A stock trader requires the right tools to do their job and thus should have the best laptop for stock trading. In fact, no amount of skill can make up for subpar equipment. It’s not enough to use any old laptop because the financial market deals with vast amounts of data. So, what is the best laptop for stock trading?
Best Laptop for Stock Trading
- The Dell 7000 Inspiron Touchscreen Laptop is our number one pick for trading stocks ($1394).
- For the hardcore gamers and traders out there, the Lenovo Legion Y720 is your powerhorse ($1359).
- ASUS ZenBook 15 is ideal for traders on the go who need sleek and lightweight performance and sophistication ($1399.99).
- Are you on a budget? If so, you should look in the Acer Aspire E 15 direction ($999.11).
- The Apple MacBook Pro is a good fit for the discriminating trader with a little bit of extra cash to spend ($2194.12).
We took our time to review a bunch of laptops to suit any trader, experienced or novice. To do so, we checked for six major things: screen size, battery life, processor, hard disk type, design, and RAM. And only those five met our requirements and are the best laptops for stock trading.
Dell 7000 Inspiron Touch Screen Laptop
If you’re looking for the best laptop to buy for stock trading, the Dell 7000 Inspiron Touch Screen Laptop is our top recommended option. We’ve covered this laptop extensively in other blog posts, but I’ll give you a quick recap.
For starters, the 17″ screen is any trader’s dream. It leaves plenty of room for all your charting needs without leaving you squinting to see the candlestick patterns. Another key point to keep in mind is the touch screen; its response is incredibly smooth and accurate.
Additionally, we wanted as much power as we could get while not breaking the bank when searching for a trading laptop. This laptop fits the bill, coming in at $1394.00!
When it comes to RAM, this laptop has more than enough. 24 GB allows us to push the limits of our trading software. We have run ThinkOrSwim, DAS Trader, AND Interactive Brokers at the same time without any lag.
The laptop has the popular NVIDIA GeForce chip series (150) with dedicated 2GB GDDR5 video memory to render high-quality images quickly. Our charting software looks perfect on it.
You can’t go wrong with this laptop.
Lenovo Legion Y720 Gaming Laptop
Coming in at number 2 of the five best laptop for stock trading is the Lenovo Legion. Not only is the Lenovo Legion a powerhouse, but it also works fantastically for heavy programming, gaming, and multitasking.
A quick look under the hood and you’ll see that it runs on the i7 core processor and uses Windows 10 as an operating system.
With a GTX 1060 graphics card, which is not available for the MacBook Pro, for example, this laptop allows you to do some hardcore gaming and stock trading.
And with Intel’s 6th Gen i7 processor, trading is easy. As always, storage space is a must for traders, and this device doesn’t disappoint.
With a RAM storage space of 16 GB, a hard drive of 256 GB, and a screen size of 15.6 inches, it’s a dream for stock traders. There’s good news if the 15-inch screen is not large enough for your tastes: there’s a 17-inch model.
Unfortunately, it’s heavy at 7.04 pounds. Likewise, if you’re someone who trades on the go, this might not be suitable for you.
ASUS Zen Book 15
The ASUS ZenBook 15 is a power-packed laptop. Despite its lightweight, you have all the power you need to blitz through your trading session. With an Intel 7th Generation processor and 16GB of RAM, all your trading needs are supported. That’s not all. If you do a lot of travelling, taking the ZenBook along won’t be a hassle. With its ultra-compact, ultralight chassis, the Zenbook 15 is 12% smaller than the previous generation Zenbook 15 (UX530) and weighs only 3.6 lbs.
The new screen Pad 2.0 upgrades the traditional laptop experience, adding an interactive secondary touchscreen that enhances your productivity and gives you endless possibilities. Likewise, its intuitive smartphone-like interface lets you easily manage tasks and create your own seamless multitasking workflow. I’d be remiss not to mention the ingenious ASUS Eye Care mode. It reduces the blue light emission from the LCD up to 30 percent. All of which reduces the risk of eye fatigue.
