please advise what to purchase to run new era!

My teenage son loves trainz; however the labtop we bought him isnt powerful enough to run it without constant problems. We want to buy him a top of the line computer to run New Era. please tell me what specs I need. Also is mac version just as good??

Hi,

As you know, Tane is still in beta testing.

That means that the main programming code still includes code for debugging. That means that there are still improvements to be made to the performance.
It's also the case that there are variations in performance with different PCs ( not unexpected with a beta version).

Once the community edition is released, we will have a much clearer idea of what is a good system.
IIRC, the Mac version will follow on from the pc version, so you may have some disappointment!

My system seems to manage the beta Tane fairly well:-

Gigabyte g1 sniper motherboard
i5 4670 processor ( water cooled, overclocked to 4.2Ghz)
8Gb ram
NVidia GTX770 (palit version with 4Gb ram and slightly overclocked)
Suitable case - 3 cooling fans
800 watt power supply.
Win 8.1

For long periods of Trainz use, make sure that the CPU cooling system is a good one (is not the standard one as supplied, water cooling systems are good and there are enhanced air cooling systems as well).
Trainz uses the CPU much harder than many other programs and you will see some form members have had problems. This is also a radon to be wary of using a laptop - most are not designed for heat dissipation over long periods...

Regards
Colin

I would NOT advise buying an Apple product, as MAC is not a real PC, you will need 64 bit OS for T:ANE, and a laptop will cost you in excess of $1000, stay away from buying a laptop in a BigBox store ... You want a MS Windows desktop ... If you buy a DELL you just paid allot of money for a shiny colored laptop skin, and got low end hardware inside a $1200 laptop (worth only @ $600)

Probably more than 50% of laptops are not intended for gaming at all, and most will not run 09, 10, 12 properly, (asside from 04, 06) which will run on low end PC's.

What that PC tech (with 4 weeks retail experience) at BestBuy tells you, that a laptop has a decrete video card, and will run all video games (asside from Trainz which is a high cpu / video card demanding game) is most probably not worth a grain of salt.

I know a guy who bought a $1200 laptop, bragging that it had a real video card ... he hasn't been online since ... the laptop was not adequate to run 09, 10, 12, nor T:ANE

How I wish I had parents like you.

Anyhoo, so long as you meet the recommended specifications, you should be good to go. Doesn't matter if it's desktop, laptop, Dell or Mac.

Cheerio,
Nicholas

Well I am a Mac person, but I had a feeling it wasn't going to be advisable for gaming. We are buying a desktop this time. And we plan to spend 2,000 ish give or take. We want to make the wisest purchase we can because that's a lot of money to spend and him still get so frustrated with the computer/game. This game is his hobby; he loves trains. Any advise is appreciated.

jengossett said:

Well I am a Mac person, but I had a feeling it wasn't going to be advisable for gaming. We are buying a desktop this time. And we plan to spend 2,000 ish give or take. We want to make the wisest purchase we can because that's a lot of money to spend and him still get so frustrated with the computer/game. This game is his hobby; he loves trains. Any advise is appreciated.

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If he is interested in possibly building his own computer, that would be the best bet. You could get the best quality components across the board for the cheapest price. It may take some time to put it together but in the end I think it's well worth it. For a gaming desktop, it's hard to find one that isn't grossly overpriced or cheap compoments in it, I would look to try and find a small company that builds them for customers if you want to go that route.

Ok, my father can easily build him a computer if we give him the specs we need.

If you provide a budget and what you wish for that budget to include in terms of peripherals and monitors etc. It will be much easier to recommend a parts list.

Jack

cascaderailroad said:

I would NOT advise buying an Apple product, as MAC is not a real PC

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Absolutely preposterous! (most) Apple computers run the AMD64 architecture using genuine intel chips, they've ran away from PowerPC in 2006 and have since built intel machines.
Windows can run on a mac, as bootcamp simply boots the OS in hardware-legacy mode, which is something built into most (if not all) UEFI(PC)/EFI(PC + Apple)-based machines.

cascaderailroad said:

you will need 64 bit OS for T:ANE

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Snow Leopard < (and up) run a 64-bit Kernel.

cascaderailroad said:

stay away from buying a laptop in a BigBox store

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I'll 1+ you on that one

cascaderailroad said:

You want a MS Windows desktop ... If you buy a DELL you just paid allot of money for a shiny colored laptop skin, and got low end hardware inside a $1200 laptop (worth only @ $600)

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#1 - MSI makes a mean gaming laptop that's as thin, if not thinner than a macbook pro with almost desktop-level graphics. It costs $1700.
#2 - Over the summer I had bought two dell computers, a desktop and a $1000+ Business class machine. The E6530 has NVS graphics, which is basically quadro graphics. The GPU is a slightly older GeForce with drivers optimized for CAD work. This laptop, with the way it is presently configured as I type on it, was worth the $1700 list price. Every single penny, this machine is extremely good for the class it's in.
Would you know that I use this daily and my desktop has been thrown into server-only use? Trainz performance works fine for me, not the absolute best but that's expected out of a quadro. I did not purchase said laptop for gaming use only.
Laptops are more convenient, let's face it.

cascaderailroad said:

I know a guy who bought a $1200 laptop, bragging that it had a real video card ... he hasn't been online since ... the laptop was not adequate to run 09, 10, 12, nor T:ANE

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Who do you blame? The salesman, or the person who bought it?
I could sell you the computer I have now with the same pitch, and someone looking for a laptop to perform CAD and 3D work would give me an A+ rating while someone who's looking for a gaming machine would give me an F-.

