Advice on Hardware

[PWeiser]

While it would be probably be possible to glean the necessary info from other threads in this forum, hoping others will have experience/advice on this.

I'm planning to get a new PC for the required Windows 11 "upgrade." Present machine is a simple Win10 desktop, 4 years old; I run Trainz 2009 SP3, Blender, and GMax. 500mb-1gb internet connection via home WiFi. I plan to transition my "office" software over gradually during the (paid) grace period, but figure I should get a machine able to handle TS22 (if anything is - seems to be a moving target). Is TANE a good halfway point?

AMZ has some amazingly cheap gaming machines - like, under $400US including monitor and keyboard... those are a yes, I've used switcher boxes and they break down. Not a laptop, I think, full-travel keyboard is a requirement for my other hobbies.

Any suggestions, either detailed, general, or required hardware list would be appreciated.

 

[johnwhelan]

Start here: https://forums.auran.com/threads/how-much-computer-do-we-need.181426/post-2056077

At $400 then the video card will be about half that cost. This puts you in the GTX 1050 ti range or about 6,500 3D score. Did you mistype or are you looking at $400 rather than $4,000? you should be looking at around 10,000 3D score.

Dellrefurbished has a 3640 which has a 550 watt power supply that can be upgraded at 40% off today a p2200 video card which has a score of 9357 so $515 but I suspect it will be gone by the end of the day. They have a 3630 which works out at $425 same video card but a 425 watt power supply. I prefer the 5820 and other larger towers they come with a 900 watt power supply and better cooling. These workstation cost around $3,500 when new.

You'll need to buy a monitor Dell refurbished have them from $110 less 40% today. Amazon.com $80 upwards.

Cheerio John

 

[pdkoester]

While it would be probably be possible to glean the necessary info from other threads in this forum, hoping others will have experience/advice on this.

I'm planning to get a new PC for the required Windows 11 "upgrade." Present machine is a simple Win10 desktop, 4 years old; I run Trainz 2009 SP3, Blender, and GMax. 500mb-1gb internet connection via home WiFi. I plan to transition my "office" software over gradually during the (paid) grace period, but figure I should get a machine able to handle TS22 (if anything is - seems to be a moving target). Is TANE a good halfway point?

AMZ has some amazingly cheap gaming machines - like, under $400US including monitor and keyboard... those are a yes, I've used switcher boxes and they break down. Not a laptop, I think, full-travel keyboard is a requirement for my other hobbies.

Any suggestions, either detailed, general, or required hardware list would be appreciated.

What are the specs for your Win10 desktop that is 4 years old? Just wondering, for reference of what you have already.

 

[PWeiser]

What are the specs for your Win10 desktop that is 4 years old? Just wondering, for reference of what you have already.

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-8100 CPU @ 3.60GHz 3.60 GHz
Installed RAM 8.00 GB (7.85 GB usable)
Storage 233 GB SSD Samsung SSD 860 EVO 250GB
Graphics Card Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630 (128 MB)
Device ID 87FB68EA-780C-46D3-AC11-F9FE2944C19C
Product ID 00325-81236-61711-AAOEM
System Type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Pen and touch No pen or touch input is available for this display

...so not really a gaming machine at all though still quite serviceable for content creation and other hobbies.

 

[johnwhelan]

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-8100 CPU @ 3.60GHz 3.60 GHz
Installed RAM 8.00 GB (7.85 GB usable)
Storage 233 GB SSD Samsung SSD 860 EVO 250GB
Graphics Card Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630 (128 MB)
Device ID 87FB68EA-780C-46D3-AC11-F9FE2944C19C
Product ID 00325-81236-61711-AAOEM
System Type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Pen and touch No pen or touch input is available for this display

...so not really a gaming machine at all though still quite serviceable for content creation and other hobbies.

Technically it should be able to run win 11 but you may have to update the bios or set the TMP in the BIOS.

For the price I'd go dellrefurbished.com 3640 and grab it at 40% off today. The 5 Gb P2200 video card is reasonable. The availability and prices vary widely on this site by the way.

Cheerio John

 

[PWeiser]

Thanks! My impression is that a real Nvidia chip would be a plus. Wonder what's in those "cigar box" gaming PCs on Amazon, aside from the video chip?

 

[lewisner]

There are companies on Fleabay and other sites which sell computers to novices and they advertise these computers as "i7 CPU" but CPUs go in Generations with the current being the 14th Generation. A 4th Generation i7 CPU will be pretty useless now. Although I'm British and unfamiliar with US prices I don't think $400 wiill get you a decent PC. To put it in perspective my Graphics Card is an Nvidia RTX 3090 and cost £600 2 years ago.

 

[pdkoester]

The 4790K is the last leg, in Windows 10, that can do some lifting.