Am I the only one? 6.0 DOMINATES my machine to the point of uselessness!

[mlp]

While my PC is not new, it ain't no slouch either. 2.4GHz P4 with 1GB of memory, Vista Premium. 5.1 was usable, but 6.0 all but locks up my machine.

Why is it so CPU-hungry, especially so much more than 5.1? It is impossible to use during market hours, but is okay after 4pm.

PLEASE tell me that there is a fix for this. 6.0 is totally unusable for me in its current state.

[hardtaill]

One of my machines is a Compaq laptop with a 1.1 ghz clock and 750 mhz ram. Windos XP Home. I have DSL at 1 meg speed (actual speed is 850). I keep all my ports closed except for internet. I have absolutely no viruses. I use Spybot SD Resident to maintain my regestry keys, and that is all the antivirus I use since all ports are closed. I run both 5.1 and 6.0 all day at the same time because I need 5.1 in the After Hours trading. Both 5.1 and 6.0 are each displaying 11 charts, 12 porfolios, using a 500 symbol limit, Time and Sales and Streaming News. I'm running Microsoft Publisher, Word, Word Perfect and Acrobat 7.0, also at the same time, since I own a printing company. I'm also running my broker's order entry screens. I also use it for all other business purposes all day long such as e-mail to download and upload large files for customers. The laptop is four years old and the hard drive runs at 5,400 rpm.

My other machine is an HP laptop with 3.2 ghz clock and 2.0 ghz ram. Windows Media Center Edition. The hard drive runs at 7,200 rpm. My ISP is a cable modem with 6 meg speed. I use it at home when I'm not at work. I also run both 5.1 and 6.0 at the same time when I'm using that computer. It aslo runs Microsoft Publisher and Acrabat at the same time. On the HP, I also only use Spybot SD Resident to maintain the regestry keys. Neither machine has any viruses. Both machines run equally well even in different locations with two different ISPs.

Most of the problems I see with other's computers are a lack of regular defragging, temp maintanence and open ports allowing undesirable hacking. Even with fee-based antivirus programs, if you have open ports allowing unwanted CPU activity, the results are usually poor performance. The only machine on which I cannot run QCharts during the day is a Windows 98 with a 450 mhz clock. The 98 runs fine in the After Hours.


A well maintained computer is a blessing. Spend some time with, and on your machine and keep it updated and clean on a regular basis just like you do your car. Just my humble opinion.

'Tail.

[mlp]

Thanks for the reply.

This machine is clean. I do almost all the same stuff you do. I'm certain that your suggestions do not apply to my machine. Maybe it's Vista. Regardless, 6.0 is unusable during market hours. It is okay after market hours.

Does anyone else have this issue? (Or *had* this issue and solved it?)

[Larry Marchman]

Originally posted by mlp
Thanks for the reply.

This machine is clean. I do almost all the same stuff you do. I'm certain that your suggestions do not apply to my machine. Maybe it's Vista. Regardless, 6.0 is unusable during market hours. It is okay after market hours.

Does anyone else have this issue? (Or *had* this issue and solved it?)

mlp,

You are not alone. I don't have time at the moment to go into details, but I'll be back later with them.

Bottom line is that on a relative basis, QC6 is consuming significantly more CPU than 5.1. And the issue I'm talking about, as some would possibly argue, is not due to significantly more ticks in the eSignal feed vs the throttled continuum feed. I've done apples-to-apples comparisons with both running concurrently on, for all practical purposes, equivalent feeds. I can't run my production 5.1 workspace on 6.0 without bringing my XP Pro SP1 2.4Ghz P4 with plently of memory to it's knees.

Later,

LAM

[tradertom]

I also cannot use QC6 either. I have tried to run it during market hours and it takes all processing power and brings my PC to its knees.

It works OK at night for me though, but I see no benefit from v.6 over v.5 at night. The selling point is better data feed but that isn't important at night and it certainly isn't useful to have a better data feed during the market day if the computer is locked up as a result.

I have started QC6 before the market opens at 9:30am, but then at 9:29:59 am, it completely locks my computer so that I have to use Task Manager to close it so I can run v5 during the day. Of course, there are no charts being displayed during these lockups.

I can and do run v5.1.0.21 anytime of the day or night with no lockups. I cannot remember the last time I had to close v5 with Task Manager; it had to be more than a year or two ago.

Thanks,
T

[tradertom]

Originally posted by hardtaill
[snip]... I run both 5.1 and 6.0 all day at the same time because I need 5.1 in the After Hours trading. ... [snip]

Hey 'Tail,

Does QC6 not have an option to display "all sessions?" Otherwise, what feature is in 5.1 that is not in 6.0 for your after-hours use? Just curious since I don't trade after hours, but I do watch the bid/asks (and all sessions on Futures charts) during pre- and after- hours.

