I came across a reference in a popular general computer magazine that said that you are better haviung partitions on your pc. This is something I have never had before everything tends to be on C. But what I mwould like advice on is whether when I get my new pc for Trainz would I be better partitioning it or not bothering.
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Partitioning and Trainz?
- Thread starter rjhowie
- Start date
johnwhelan
Well-known member
Generally speaking I like to put in one partition for the operating system so if I need to reload it and do a reformat I still have most of the machine available.
Otherwise I'd say no, if you start bouncing from one partition to another this means head movement or slower disk access speed.
Cheerio John
Otherwise I'd say no, if you start bouncing from one partition to another this means head movement or slower disk access speed.
Cheerio John
psycho_aussie
Resident Psychotic Aussie
I've taken it a bit further than John, but with a little twist. I have one drive fully partitioned for the operating system, and another drive that has two partitions; one for Trainz, and the other for my games.
If you had two drives, you would see a marked improvement in system speed, over having two partitions on the one drive. However, in saying that, you should have a second partition, but use it for storing backups of your documents/music/pictures/downloads/etc, rather than for running Trainz.
Chris
If you had two drives, you would see a marked improvement in system speed, over having two partitions on the one drive. However, in saying that, you should have a second partition, but use it for storing backups of your documents/music/pictures/downloads/etc, rather than for running Trainz.
Chris
I've taken it a bit further than John, but with a little twist. I have one drive fully partitioned for the operating system, and another drive that has two partitions; one for Trainz, and the other for my games.
If you had two drives, you would see a marked improvement in system speed, over having two partitions on the one drive. However, in saying that, you should have a second partition, but use it for storing backups of your documents/music/pictures/downloads/etc, rather than for running Trainz.
Chris
Hi Chris,
My setup is similar to yours. I found that putting Trainz on its own drive gives it the best performance because there is no contention with the system swap and temporary files.
The one thing I don't like about Trainz is the fact that it dumps everything into the program's folder. If I could put my local folder to a seperate hard drive or partition, I would feel better because it would me easier for me to backup the data and to reinstall Trainz should I have to. I've done this with other applications that have data files, and it works out well when comes time to reinstall applications or perform other system maintenance.
John
Seems to be a yes and no as most things will be! I am sure the original article mentioned something about quicker loading. Just thought I would ask to see what the general reaction is. I had thought of partitioning and putting Trainz in one of them but if there is no overall improvement then fair enough?
partitions
Hi all - I would go with Chris and John on this question. I have put my Trainz onto its own drive. I am running four seperate drives - 2 Sata and 2 IDE. This means I can copy my local folder to another drive where I keep all the odds and ends. This way I think I have a good chance of recovery if it all goes pear-shaped. Been caught out once already.... Once bitten....
So - to answer the question - I would not bother with the partition but I would uses a second drive.
Regards
Doug
Hi all - I would go with Chris and John on this question. I have put my Trainz onto its own drive. I am running four seperate drives - 2 Sata and 2 IDE. This means I can copy my local folder to another drive where I keep all the odds and ends. This way I think I have a good chance of recovery if it all goes pear-shaped. Been caught out once already.... Once bitten....
So - to answer the question - I would not bother with the partition but I would uses a second drive.
Regards
Doug
Approach_Medium
Trainz Addict
Having multiple partitions on a single physical disk will not improve performance much. You may get a slight improvement in file access since your MFT will be smaller for each partition than it would be for one large one.
The best performance boost will be, as suggested earlier, to have TS on a completely separate physical drive than where Windows and its paging file is installed.
Another thing that can help is to have the Windows paging file on a different physical disk than where Windows is installed, but if you have the paging file on the same drive with TS, it will hurt your performance.
I'm running a RAID0 system, which gives a marked improvement in disk performance, but not the redundancy that the other RAID configurations do.
Another thing you might consider is memory. Get the most of the fastest DDR3 that you can afford, or that your board will handle (if upgrading).
I've got a 4yr old Asus top of the line (back then) board with 3Gigs. I noticed a significant improvement with TS2006 after I upgraded from 1Gig to 3Gigs. I wouldn't expect such a gain if I upgraded from 3Gig to 4Gig though.
