Absolute maximums ...

[NigelRi]

Hi Trainz/Auran Support & Specialists

A friend has asked me to spec/build him a very top-flight PC for T:ANE use. He is an experienced Trainz user (I am not), and now wants to get the ABSOULTE MAX BEST experience. He wants to turn all settings for detail, distance, shadow, etc. etc. set up to maximum in T:ANE, AND to drive 'ECML' and Hi-speed trains at their 125-200mph ... AND to get ALWAYS picture perfect performance of >=50+fps on a full HD screen (but not 4k). He will buy whatever it takes.

So .... can anyone there please let me know:

a) What is the absolute maximum amount of RAM memory in a PC (Windows10) that T:ANE can ever actually uses i.e. to buy/fit more would be 100% redundant and just a waste of money?
i.e. should I buy/fit 16Gb, 32Gb, 64Gb, or more ? (assume its gonna be highest-speed/spec DDR4 with an Intel i7 CPU)

b) Is it worth for fitting MORE than ONE single top-spec graphics card i.e. 2 or 3 cards in SLi for T:ANE use? or is it always redundant and a waste of money to use dual/SLi cards with T:ANE?
i.e. assume I am buying/fitting an Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 Ti with its 6GB of ram: would T:ANE ever make use of a dual-card platform? would such dal 980 Tis in SLI improve performance?

c) Under T:ANE, what is the relationship at T:ANE run-time, if any, between the memory size/use in the graphics card and the memory size/use in the PC?
e.g. can I get same top performance of T:ANE with less PC ram by having more GPU ram? Or, will T:ANE use both PC RAM and GPU RAM up to the maximums above [(a) & (b)]

d) For absolute top T:ANE performance, is it better to have:
1. a single SSD, containing OS (Windows10) and Trainz application s/w and Trainz data/libraries ?
2. two SSDs, one for Windows OS and the other for all or Trainz (application & data) ?
3. three SSD, one for Windows OS, one for Trainz application and one for Trainz data ?
i.e. In short, does absolute highest performance of Trainz depend at all on disk (SSD or HD) speed?
For T:ANE abs top performance always, does a PC need to have ALL of Trainz application & ALL of data in highest-speed devices i.e. on SSD(s) rather than on HD?
And is there any relationship in T:ANE that affect performance between the size of SSD/HD disk and size of main RAM and size of GPU RAM?

Please let me have back you most technical and objective info & advice if you have really pushed Trainz performance to the absolute high level to which my friend would like to go too. Thanks!

 

[Jay1990]

You can have an absolute feel day with this and will cost him a packet to get it to run at max 60fps!

Processor: Intel Core i7 4790K
If you want faster then Intel Core i7 5820K

RAM depends on motherboard. But aim for 32GB at least then they wont need to upgrade that for a while. As for DDR 4, I'd suggest staying with DDR3, as most DDR3 (high end RAM) is much faster gaming wise, and saving a lot of money!

As for graphics cards, not many games support dual graphics so you would be wasting your money!

As for SSD's, if he wants the absolute best, then Boot the OS on one SSD and the game on another. As for content been on a third hard drive, I couldn't say as I've never known a game to boot off two hard drives, but I might be wrong.

 

[NigelRi]

Hi Jay - ta lots for yr first quick reply.

Specifically does T:ANE actually support dual graphics cards - yes or no? Do you know - or anyone else? Not sure, from your reply, if you know it does or not.

Specifically, what is the max RAM T:ANE will ever use - it is 32GB or more, specifically. Does anyone know? [Please could an Auran T:ANE engineer reply to this an my other points?]

And again, specifically, do you know or does anyone else know , can T:ANE specifically be configure to have its application code on one drive and all its data files on another drive?

Thanks

 

[boc61]

Once TANE is installed, you can put the Data on any drive you want by following some simple instructions. The data will be installed on the C: drive by default, even if the game is installed on a different drive. For example I installed TANE onto my D drive which is an SSD dedicated to Trainz. The Data folder went on the C drive and I just moved the Data to my Trainz drive. If I had another drive in the computer, I could just as easily moved it there.

 

[johnwhelan]

TANE does far more on the GPU than the CPU so the CPU isn't so critical. GPU nVidia's biggest and ugliest so start with GTX Titan Z GPU. Realistically I don't think anyone has seen more than 4 gigs being used by TANE so I'd favour 16 gigs. TANE uses lots and lots of small files so SSDs are essential on a high end system. Memory transfer is major so fast memory as well. I seem to recall that TANE is only useful on a single GPU.

So motherboardwise I'd go ASUS RAMPAGE V EXTREME/U3.1 with DDR4 memory.

Case probably an ANTEC P280 they're reasonably quiet and I suspect I'd go 650 watt power supply, which should be sufficient and keep the noise level down but double check the numbers first.

UK availability etc might change a few odd things.

Cheerio John
[h=1][/h]

 

[johnwhelan]

CPU as long as it says i7 that should be good enough, say the second or third fastest rather than the most expensive.

Cheerio John

 

[wilts747]

As already pointed out few games use more than 4GB of RAM or fully utilize more than 2 processor cores fully. An Intel Skylark CPU together with a Z170 chipset motherboard with DDR4 RAM, USB Type C, and M2 PCIe 3 interface will provide a little bit of future proofing.

SSD's provide speed, HDD capacity so a combination is generally accepted as the preferred option. If money is not a consideration opt for a NVMe M2 SSD employing MLC NAND technology, they can read in excess of 2000MB/s and write at 650MB/s fit into the motherboard M2 socket directly are cool and silent. There are faster but far from cost effective. As for HDD perhaps opt for a 2.5" hybrid drive comprising a large capacity hard drive with a built in SSD front end (frequently about 8GB). The SSD element learns what data is being requested from the hard-drive and moves it into its fast memory acting like a massive cache, in turn providing a halfway house between full SSD and HDD at practically no extra cost. The 2.5" is preferred over the 3.5" for its smaller power budget and runs cooler both of which assist case cooling.

Others have expressed ample views on video cards but perhaps consider a G-Sync monitor which can optimize the viewing experience even further. Like a chain computers are only as good as their weakest link so while you are spending all this money don't skimp on cables/connectors as one poor connection can reduce the lot to a 10 year old Pentium. Peter

 

[johnwhelan]

It's the caches on the i7 you want, they're bigger than the i3 ,or i5 processors.

Cheerio John

 

[whitepass]

New GPU are to come out this year and be two times as faster than what is out now.

 

[johnwhelan]

New GPU are to come out this year and be two times as faster than what is out now.

I would concur with this.

John