Thanks,
T

[hardtaill]

Hi, T.,

Thank you for y0ur question.

I use both 5.1 and 6.0 during the day because I need the accuracy of the 6.0 portfolio information that 5.1 does not have due to throttled servers. But, there are items on the 5.1 which are very accurate during the day that I need such as SI (Short Interest), TV@A/B, (although somewhat inaccurate), 65 Day Averages on the option portfolios, Price at the B/A and unlimited Hot List symbols.

Then, in the After Hours, I need the 5.1 for correct volume and pricing information which 6.0 still has just a slight problem with.

Believe it or not, by using both 5.1 and 6.0 simultaneously, I actually get every bit of information I need to trade the "Reporting" stocks and optons just before close and hold over night. Using both together is the Holy Grail right now. I'm hoping that 6.1 is the single Holy Grail that will satisfy my every need. Looking forward to the Gold version when Mike and Jay are ready to lay it on me.

The staff at ESignal have worked wonders getting 6.0 to this point and I have no doubt that the final version (6.1 or 6.2) will rock!!

No other program comes close.

'Tail.

[lowrider]

No, you are not alone.

I'm running a 3ghz dual core with 4gig of ram and my QC6 locks up during very active market conditions. This machine is clean as a whistle.

I also have to shut it down every hour or so to clear the memory cache. Once it reaches 300+mb or so it seems to bog down.

One thing I've started doing is running my watch lists in Quotetracker. Runs like a charm on the Esignal feed. This has helped by taking some of the load off of QC6. I'ts a shame... QC is a great program.

[Mike Condra]

Mlp,

Given you are running Vista, one thing seems clear: increasing memory beyond 1MB will almost certainly help.

I will send you a PM with info about how you can send your workspace, if you choose. From that it should be possible to see where your QCharts session spends it time.

Thanks very much; please accept our apologies for the inconvenience.

- Mike C.
Lead Dev., QCharts 6

[Mike Condra]

Lowrider,

Thank you for the feedback.

We are looking at a number of changes for QCharts 6.1 that should affect CPU utilization. Some of these may be folded into maintenance releases of QCharts 6.0.

In the meantime, it would be useful to be able to examine a problem workspace, to see where time is spent. A PM will follow.

Thanks again,

- Mike C.

[lowrider]

Mike,

Sorry, I had PM disabled. Try again if it didn't go the first time.

Thanks
lowrider

[mlp]

I will look into doubling the memory. FYI - 2GB is the max my motherboard will support.

However, QC6 is still a resource hog compared to 5.1. Apparently a LOT more. Doesn't seem worth it, but we won't have a choice soon, since the Continuum servers will be going away.

[JayF]

Originally posted by mlp
I will look into doubling the memory. FYI - 2GB is the max my motherboard will support.

However, QC6 is still a resource hog compared to 5.1. Apparently a LOT more. Doesn't seem worth it, but we won't have a choice soon, since the Continuum servers will be going away.

We will do our best to get QCharts 6 as efficient as possible prior to discontinuing the Continuum servers. Our goal is to minimize any impact of converting to the eSignal network, while creating a much more reliable and stable data environment.

[tradertom]

Jay, and all,

It is my experience that QC runs best on the most powerful PC with the most memory you can cram in there. That is not unique to QCharts. Most modern software seems to require more and more computer and processor resources. That said, QC is much more critical because it is attempting to display real-time data across all kinds of networks on all kinds of computers. I believe it will run on the minimum platform, but it is best experienced using a top-of-the-line gaming computer that is over-clocked, water cooled, and packed with the fastest RAM and hard disk. Even then, for best results you should limit how many apps you have running at a time.

Secondly, I want to thank Jay and Mike and the rest of the eSignal gang for all they are doing to get this to work. We have fussed about the QC Continuum data feed for years and now, they are fixing that for us. Yes there will be bugs but we need to have patience. QCharts is the best thing going. QC6 won't run well on my current PC, but I have a new PC that is waiting for me to configure. I will use QC 5 until QC 6 is ready for prime time then I will gladly switch!

Thanks to Jay and the gang for all they are doing to get this working!

All the best,
T

[jr99]

Speed of qcharts 6.0

I am running a intel quad chip with 4 gig of memory.. the charts are slow to move around as well as the cursor hangs.. will not move with the pointer..it eventually does move..like 2 seconds later.

I am basing my comparson to esignal and ensign. They are solid and immediate response to the commands.

jr