Next time, please only bash things if you actually understand them.

By the way, Dell makes gaming laptops.

Ok so I would be equally pleased running Trainz on either Mac or PC platform? I like Macs best for personal use, but this computer is strictly for my son to play Trainz.

Why does anyone prefer a MAC (Apple machine), over that of a MS windows machine ? I just don't get it ?

Do people buy a MAC just to put the screws to MS Bill Gates ???

What does a MAC offer, over that of a MS Windows PC ???

Really ?

For the most part ... a MAC has a nice shiny colored laptop lid, with an illuminated Apple logo ... etc ...

Cascade you really need to grow up.

We use Macs for design, film and sound and photography and a myriad other things you are too ignorant to find out for yourself.

nicky9499 said:

Cascade you really need to grow up.

We use Macs for design, film and sound and photography and a myriad other things you are too ignorant to find out for yourself.

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You will find out, when you buy the wrong product ...and it won't run Trainz ... and you need to stop being so insulting (constantly) your insults just never stop , and you keep on insulting people ... how is it that can you keep getting away with COC infractions like this ?

What can a MAC do, better ... that a Windows PC can't do better ?

How was that an insult? I get infractions just like you or any other member around here. Does Trainz not run on Mac? Oh, what's this - they even made a second one.
Mac and PC each have their strengths. It so happens these days Trainz runs well on both, so can you please stop your crusade against Mac because so far it's been nothing but nonfactual drivel.

Wouldn't be the only non-factual drivel... Regardless, I'm not a fan of Macintosh, but that doesn't mean I can't see their place. I use both Windows 8.1 and OS X frequently and honestly once you're used to the differences the workflow is fairly similar, the options for creative works are a touch more fulfilled on the Mac side however, which is where the argument for their place in the stack comes in.

cascaderailroad said:

You will find out, when you buy the wrong product ...and it won't run Trainz ... and you need to stop being so insulting (constantly) your insults just never stop , and you keep on insulting people ... how is it that can you keep getting away with COC infractions like this ?

What can a MAC do, better ... that a Windows PC can't do better ?

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Because OS X is the holy grail of publicly available UNIX-based operating systems.
I have OS X working on my laptop, every once in a while I'll pop in the hard drive that has the OS image on it, doing all of those modifications have enlightened me on how things tick, and I can tell you it's just as good as windows.... with less viruses, exploits, hassle, etc.
Oh, and it's complete eyecandy. I like having canvases without menus in the windows for when I'm making artwork.
Macs excel in the production field with the exception of 3D work and engineering. For media they do ridiculously well.
It's like how you hate Dell so much and how I love them.
It's like how Canon and Nikon fanboys freak out over me using a Sony A6000 APS-C mirrorless camera and getting just as good, if not better photos compared to their D7000/7100 (nikon) and Canon T5i/Canon60/70D/Canon 7D.
People have preferences which you should respect instead of bashing them over it. I don't sit here and bash steam fanatics because I'm more interested in seeing an SD70ACe or ES44AC, and neither should you.

jengossett said:

Ok so I would be equally pleased running Trainz on either Mac or PC platform? I like Macs best for personal use, but this computer is strictly for my son to play Trainz.

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My personal recommendation:
MSI GS60
If he ever decides to get into other games, he will easily be covered for a few years of owning it.

Good Lord people, Macs are highly superior for people like me. I have a publishing background. I think pc's are total crap and I hate them for what I do. Im not looking for a pc/mac debate.
That being said, I am spending a lot of money so my son can have an excellent gaming machine strictly to run this game. I am either going to buy or have built machine and I want to know what specs I need. Colin gave me specs. Thank you. I dont wanna buy a mac for trainz of the software is different than trainz for pc. For instance if he cant use the download center or anything like that. If the game itself is better for pc, someone let me know! Any more spec advise I would appreciate too.

Guys it is not okay to insult eachother, please keep your posts on topic with the OP.

Neon,

Do you know if any of the MSI laptops come without the keyboard backlighting? Or can you turn it off? I'm looking for a gaming laptop, but I want one that looks like a normal laptop (aka I don't want Alienware design-like (nothing against Alienware performance, just want a normal looking laptop)). I'm a fan of this laptop:
http://us.msi.com/product/nb/GS70-Stealth-Pro-GTX-970M.html#hero-specification
Although I worry about overheating issues in these thinner laptops...

rrfoose said:

Neon,

Do you know if any of the MSI laptops come without the keyboard backlighting? Or can you turn it off? I'm looking for a gaming laptop, but I want one that looks like a normal laptop (aka I don't want Alienware design-like (nothing against Alienware performance, just want a normal looking laptop)). I'm a fan of this laptop:
http://us.msi.com/product/nb/GS70-Stealth-Pro-GTX-970M.html#hero-specification
Although I worry about overheating issues in these thinner laptops...

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On their website it displays an image with 1/3rd of the keyboard lit, so I'm sure you could.
Although I really don't see why you'd want to. If you're using your laptop at night then I'd put the keyboard in white mode and set the brightness as necessary.
My laptop has a white-only backlit keyboard, it's very convenient.