Your video card will also affect TS performance, especially TS2009 with its higher poly count capabilities.
When you create a backup of your Local and World folders, do not put the backup on the same physical drive, even if it's on a separate partition.
If your HDD fails, you will lose all of the partitions on that drive, so you would lose your backup as well!
The best thing is to put the backup on a removable HDD that stays OFF most of the time. That way, if there is a crash due to a PSU failure, or something else that damages the hardware, the removable drive will most likely survive, as long as it's disconnected from the system at the time of the crash.
FW
The best performance boost will be, as suggested earlier, to have TS on a completely separate physical drive than where Windows and its paging file is installed.
Another thing that can help is to have the Windows paging file on a different physical disk than where Windows is installed, but if you have the paging file on the same drive with TS, it will hurt your performance.
I'm running a RAID0 system, which gives a marked improvement in disk performance, but not the redundancy that the other RAID configurations do.
Another thing you might consider is memory. Get the most of the fastest DDR3 that you can afford, or that your board will handle (if upgrading).
I've got a 4yr old Asus top of the line (back then) board with 3Gigs. I noticed a significant improvement with TS2006 after I upgraded from 1Gig to 3Gigs. I wouldn't expect such a gain if I upgraded from 3Gig to 4Gig though.
Your video card will also affect TS performance, especially TS2009 with its higher poly count capabilities.
When you create a backup of your Local and World folders, do not put the backup on the same physical drive, even if it's on a separate partition.
If your HDD fails, you will lose all of the partitions on that drive, so you would lose your backup as well!
The best thing is to put the backup on a removable HDD that stays OFF most of the time. That way, if there is a crash due to a PSU failure, or something else that damages the hardware, the removable drive will most likely survive, as long as it's disconnected from the system at the time of the crash.
FW
Let me get this right here fwassner. Is what you are saying is that if I get a second HD put into my new pc I could put TRS on that and that would give an improvement?
Each time I am tyding up the route I have just finished I always do a copy from the CMP via a cdp on a seperate portable drive for safety.
Each time I am tyding up the route I have just finished I always do a copy from the CMP via a cdp on a seperate portable drive for safety.
johnwhelan
Well-known member
Let me get this right here fwassner. Is what you are saying is that if I get a second HD put into my new pc I could put TRS on that and that would give an improvement?
Each time I am tyding up the route I have just finished I always do a copy from the CMP via a cdp on a seperate portable drive for safety.
Except portable drives usually have a slower interface, so yes if it has a fast interface.
Cheerio John
Approach_Medium
Trainz Addict
Are you building a computer from scratch, or buying one?Let me get this right here fwassner. Is what you are saying is that if I get a second HD put into my new pc I could put TRS on that and that would give an improvement?
Each time I am tyding up the route I have just finished I always do a copy from the CMP via a cdp on a seperate portable drive for safety.
If buying, the first thing I would do is reformat the hard drive, and re-install Windows, and only Windows. Dell, and others always put a lot of garbage on the system that will slow it down.
If the computer is going to be mainly for Trainz, you don't want to put anything unnecessary on the system.
So, when you buy the system, make sure that you get the original media for installing Windows. This may cost you more, but it is worth the cost.
Whether or not partitioning improves speed depends on the situation. I read somewhere that very large partitions sometimes perform slower than smaller ones due to the MFT (Master File Table) getting too large.
Perhaps it would be worth your money to purchase Partition Magic (Symantec) so that you can re-partition without having to reformat.
I can't tell you for sure what partitioning scheme works best. I can say that RAID 0 using 2 HDD's or RAID 10 using 4HDD's is going to get you the best disk performance.
Make sure all of your HDD's are on the SATA bus, not IDE.
Other factors that can slow down TS performance are:
Disk fragmentation: You NEED Diskeeper. It will cost you about $50, but worth every penny.
Internet Security/Antivirus/Spyware software: Get Norton Internet Security 2009. I have found it does not slow the system at all. Avoid McAfee; it is a resource hog.
Video system: What video card are you getting?
