Why does my backtest keep slowing or freezing even with a well-spec'd machine? - Troubleshooting IB Data Feed

Why does my backtest keep slowing or freezing even with a well-spec'd machine? - Troubleshooting IB Data Feed

There are some limitations we need to respect with IB in the current configuration. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot and resolve the issue:

Enable Real-Time Data:

1. Ensure you have real-time data enabled in IB for the instruments you are analyzing and trading.
Set Intraday Update Frequency:

2. Ensure your Intraday Update frequency, both overall and in all IB groups, is set to 600 seconds.
Go to System Preferences > General Options to adjust this setting.

3. Limit your Watchlist to a maximum of 150 IB pairs to prevent system overload.
Verify System Specifications:

4. Ensure you have at least a quad-core i5 processor or better, and 16GB RAM.
Address API Throttling:

5. If you are still experiencing problems, it may be that IB has you as a new client and is soft throttling your API access. In this case, you may need to purchase a quote booster pack. See here:


Additional Notes:
When you open PairTrade Finder UA3, it will perform a data integrity test before enabling any backtesting. This test requires about 20 seconds per IB pair in your Watchlist.