Welcome to our weekly updated guide to the best laptops for day trading, stock trading and forex trading based on professional reviews, sales and individual trading requirements.
Day trading and active stock trading are extremely demanding skills that require a huge amount of hard work and dedication to get good results. For most active day traders and stock traders, becoming even marginally proficient and skilled enough to make consistent profits can take many years.
Think of day trading as a machine composed of various moving parts and components, each one contributing towards the endgame. You’ve got to have your trading account with the regulated broker of your choice. A solid internet connection is a must, as is your constant drive to stay on top of the latest happenings around the world, especially with regards to global news, politics and world events as well as constant monitoring of the technical factors you can derive from price action on charts.
In this guide we will provide a guide on one piece of this puzzle – a list of the best laptops for day trading and stock trading based on our thorough understanding of what trading entails, the computational requirements of various styles of trading, and our understanding of the latest and greatest innovations in the laptop industry.
Best Laptops for Day Trading Using Technical Analysis (Charting)
Technical analysis requires charting software which can use a fair amount of resources depending on the number of assets you would like to analyze, and this is even more important when day trading and having to monitor multiple assets continuously on multiple monitors throughout a single day.
Pros
- Power hardware including Apples new M1 CPU
- Extremely good battery life
- Top-tier SSD hard drive for lighting-fast boot times
- Comfortable Apple ‘Magic’ keyboard
- Gorgeous retina display
Cons
- Extremely limited port selection
- Few design improvements over previous models
Specs
- Apple M1 2Ghz [View Benchmarks]
- M1 GPU [View Framerates]
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB SSD
- 13.3 inch, 2560 x 1600 pixels (IPS)
- 17 hours battery life
- 3 lbs
Summary & Score
The Macbook Pro remains the top high-end laptop to beat thanks to its streamlined design and powerful hardware, now including Apples very own M1 CPUs.
on Amazon.com
(as of 29-03-2023 12:04 UTC) Details
Pros
- Excellent PixelSense display
- Versatile
- Portable and lightweight
- Beautiful design
- Dedicated GPU
- 17 hour battery life
Cons
- No Thunderbolt 3
- Loud GPU fan
- No included Surface Pen
Specs
- Intel Core i7-8650U 1.9GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 16GB LPDDR3 RAM
- 512GB HDD
- 15.0 inch, 3240 x 2160 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Pro
- 15.75 hours battery life
- 4.2 lbs
Summary & Score
Microsoft's Surface Book 2 13.5-inch laptop comes in a beautiful magnesium case that is fitted with powerful premium components, but for this price, the omission of Thunderbolt 3 support and no included Surface Pen is rather disappointing.
on Amazon.com
(as of 24-09-2019 15:27 UTC) Details
Pros
- Great price for the performance
- Productivity beast
- Great display
- Versatile connectivity options
- Large SSD
- Dedicated GPU
- Good battery life
Cons
- GPU + CPU throttling
- Keyboard flex
- Coil whine
Specs
- Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5 [View Framerates]
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- 512GB SSD
- 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Windows 10 Home
- 14 hours battery life
- 3.97 lbs
Summary & Score
While the ASUS ZenBook Pro UX550VE-DB71T 15.6-inch seems to suffer from some coil whine issues and minor throttling, it still delivers an awesome performance in an attractive case, and is an excellent choice for those looking for a laptop that is suitable for both work and play.
on Walmart
(as of 04-10-2022 03:47 -07:00) Details
Best Laptops for Swing Trading Using Technical Analysis or Fundamental Analysis
Swing trading, which involves much longer term trades and less active trading, requires a lot less simultaneous analysis of charts and / or fundamental factors. This means you will need to have less technical charts or browser tabs open at a time and will require less overall computing power from your laptop.
Pros
- Huge performance boost over previous models
- Exceptional battery life
- Comfortable “Magic” keyboard
- Silent performance thanks to fanless design
Cons
- Limited external design updates from previous models
- Extremely limited ports
- Below average webcam
Specs
- Apple M1 2Ghz [View Benchmarks]
- M1 GPU [View Framerates]
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB SSD
- 13.3 inch, 2560 x 1600 pixels (IPS)
- 18 hours battery life
- 2.8 lbs
Summary & Score
The Apple Macbook Air 2020 MXK62LL/A A1 13.3-Inch has received more positive feedback than any other Macbook Air release in recent memory and is the premium lightweight laptop to beat.
on Amazon.com
(as of 29-03-2023 12:04 UTC) Details
Pros
- Reasonably priced hardware with fast operation on basic tasks
- Good build quality
- Reliable eight hour battery life
- Numerous connectivity options
- Upgradable hard drive storage and RAM
Cons
- Mediocre webcam
- Touchpad could be better
Specs
- Intel Core i5-1035G1 1GHz [View Benchmarks]
- Intel UHD Graphics G1 Acer Aspire 5 A515-55-56VK 15.6-Inch
- 8GB DDR4 RAM
- 256GB SSD
- 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Windows 10 Home
- 8 hours battery life
- 3.97 lbs
Summary & Score
If you want a mid-range laptop that can reliably get basic day to day tasks done without breaking a sweat, the Acer Aspire 5 A515-55-56VK offers excellent value for money with only a few minor drawbacks.
on Amazon.com
(as of 29-03-2023 12:05 UTC) Details
Pros
- Powerful hardware at a good price
- Radeon Vega RX 6 graphics
- Attractive 2-in-1 design
- Solid build quality
- Lenovo Stylus included
Cons
- Display may be too dim for outdoor use
Specs
- AMD Ryzen 5 4500U 2.3Ghz [View Benchmarks]
- AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 [View Framerates]
- 8GB DDR4 RAM
- 256GB SSD
- 14 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels (IPS)
- Windows 10 Home
- 10 hours battery life
- 3.63 lbs
Summary & Score
The Lenovo Flex 5 combines an attractive and versatile 2-in-1 design with extremely powerful hardware power at a bargain price making it hands down one of the top laptops of 2020 to beat.
on Amazon.com
(as of 29-03-2023 12:00 UTC) Details
Conclusion
Regardless of whether you are doing Forex trading, in which case you should use established sites with information on Forex to get a proper education first, Stock Trading, Cryptocurrencies or any other assets, the basic principles remain the same. Along with that, your needs for a laptop that can handle the demands of your trading style and techniques as paramount to your success as a trader to ensure the best chance of success possible.