FW
Last edited:
cascaderailroad
New member
1Tb External Hard Drive
I bought a MyBook-1Tb External Hard Drive...I was wondering if this would be a good idea to dedicate it to Trainz ? I have heard that it will slow TRS2006 down. That I will then have tons of latency and the limitations of firewire / usb, unless your pc has esata.
I have Vista OS-HP-32 bit, 3Gb ram, 500Mb hard drive, Nividia8600 video card. Should I upgrade to 7Gb ram, and 64 bit...or leave well enough alone. As things now are working great, so far ?
What else would this 1Tb externalhard drive be useful for ? Looking or input...
I bought a MyBook-1Tb External Hard Drive...I was wondering if this would be a good idea to dedicate it to Trainz ? I have heard that it will slow TRS2006 down. That I will then have tons of latency and the limitations of firewire / usb, unless your pc has esata.
I have Vista OS-HP-32 bit, 3Gb ram, 500Mb hard drive, Nividia8600 video card. Should I upgrade to 7Gb ram, and 64 bit...or leave well enough alone. As things now are working great, so far ?
What else would this 1Tb externalhard drive be useful for ? Looking or input...
Last edited:
psycho_aussie
Resident Psychotic Aussie
If the external drive is connected to your laptop/pc via e-SATA, then yes I would say go for it, but if it is connected via USB or Firewire, then no. Leave Trainz on the internal drives, as they will give it the best performance.
In regard to other usages for the external drive, I would recommend using it for backups of your documents, pictures, and Trainz downloads. The 1TB would allow you to back up a lot of stuff.
Chris
In regard to other usages for the external drive, I would recommend using it for backups of your documents, pictures, and Trainz downloads. The 1TB would allow you to back up a lot of stuff.
Chris
cascaderailroad
New member
External Hard Drive
OK...performance would drop, how...in FPS, and what else performance wise ?
As to the question of a 1Tb external hard drive being hooked up to my desktop PC...would installing TRS2006 on the external hard drive allow me remove, and to hot swap , or transport my Trainz route, in the works, between different PC's. Such as hooking the 1Tb external hard drive to a friends PC who lives far away...so I could then work on my Trainz route when I am far away from home, away from my desktop PC ?
What would a 8Gb usb memory stick be usefull for in Trainz, on a friends PC who lives far away, without having to install TRS2006 on their PC ?
Buying a gaming laptop for Trainz is not in my budget. And transporting a desktop PC around is extremely cumbersome !
Say...I went to the Altoona Model RR Club, and wanted to show them my route, in the works, without having to install TRS2006 on their model RR club room PC. How could this be done ?
OK...performance would drop, how...in FPS, and what else performance wise ?
As to the question of a 1Tb external hard drive being hooked up to my desktop PC...would installing TRS2006 on the external hard drive allow me remove, and to hot swap , or transport my Trainz route, in the works, between different PC's. Such as hooking the 1Tb external hard drive to a friends PC who lives far away...so I could then work on my Trainz route when I am far away from home, away from my desktop PC ?
What would a 8Gb usb memory stick be usefull for in Trainz, on a friends PC who lives far away, without having to install TRS2006 on their PC ?
Buying a gaming laptop for Trainz is not in my budget. And transporting a desktop PC around is extremely cumbersome !
Say...I went to the Altoona Model RR Club, and wanted to show them my route, in the works, without having to install TRS2006 on their model RR club room PC. How could this be done ?
Last edited:
Approach_Medium
Trainz Addict
Yes. If you install TS on the removable drive, it will run on either your laptop or desktop. CMP may not run properly though, as there may be some files in Windows or in Documents and Settings for a particular user.
Problem is, as stated earlier is that any program installed on a USB or Firewire drive will run slowly. In TS, you will have a lot of pauses during a session as TS goes to the HDD to get parts of the route.
Having a lot of RAM in the system will help, if you set Resource Cache to a high setting. That way, TS will copy more of the files into memory when it runs.
I am not sure if TS would run better with 8G RAM than with 3 or 4G. I did notice a significant improvement in TS2006 performance when I upgraded from 1GB to 3GB.
