AMD 3800+ and Radeon 3850

[edlight]

I presently have an Athlon 64 @ 2.4 gig single core, and an AGP geforce 6600GT. Considering getting an AGP Radeon 3850, hoping to run those highly detailed routes.

Is my cpu too whimpy? I'd have to upgrade from socket 939 to AM2 or Intel to fix that, now that socket 939 dual cores are gone.

 

[robbiehanson]

I'd upgrade everything if you're going to go there. AGP is utterly useless next to PCI-E.

Intel Core 2 Duo if you've got the cash, or an Athlon X2 socket AM2 if you're limited to $300 or so total. You'll need DDR2 RAM with either, but that's only $20 a gig now

I HIGHLY recommend Newegg for buying your parts; half my computer is from them.

Greetings from a former AMD Athlon 4000+ owner

 

[edlight]

So Trainz will use 2 cores?

 

[Captain_Collins]

So Trainz will use 2 cores?

Trainz will use some of both cores. For more information, see post #14 in this thread: http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=29886

 

[psycho_aussie]

I have an AMD Athlon64 X2 5200+ and a Radeon HD3870, and that runs Trainz really well.

I would also suggest upgrading the motherboard, CPU and RAM, if you are going to upgrade the video card. Either the Intel Core 2 Duo or the AMD Athlon64 X2. If you can't get an AMD X2, a cheap AMD Phenom X3 would do.

I use an MSI K9A2-CF motherboard, which does support both the Athlon64 X2 CPUs as well as the Phenom X3/X4, but in saying that, all AM2+ motherboards that support the Phenom CPUs will also support the X2 CPUs as well.

Chris

 

[robbiehanson]

Trainz will use some of both cores. For more information, see post #14 in this thread: http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=29886

I can disprove that--I run dual monitors, with Task Manager and various heat utilities on the second one. Trainz will only use 50% of the CPU, or a single core(on the Performance tab, CPU1 is on full and CPU2 on 0%). It doesn't matter though, dual core is fantastic relative to single core on any other modern games

 

[edlight]

I can disprove that--I run dual monitors, with Task Manager and various heat utilities on the second one. Trainz will only use 50% of the CPU, or a single core(on the Performance tab, CPU1 is on full and CPU2 on 0%). It doesn't matter though, dual core is fantastic relative to single core on any other modern games

Would that be TC3, or pre-TC3? The post said that it started to use some of 2 cores beginning with TC3.

 

[robbiehanson]

It says that TRS2004 onward is multithreaded. I'm running TRS2006 SP1.

 

[edlight]

Thanks for all the info. I'm still wondering if my cpu would be enough with that video card to run highly detailed routes, or if it would bottleneck it. I want to hold off replacing everything for a couple of years. The 3850 is $115 right now. I could throw in a new Athlon 64 for $30 that overclocks to 2.8. Otherwise it's hundreds, and I'd like to wait for newer generations of stuff 1st.

 

[Scitimar]

I can disprove that--I run dual monitors, with Task Manager and various heat utilities on the second one. Trainz will only use 50% of the CPU, or a single core(on the Performance tab, CPU1 is on full and CPU2 on 0%).

Never argue with idiots. They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

 

[johnwhelan]

Thanks for all the info. I'm still wondering if my cpu would be enough with that video card to run highly detailed routes, or if it would bottleneck it. I want to hold off replacing everything for a couple of years. The 3850 is $115 right now. I could throw in a new Athlon 64 for $30 that overclocks to 2.8. Otherwise it's hundreds, and I'd like to wait for newer generations of stuff 1st.

I'd just go with the 3850, you should see a performance increase and if you set the aa and af up a bit the image quality should improve. Also TRS2009 looks like it will be taking advantage of the newer graphics cards for compressed textures etc.

Cheerio John

 

[mjoliver]

I'd just go with the 3850, you should see a performance increase and if you set the aa and af up a bit the image quality should improve. Also TRS2009 looks like it will be taking advantage of the newer graphics cards for compressed textures etc.