Acer Aspire E15
Not everybody has $1,500 to spend on a laptop, right? Luckily, that’s where this Acer saves the day, costing only $1000. With a full HD ISP and a 15.6-inch anti-glare display, you can see everything crisp and clear. Another great feature is that this Aspire model comes with an Intel Core i7 with 8 GB of RAM. This is enough to run the trading software you need.
But the great news is that if you need to run some heavier tasks, you can always add additional RAM. And one of the more impressive features of this laptop is the 256GB SSD. Like I mentioned above, if it’s still not enough storage for you, you can always add more. Another reason why this laptop is great for day trading is its battery life. For this device, it’s decent up to 8-9 hours.
Although Acer claims it can last 15 hours, I wouldn’t bet money on it. Furthermore, you get 1 TB of internal storage; that’s enough to store your stock trading data.
The other notable features are USB 2.0 and 3.0 to transfer data alongside Wi-Fi 802.11ac for connectivity. This is the most crucial part because trading uses an internet connection and a Wi-Fi adapter to keep everything connected. As far as the pros are concerned, the price and affordability are number one. As for the cons, there are not many. However, it does heat up like most, so I recommend using a cooling pad.
Apple MacBook Pro
This probably comes as no surprise, but it’s a well-known fact that Apple has some of the best devices on the market right now.
But they come at a cost. So if your budget is under $1,000, you should check out the Acer brand. Without a doubt, the Apple MacBook Pro is the gold standard when it comes to speed and functionality. The laptop utilizes a 5th-generation Intel dual-core processor with 16 GB of RAM that ensures that your trading experience is smooth. This beauty is loaded with an SSD of 128 GB and is capable of performing 6 times better than any other SSD hard disk.
Our Picks of the 5 Best Laptops for Stock Trading
- When it comes to the display, the MacBook Pro produces bright and clear videos and images. Not only does this mean crisp images, but it also means it’s excellent for rendering market charts.
- This device has an LED-backlit Retina display with IPS technology and a 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch.
- Like other laptops, the battery life is about 10 hours. One thing that stands out is the fact that the laptop disperses heat. Thus, you don’t have to worry about temperature buildup.
- Overall, we have numerous features worth mentioning on the pros list. But to sum it up: a long battery life, fantastic display, and high performance are what you get with this laptop. To a large extent, the con list is short, but we still have to mention some aspects like the fact that you can’t upgrade the RAM, and it comes at a hefty price.
- I also need to mention that a PC is best for trading. The reason is compatibility. With Mac, you might run into trouble with some trading tools. But if you’re heart’s set on a Mac, the Pro is a good choice.
Minimum Laptop Requirements to Run (ThinkorSwim) Trading Software
You don’t have to limit yourself when choosing the best laptop for trading. So, if you don’t want to go with any of our laptop suggestions above, you can just make sure the laptop you go with can support the ThinkorSwim software. ThinkorSwim is a fantastic platform for beginner and advanced traders alike; one that we highly recommend you use.
What to Look for When Selecting a Laptop for Stock Trading
- CPU: Intel i7 (6 core)
- Hard drive: SSD 500GB
- Power Supply Fans: extra silent
- RAM: 16 GB
- Multi-Monitor support: 4 monitors or more
- Battery Life: always buy extra backup power (trust me, trading software drains your battery)
- Weight: take into consideration if you travel and trade
- Screen Size: The smaller the screen, the harder it is to analyze charts
Getting Started on Your Trading Journey
To stay on top of your game, you need a reliable laptop with lightning-fast processing and high accuracy.
How else are you going to make split-second decisions to enter trades? If you don’t have real-time data, it’s akin to throwing darts in the dark. Study the price action of stock charts and you’ll go far. I hope you’ve gotten some insight into the five best laptops for stock trading.
