|  APR 1986

Personal Computer Hardware IBM Micro computer by Jack K. Hutson

Personal Computer Hardware IBM Micro computer by Jack K. Hutson Personal computers have given stock, option, and commodity traders a new look at financial data. For the uninitiated, choosing a computer system can be an aggravating, time-consuming problem. One way of deciding the type of hardware to purchase is to find out what hardware your software requires. Several years ago, buying hardware to match the software was the only practical technique because there were so few software manufacturers for stock data analysis. Now things have changed. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of pieces of software available to run on a menagerie of computer setups. With a very straightforward, unscientific approach, I would like to help narrow down your choices of IBM PC hardware. I'll go over Apple and other microcomputers another time. There are some requirements for technical analysis that your IBM PC must sustain to be minimally useful no matter what software is used: 1) It must have a graphics monitor. You must be able to produce charts. 2) It must have sufficient permanent storage for data such as daily commodity quotes. 3) It must be capable of running a wide variety of software. 4) The components should be made by reputable, long-standing companies so that there will be no problems with repairs or replacements.

by Jack K. Hutson