Cheerio John

Don't bother doing anything until you can feel comfortable that Auran can produce a product that works: if TR2009 is anything like TC3, then your HD3850 (which I have) will be to no benefit at all, because TC3 is at the very least a RAM hog and uses little of the 512 Gb on board the card, or its speed. TC3 has some real issues. If you trawl through the forums you'll see what I mean.
Beware! Or, just see how well an HD3850 performs on TR2006..... or for that matter, Rail Simulator. TC3 is rubbish... God help us if TR2009 has the same coding approach as TC3.

 

[johnwhelan]

Don't bother doing anything until you can feel comfortable that Auran can produce a product that works: if TR2009 is anything like TC3, then your HD3850 (which I have) will be to no benefit at all, because TC3 is at the very least a RAM hog and uses little of the 512 Gb on board the card, or its speed. TC3 has some real issues. If you trawl through the forums you'll see what I mean.
Beware! Or, just see how well an HD3850 performs on TR2006..... or for that matter, Rail Simulator. TC3 is rubbish... God help us if TR2009 has the same coding approach as TC3.

But on the other hand I rather like TC3, more stability, better steam etc. I'm running a 3850 with a P4 2.4 and 3 gigs of memory and have no issues with TC3 at all. In fact I have a batch of new wagons coming through beta at the moment that make use TC3 built-in content to give opening sides, sounds and smoke when unloading coal etc, five different tarps, visible loads as well as bulk loads, six different skins to give different wagon numbers and slightly different tints to the wagons. I have GWR in beta but it uses the same texture group format as many of my other wagons so SR, LNER etc should follow shortly once we get the first one finished.

Current issues on them are how to handle loads at the same time as tarps and which tarps to use.

Cheerio John

 

[edlight]

I'm running a 3850 with a P4 2.4 and 3 gigs of memory and have no issues with TC3 at all.

Cheerio John

John, have you tried any highly detailed routes such as "Kauai 2008" ? The included routes in TC3 aren't terribly challenging, except at the big end terminals. Thanks.

If they run ok on your rig, mine should run them too.

 

[mjoliver]

But on the other hand I rather like TC3, more stability, better steam etc. I'm running a 3850 with a P4 2.4 and 3 gigs of memory and have no issues with TC3 at all. In fact I have a batch of new wagons coming through beta at the moment that make use TC3 built-in content to give opening sides, sounds and smoke when unloading coal etc, five different tarps, visible loads as well as bulk loads, six different skins to give different wagon numbers and slightly different tints to the wagons. I have GWR in beta but it uses the same texture group format as many of my other wagons so SR, LNER etc should follow shortly once we get the first one finished.

Current issues on them are how to handle loads at the same time as tarps and which tarps to use.

Cheerio John

Hi there John,
Perhaps you could share with me all of your TC3 settings? It is only TC3 that I get low (basically unusable) frame rates even with sliders fully to the left. I really would like to get it to work.

Thank you.

 

[johnwhelan]

My operating system hard drive is dying and needs to be replaced so I will need to reinstall everything. I'm just on this morning to find out the name of robocopy.

Very quickly I'm selective on routes the majority run fine in the 30 fps area have a search for "benchmarking" in titles and you'll come across the two hardware benchmarking threads with different machine configurations and fps. One of the new dual cores with a high end graphic card will run the higher level of detail routes at a better frames per second but extending the life of your existing system with a 3850 does make sense to me.

A highly detailed route will kill any machine but look for the frame rate killers such as smoke on houses etc. and take them out of the config.txt file.

There is a TC3 trainzoptions.txt file I forget the name have you been in there and adjusted the resourcememory?

I expect to be off for about a week or so as the new drive is coming mail order.

Cheerio John

 

[edlight]

For me, TC3 was unplayable until I switched it from the default whatever that is (opengl, I think) to directx. Then it began to act something like 2006. This is on an nvidia 6600GT, XP Home sp3.

 

[TheStoon]

Hmm , for whats its worth TC3 most definately uses some of the second core in a multi core system. The main trainz.exe thread runs entirely on one core, there are other threads which will be scheduled on either core depending on the OS. It'd be interesting to do some benchmarks with it set to run on only one core, and then set to run on both. See if there is actually a real benefit. There should be, but it'd be a minor one - they just don't do a massive amount of work.