you choose air or liquid? The air cooler will last longer, the AIO liquid cooler will keep temps more stable overall. Either option will work, but we’ll give the edge to the AIO liquid cooler.
We’ve always preferred ASUS brand motherboards over others, but MSI often has some really good models out. As with any parts, we often change the brands and models of boards listed on our site. Different models are released with more features, so make sure to look closely at the options on our configuration page for the Trader 12X Extreme.
We usually offer 2 motherboard models. Over the past couple of years we’ve liked to list a more expensive ASUS ProArt model along with a more moderately priced ASUS Prime board. We’ve noticed many companies still using the Z690 chipset motherboards. As of the publication date of this article, the Z790 is the newest Intel chipset.
The ASUS ProArt model has a 10GB Ethernet Port (LAN) and WiFi 6E while the ASUS Prime model has 2.5GB Ethernet (LAN) and WiFi 6. The difference between WiFi 6E and WiFi 6 is minimal, and since most traders will be using a hard wired connection it would be best to base your upgrade decision on whether or not you can take advantage of a 10GB LAN port.
We use the newest, fastest M.2 NVMe SSD drives. Our current drive of choice is the 1TB Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus. We also have a nice selection of WD Black and Samsung drives. Currently 1TB is the size customers select most often.
The Rocket 4 Plus is a new Gen4 drive that pushes the limits of PCIe 4.0. Don’t settle for a trading computer in 2023 that only offers older PCIe 3.0 drives for the primary operating system drive. The Rocket 4 Plus comes with TLC and DRAM for maximum speed and performance. Rock solid firmware is the main reason we’ve stuck with this drive as our favorite.
We’ve removed Windows 10 as an option on all of our custom computers. The speed and security of Windows 11 is unparalleled and support for Windows 10 will end in 2025. Windows 11 has matured and has our complete confidence going forward. Windows 11 is now only 64-Bit, 32-Bit versions are not available. There’s a Home version and a Professional version, either one will work perfectly fine for trading. With Windows 11 Professional you’ll get some of the extras like Bitlocker Encryption. We’ve written a separate article comparing Windows 11 to Windows 10 for trading.
Blue Aura makes some of the best trading computers in the industry. They are all custom built to order and undergo an extensive testing process to ensure they arrive perfect and ready to trade. We work hard to select the best components that will last much longer than cheaper alternatives. When you’re ready to order please feel free to reach out with any questions.