The video card will also make a lot of difference. You said you have the Nvidia 8600. That's a good card (better than my 6800), if it has at least 256MB, but is better with 512 or more.
If the other computers you will be running TS on do not have fast video cards, then you will have a performance hit.
Hope this helps
FW
Problem is, as stated earlier is that any program installed on a USB or Firewire drive will run slowly. In TS, you will have a lot of pauses during a session as TS goes to the HDD to get parts of the route.
Having a lot of RAM in the system will help, if you set Resource Cache to a high setting. That way, TS will copy more of the files into memory when it runs.
I am not sure if TS would run better with 8G RAM than with 3 or 4G. I did notice a significant improvement in TS2006 performance when I upgraded from 1GB to 3GB.
The video card will also make a lot of difference. You said you have the Nvidia 8600. That's a good card (better than my 6800), if it has at least 256MB, but is better with 512 or more.
If the other computers you will be running TS on do not have fast video cards, then you will have a performance hit.
Hope this helps
FW
psycho_aussie
Resident Psychotic Aussie
cascaderailroad, the performance drop would be due to the slow transfer rate across the USB cable. The HD itself would still be running at close to it's maximum performance, but Trainz, and Windows would be waiting for the data to arrive from the HD, or be sent to it. That could potentially make Trainz unusable.
As an example, I had mp3s on my external HD (which is actually a SATA HD in an external caddy), and playing them from that HD would cause them to pause every 2-5 seconds as they waited for more data to arrive. I moved them back to an internal HD and they play perfectly now. Trainz would suffer the same sort of fate, but having Trainz on an external HD would allow you to take your copy of Trainz with you, whithout needing to install it on someone elses PC. The trade off is the performance, so you need to decide whether the performance hit is worth it.
Chris.
As an example, I had mp3s on my external HD (which is actually a SATA HD in an external caddy), and playing them from that HD would cause them to pause every 2-5 seconds as they waited for more data to arrive. I moved them back to an internal HD and they play perfectly now. Trainz would suffer the same sort of fate, but having Trainz on an external HD would allow you to take your copy of Trainz with you, whithout needing to install it on someone elses PC. The trade off is the performance, so you need to decide whether the performance hit is worth it.
Chris.
Partitioning Hard Drives in Windows XP
http://www.theeldergeek.com/hard_drives.htm
Partitioning is worth the time it saves while defragmenting. One large C drive vs a 60 or 80 gb C drive will save a lot of time.
http://www.theeldergeek.com/hard_drives.htm
Partitioning is worth the time it saves while defragmenting. One large C drive vs a 60 or 80 gb C drive will save a lot of time.
johnwhelan
Well-known member
http://www.theeldergeek.com/hard_drives.htm
Partitioning is worth the time it saves while defragmenting. One large C drive vs a 60 or 80 gb C drive will save a lot of time.
I'm not certain what you are trying to say but in simple terms disk access is made up of two components, one where the head is moving from track to track and the other the rotational delay as the disk spins so that the bit you want is under the head. The rotational part you can do nothing about except buy a faster (15,000 rpm) drive.
The track to track part though you can. Although manufacturers give an average access time there is a difference depending how far you move the head. On a drive that has 8 milliseconds average seek time track to adjacent track is probably .5 millisecond and outer track to inner track 25 milliseconds.
When you partition you say tracks 1-500 are partition one, 500-2000 are partition two. If you need to reference both partitions the heads will be moving back and forth for some distance thus increasing the the time needed to access the disk.
In some cases disk partitioning can slow down the effective speed of your hard drives.
Cheerio John
Sorry for delay there fwassner in replying to your query. The pc I am now awaiting delivery will be especially for Trainz. I am trying to find my note of it's build and can't find what i did with that dashed thing. If i find the info will put it up here. I have been told it should arrive from the start of this week but i do recall at least it seems to have reasonable specs. As I say I hope to find them! The partitioning is obvioulsy still an open question and have never had a pc with partitioning. I will ensure protection and have a commercial programme called Bit Defender which allows it to be on 3 machines. The footprint is a lot msaller than Norton too. Have progs apart from that for protection.
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