All In One's - Any Good for Trainz?

[sterrett]

Hi. Does anyone have any experience with all-in-one's please? I know that they aren't upgradeable beyond a bit of extra RAM or something you can plug into a USB port, but the prices one of the Hewlett Packard machines has caught my eye and the ability to release the space in my desk cupboard and free myself of the enormous, dust gathering wiring loom is appealing. Would they run TRS12 to a reasonable standard and would I be able to tinker with 3D Modelling programmes without serious lag, please? Is Windows 8 performing well yet, or are users still having issues?

Operating system	Windows 8 64 bit
Processor	AMD E1-1200 APU (1.4 GHz, 1.4 MC cache memory)
RAM	- 6 GB (1 x 2 GB, 1 x 4 GB) - DDR3 - Upgradable to 8 GB DDR3

Graphics card	AMD Radeon HD 6320 with AMD App Acceleration
Screen size	20"
Resolution	1600 x 900 Pixels
Other characteristics of the screen	- LED - Tilt Screen

Display

Hard drive	- 1 TB - 7200 rpm - SATA
Card reader	- Slim-tray SuperMulti DVD burner - Read speed: CD: 48x / DVD: 8x - Write speed: CDR: 52x ; CDRW: 12x; DVD+/-R: 8x; DVD+/-RW: 4x

Storage

USB	- USB 2.0 x 4 - USB 3.0 x 2
Audio	- 1 stereo audio-out - 1 headphone/microphone combo

Connectivity

Ethernet	Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
WiFi	802.11b/g/n

Network

Keyboard type	- USB Keyboard
Touch pad	- USB Optical Mouse

Devices included

Accessories included	- Power cable - USB keyboard - USB optical mouse - HP manual - HP quick Guide
Software	- Windows Store - Microsoft Windows Live Essentials - Microsoft Internet Explorer - Beats Audio console - CyberLink PowerDVD - HP Connected Remote - HP Connected Photo - HP Games Console - Skype - HP Connected Music powered by Universal Music Group
Dimesions	402 x 506 x 101 mm (L x W x D)
Weight	6.4 kg

Other

 

[pcas1986]

The graphics card would worry me. It is way down the list in the review at http://community.futuremark.com/hardware/gpu/AMD+Radeon+HD+6320/review. The rest of the specs look good and it has USB 3. I read elsewhere that Trainz runs ok in Win 8. I have Win 8 in a box but not installed as my one of my favourite apps will not run on it.

Maybe you could get a sales person to demo a suitable game.

 

[sterrett]

Maybe you could get a sales person to demo a suitable game.

That's a good idea. I agree about the Graphics Card - I did notice that and the fact that it probably can't be upgraded at a later date is of concern. (All-in-ones are based on notebooks so very little retro-fit upgrading can be done.)

 

[Stagefright]

I am no fan of all-in-ones and this one illustrates why: no dedicated graphics card (and no provision for one), not upgradeable, and the processor is substandard. My advice: keep looking. Even a moderately-priced full-size desktop pc can be easily upgraded (graphics, RAM, etc.)

Darre

 

[JCitron]

I agree with the others on this as well.

The other problem with the All-in-ones is they cook really badly, and Trainz will definitely cook the machine worse than with normal operation. We used to have these in the office where I was working. Out of the 500-plus machines, there is probably about 6 left the last time I was there. I asked my manager about them and he said they burned up.

John

 

[sterrett]

Thanks for the advice. Novatech seem to do some very reasonable desktop gaming computers, and as I am not a millionaire, it's always good to have the option to ramp up the RAM or do things like add a bigger, faster hard drive at a later date. The idea of having a SSD is a good idea so having USB3 is a definite must for me. Like most people, I guess, I don't have anything like the £1500 spare that you would need to find for everything you want, but I think around £600 should get me something fairly good and, of course, ebay will get me something back for the old one.

Is it easy to reset a Windows 7 computer to remove all my personal documents and stuff?

 

[pcas1986]

...

Is it easy to reset a Windows 7 computer to remove all my personal documents and stuff?

You would need a file wipe program that overwrites the data in its original location. Merely deleting it is no guarantee someone might recover it later. Shane Turner might be the guy to ask as he seems to know quite a bit about PCs and would be current.

I'm a little paranoid and would never sell a used hard disk. I'd rather move it to a new computer or disassemble it and destroy the platters.

 

[lewisner]

You would need a file wipe program that overwrites the data in its original location. Merely deleting it is no guarantee someone might recover it later. Shane Turner might be the guy to ask as he seems to know quite a bit about PCs and would be current.

I'm a little paranoid and would never sell a used hard disk. I'd rather move it to a new computer or disassemble it and destroy the platters.

Active Killdisk, FREE and used by the American armed forces. http://www.killdisk.com/

 

[sterrett]

Thanks for the advice. So it looks like all I have to do is move what I want to keep on to a USB drive, delete my User Accounts and what I don't want to keep and then run killdisk to destroy the empty part of my primary hard disk and the operating system will be left fully functional. (I intend to remove my second drive and put it in the new machine anyway.)