Stock trading generally involves the purchase and sales of stocks, bonds, and currencies. There are different styles of trading, including day trading. Day trading is also known as intraday trading because it involves taking a trade a day and closing before the end of the day as no position is held over the night.
Recently, day trading has become a popular way of trading. Initially, only big financial firms like Central banks, Investment banks, and brokerage firms had access to it. However, advancements like the internet, trading platforms, and small start-up capital have given anyone interested the opportunity to day trade.
Though it is unprofitable and very risky for some, others see it as a way of making huge profits on investments over a short period. Day trading is done online and in real-time; as such, it requires a system/ laptop. The laptop is a necessary tool and goes a long way in determining the trading experience.
If you are looking to start day trading or you need a new laptop for day trading, then you need the best laptop. The overall best laptop for day trading we have chosen is the LG Gram 17; this article will give you all the details you need to help make a decision.
Best laptops for day trading
1) ASUS TUF gaming F17
ASUS laptops are generally known for their sleek designs. The ASUS TUF Gaming F17 has an Intel Core i7- processor and 16GB of RAM, which enables it to handle multiple processes quickly.
It has a 17” inch Full HD IPS Nano-edge display. The integrated graphics with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 1660 gives traders the best view. It also has an impressive anti-glare capability which offers protection against eye aches.
It has 14 hours of battery life, but with heavy tasks like trading, it offers up to 6-7 hours of life. It has mega memory storage of 1 TB, 3 USB ports including 1 HDMI, 2 types of USB, and 1 type C USB.
This is a good choice for day traders who have a history of eye strains and aches
Pros:
· It has anti-glare capabilities
· It can last up to 14 hours
Cons:
· It’s quite heavy
2) LG Gram 17
A laptop with a wide screen is very important to a day trader. The LG laptop answers this demand with a 17-inch screen with an IPS display (2560 X 1600) along with an integrated graphic card. Its ultra-lightweight is a major advantage as day traders can easily carry and use it on the go.
You also get a powerful Intel Core i-7 capable of running many tasks concurrently. A RAM of 16 GB and an SSD of 1TB help to store all necessary information. It also has two thunderbolts (USB type-C) and 1 USB type C port. The battery can last up to 6 hours with moderate use.
This laptop stands out from the rest because of the following
Pros:
· It has a large 17-inch screen
· It has 16GB of RAM
· It has a solid state drive with 1TB of space
Cons:
· It’s pretty expensive
3) HP Envy X 360
This laptop can be regarded as one of the best for trading as it meets all the requirements needed. It is also a convertible 2-in-1 laptop (it can function both as a laptop and as a tablet)
It is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 processor with Radeon graphics. It has a 15.6-inch display (1920 X 1080 pixels resolution) with 8GB RAM expandable to 16 GB and a 512GB SSD.
The laptop has 3 USB ports (2 type A and 1 type C USB port) and an HDMI port. It can last for about 5 hours with average use. This is a good choice for day traders who need to make moves on the go
Pros
· It is a convertible 2-in-1 laptop
· Latest Windows, Windows 11
· Super-fast processor
· It can also function as a tablet
Cons
· Average Graphic display
· Average Battery life
· Relative to other laptops on this list, it has average performance and battery life
4) Apple MacBook Pro 16-Inch
Apple laptops are known for their sleek design and functionality. It has a 16-inch liquid retina XDR display powered by a 10-core CPU Apple MI1. It also has a large RAM of 32 GB and extraordinary 1 TB SSD storage; this explains its super-fast processing abilities.
Long battery life is needed for trading, and this device can run up to 12 hours on average use with fast-charge capabilities. This is one of its noteworthy features.
Pros
· Sleek design
· Long lasting battery life
Cons
· It is expensive
· Some trading software doesn’t work on Apple device
What requirements do the best trading laptops have?
Here are the reasons and features that make these laptops the best for day trading
A fast Central Processing Unit (CPU)
The CPU is the engine of the laptop on which all programs run. Naturally, a trading laptop requires a powerful processor that can handle the extensive flow of data and market activity smoothly and at a very fast rate.
Supercharged/ multicore processors are recommended as they have unbelievable speed and can efficiently multitask. Intel and AMD type are the most common. The best Intel core processor available is the Intel core i7- 10750H and AMD has also released the RYZEN-7, which can handle these demands.
Excellent display
In trading, there is a lot to view on the screen. Trading involves opening multiple charts at once. A good graphic card is needed to display the data on the screen well and show high-resolution images quickly.
Hence, a trading laptop must have a lot of VRAM (Video RAM); for example, the NVIDIA GeForce and AMD series are recommended. Also, a laptop with about 1920 x 1080 resolution or a full HD display is the best.
Screen size
Traders usually view the screen all day; as such, the screen size is important. A large screen is more comfortable than smaller sizes which will not show the images clearly and may cause eye strain. The screen size of at least 15-inch screen is adequate; however, the best is a 17-inch screen size for trading.
Large RAM
Random-access memory allows the system to easily recover and access temporarily stored data. If a laptop doesn’t have enough RAM, it becomes difficult to access data and slows down the system.
A lot of RAM is required in trading -at least 8 GB (Gigabyte ). Hence, the best laptop must have up to 16 GB-32 GB RAM.
A Solid State Drive (SSD) storage
Hard drive stores processed data permanently so that it can be retrieved when needed. SSD is becoming more popular than hard disk drives because they are more reliable.
A large drive is required to store information without worrying about space. At least 128 GB or 256 GB would be enough for trading, but for the best laptop, you want 512 GB or 1 TB (terabyte)
Long-lasting battery life
Battery life is very important when considering a trading laptop, as trading requires difficult processing tasks, which usually are very power demanding. The best laptop should be able to provide at least 4-7 hours of life.
Ports to attach external monitors
Multiple ports are also necessary. The best laptop should have an HDMI port and at least two to three USB ports for external attachments.
Conclusion
We have chosen the LG Gram 17 to be our overall best day trading laptop. It provides the best in terms of speed, memory, power, and good display.
Undoubtedly the right tools are essential for trading effectively, and the best trading laptop can make a lot of difference. This article has discussed the best laptops for trading and further explained the requirements for trading.