Far gone are the days when stock traders looked too serious with big goggles and oversized pajamas—sitting in front of their big desktops studying the markets for long hours.
You can imagine how stressful the process was. It was so bad that taking a pee when a good trade popped was like a curse because traders could hardly move the big screen to the loo. Did it ever get any better?
Yes, things got a whole lot better. Today we see a lot of stock traders enjoying the flexibility that technology has presented. After all, who doesn’t love to have a gadget that they can take everywhere?
But by now; most traders are over the craze of flexibility. They want more from their laptops.
In this article, we’ll take you through the specific things you need to look out for before you buy a laptop for your trading. An experienced trader understands how important it is to get a laptop that supports trading software.
You’ll learn that and so much more in this comprehensive buying guide—to help your decision making. And you will see four great options!
Contents
Quick Summary
We took our time to review a ton of laptops in the market that would suit any trader; experienced or amateur. While we were at it, we checked for six major things: the screen size, battery life, processor, hard disk type, design, and RAM. And only four met our requirements.
- ASUS ZenBook UX410UA is ideal for traders that don’t negotiate performance and sophistication.
- The Apple 13-inch MacBook Air is a good match for traders that want a fast and smooth performance for their trading sessions.
- Are you on a budget and you need a laptop with enough storage? You should look in the Acer Aspire E 15 direction.
- If you want a combination of compatibility and long battery life, Acer Swift 3 is a good pick.
Who Should Get This
A good trader needs to be in the right frame of mind before sitting in front of the screen to study the markets. So, once you get things right psychologically, the next thing to do is get it right with your laptop or else it will end up messing with your mind.
A good trading laptop is perfect for traders that want to enjoy every second of their trading sessions without facing lag issues. What of when they need to trade in a place that doesn’t have a power outlet? That won’t be a problem, because a good trading laptop supports trading no matter the power situation.
Traders use a lot of heavy-duty software on their laptops. And only a good laptop can serve that purpose without experiencing excessive lagging issues. The laptops on this list are quite impressive. But, they may not be necessary for individuals that use less demanding software, like writers.
Best Laptop for Stock Trading: Our Picks
1. ASUS ZenBook UX410UA
The ASUS ZenBook UX410 is a power-packed laptop that provides the optimum performance required to blitz through your trading session. It comes with an Intel 8th Generation processor that can support all your trading software conveniently.
If you do a lot of traveling, taking the ZenBook UX410UA model along won’t be a hassle, because it’s merely 18.95 thin and weighs 3.1 pounds. It will always be a pleasure to analyze your charts since it has crisp, bright 14-inch wide viewing angle display.
That’s not all.
The manufacturer came up with the ASUS Eye Care mode to reduce the emission of blue light from the LCD up to 30 percent—which reduces the risk of eye fatigue.
Also, it has high-speed storage that gives you an effortless computing experience combined with a 1TB HDD and 128GB SSD. Thus, you can save or load large files with speed, and reduce your boot time significantly.
What We Like:
- It’s lightweight
- Excellent screen display
- The ASUS Eye Care mode that protects your eyes
- Premium and sturdy build
What We Don’t Like:
- It comes with a lower-spec version of the 128GB SSD
2. Apple 13-inch MacBook Air
The Apple 13.3 MacBook is a fantastic combination of portability and speed. The laptop uses a 5th Generation Intel dual-core processor. The processor comes with 8GB DDR4 RAM that ensures that your trading experience is smooth.
When it comes to display, the MacBook Air delivers with its 13.3-inch Retina display that produces bright and clear videos and images. It also means that the laptop is excellent for rendering the market charts and other activities.
The battery life is about 10 hours which allows you to work effectively on the go. Traders don’t have to worry about excess heat because the laptop disperses heat—thus, temperatures don’t build up. As for the trackpad of the laptop, it captures finger movements accurately.
What We Like:
- It’s lightweight
- It’s portable
- long battery life
- It has a fast and smooth performance
- It has a high-quality display
What We Don’t Like:
- You can’t upgrade the RAM—since it’s soldered to the motherboard
3. Acer Aspire E 15
Acer Aspire is a budget-friendly laptop that has a simple design. Traders can choose to run any software on it because the model uses the 8th Generation Intel quad-core processor with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD. You can decide to trade in a dark room with ease as the keyboard is backlit.
The Aspire E15 comes with a memory and hard disk that traders can easily upgrade—which means multitasking and fast booting can improve.
What We Like:
- It’s budget-friendly
- It comes with a decent performance
- Fair battery life
- The laptop has a backlit keyboard
What We Don’t Like:
- It doesn’t have a high-quality screen display
- It doesn’t have the wide viewing angle technology
4. Acer Swift 3
If you’re particular about viewing the market in wider viewing angles, you’ll love the Acer Swift 3. It comes with a full HD screen that produces high-quality output display.
From the swift in its name, you can rest assured that the 8th Generation Intel i5 processor and 8GB RAM will boot fast and load your software with speed.
The durability and eye-catching design of the laptop are worth mentioning. Plus it has a battery life of 10 hours—which means that it increases your chances of making profits on the go.
What We Like:
- The laptop has a long battery life
- It has a well-designed keyboard
- It has an attractive chassis
- It’s affordable
What We Don’t Like:
- You can’t upgrade the memory
Best Laptop for Stock Trading: What to Consider
Here are vital things to consider before buying a trading laptop:
Battery Life
Before you buy a trading laptop, it’s best to opt for processors that are power efficient. If you prefer Intel, look out for one that has a “U” suffix because it consumes less power and ensures a long battery life. But, beware of the fact that not all high-performance laptops come with a long-lasting battery.
Design
If you’re a trader that’s always on the go, then a slimmer laptop will suit your needs. No doubt, most ultra-slim laptops could be expensive.
But, you can pay more attention to the fact that it offers premium build quality and design. The laptop should also have enough heat dissipation vents that keep your laptop from overheating
Screen Size
The first thing that traders bother about is the screen of their laptops. It’s no surprise anyway, considering that their eyes are always fixed on the screen most times.
So, a larger screen size offers traders a more comfortable viewing experience. If you prefer a smaller screen size, it means that you may have to strain your eyes sometimes—but it allows traders to move around hassle-free.
Regardless of the size of your screen, it’s crucial to go for laptops with a high resolution as well.
Storage
The storage capacity of a laptop is vital for stock traders that have a lot of videos or screenshots they plan to save. If this is you then, it’s best to choose an SSD laptop over an HDD one.
RAM
Most traders do a lot of multi-tasking. Opening up so many tabs on a browser like Mozilla FireFox will do one thing: eat up your RAM. So, if you plan on having a smooth trading experience, you have to go for a higher RAM.
CPU
The processor of a trading laptop should have a seamless performance. It’s incredibly frustrating to lose a trade as a result of a slow processor.
What are your options? The Core i5 is a good start. But, to be safe from any form of lagging and bottlenecks, a Core i7 or i9 is ideal.
Closing Thoughts
With the comprehensive guide in this article, your journey is halfway covered. The next step is to choose which laptop will work for your trading sessions based on your needs. A great way to begin is by checking the four choices in this article.
Which of the laptops do you plan to try out first? Did we leave out your favorite laptop for trading? We would love to hear your suggestions and opinions about the laptops on this list.
