Best Trainz

[GDennish]

Hi all,

I have many versions of Trainz as you can see above, I like 2010 a lot but it runs slow on my XP SP3 i have updated my graphics card the best i can and it runs slow. Does 2009 run well on XP? Im in a bad state of money and cant afford a new computer. TC3 is great but has compatibility issues. Please reply. Also i want to throw in to have Auran to update the Trainz Ipad.

Kind Regards,

GDennish

 

[cascaderailroad]

If you have 2 Gb ram, and a new video card that has 1 Gb dedicated graphics memory, even TS12 will run good.

A new video card is @ $80 USD, and should be no more than your maximum wattage of your power supply.

An XP desktop is easy to modify ... a laptop is another ball game to modify.

Even with adding a higher wattage power supply and an expensive video card, modification would be less than $200 to make a super PC out of your machine. Best buy charges $50 (plus the cost of the power supply), to install a higher wattage power supply.

My 3Gb Vista desktop, 500Gb hard drive, has a peeuney 300 watt power supply, and a Galaxy 320 Nvidia video card is cheap ... making it run great.

Trainz only needs 2 Gb ram

An expensive I7 laptop with Quad Core is overkill.

 

[masterowner]

Best buy charges $50 (plus the cost of the power supply), to install a higher wattage power supply.

Man that much, I'll do it in my basement for 20!

 

[Euphod]

I don't think I would step backwards to 2009. 12 actually runs better than 2010, but others say this isn't so. I would either gamble on 12 for you or stay put with 2010.

 

[GDennish]

What can i get to make it better?

Here are my specs.

Pentium(R) 4 Cpu 3.00GHz

2.99GHz, 2.00 GB of Ram

Thoughts?

 

[cascaderailroad]

Desktop ? A better video card
Laptop? A better laptop

Disconnect Eithernet cable ... Turn off Antivirus ... Run Gamebooster

 

[pfx]

Here are my specs.

Pentium(R) 4 Cpu 3.00GHz

2.99GHz, 2.00 GB of Ram

Thoughts?

Chucking another 2Gig of RAM in there wouldn't go amiss. Trainz is heavy on that and what's more, it's relatively cheap to do. Check your mobo can take it though...

 

[Dep]

File this under "things you should know before upgrading".

Windows XP 32 bit memory limit...4GB

If you are using Windows XP Home Edition, the MAXIMUM memory you can effectivly install is 4GB. That INCLUDES the RAM on your video card. WinXP can't use any more RAM than that so it is wasted. From Microsoft:

How graphics cards and other devices affect memory limits

Devices have to map their memory below 4 GB for compatibility with non-PAE-aware Windows releases. Therefore, if the system has 4GB of RAM, some of it is either disabled or is remapped above 4GB by the BIOS. If the memory is remapped, X64 Windows can use this memory. X86 (32 bit) client versions of Windows don’t support physical memory above the 4GB mark, so they can’t access these remapped regions. Any X64 Windows or X86 Server release can.


The maximum amount of RAM a program can use in WinXP is 2 GIG. The rest is used by the OS and hardware.

 

[airtime]

Hi all,

I have many versions of Trainz as you can see above, I like 2010 a lot but it runs slow on my XP SP3 i have updated my graphics card the best i can and it runs slow. Does 2009 run well on XP? Im in a bad state of money and cant afford a new computer. TC3 is great but has compatibility issues. Please reply. Also i want to throw in to have Auran to update the Trainz Ipad.

Kind Regards,

GDennish

I have a very similar system to you my friend, I have Windows XP (SP3), I use Trainz 2010 at the minute, as I find it less jarry than Trainz 2012, and Trainz 2010 works best for me, even though it can be slow at times,

First off, with Trainz 2012, building routes will be limited, only use a small amount of baseboards or you will encouter route lagging problems, don't even try the E.C.M.L, your computer will crash in an instant as soon as the session starts,.

However, in Trainz 2010, building routes is slightly better, but watch how much detail you put into the route, as this can give you the laggy route problem, you also have a bit more luck with the E.C.M.L, you will get halfway through the E.C.M.L route from York, and just after Doncaster, you may get a message saying something similar to... "Trainz has encountered an error and must close, Memory cannot be written".

with regards to Trainz Classics 3 - Settle to Carlisle route, this works great with my current system, and I can drive the entire route without a problem, you may experience the same as me.

With Trainz 2009, because I have upgraded my computer with the best graphics card, Trainz 2009 ran jarry and laggy, even on the Glasgow to Falkirk route, it's jumpy when two trains pass, I tried both Open GL and Direct X, both with same results, so I am sticking with what works best for me now, and that is Trainz 2010.

I would recomend sticking with what you have for now, and try and make the best out of it, once you get some spending money together, then think about taking a jump to the next level.

Hope this helps

Joe Airtime
By the way - I chose the E.C.M.L as an example to how far your computer might get you, before it becomes a struggle for it to work properly.

 

[Dep]

It's kinda funny but with both Railworks 3 and Trainz 2012, having the "best" hardware is not necessarily a guarantee that the sims will work the best. For one thing, both sims do NOT take full advantage of SLI or multi-core graphics cards. And neither sim takes full advantage of multi-core processors. This has all been discussed on other threads. Rather than buying the "best" graphics card, you might be better off turning down the eye candy to lower levels. I now run the Appalachian route with quite acceptable performance where before it was an impossible slideshow. One of the problems with Trainz 10 and 12 is when it installs it checks the hardware is useable, but then sets everything at maximum levels. Poor programming on Trainz part. Most other sims automatically adjust the software setting to something appropriate for the hardware installed. Maybe in Trainz 2014 they will put in a new game engine that can use the new hardware available now. Who knows?

 

[Vern]

Rather strange that TS2009 is more laggy but it's true. Working on my current project in TS2009, luckily nearing completion, I have noticed it far more prone to "sticking" for several seconds at a time as you try and move around in Surveyor. It's probably a result of all the trees I've planted to represent the Adirondack Mountains but I have a feeling TS2010 is probably better optimised for Win 7 and 64 bit systems than the old '009 is.

It's also true there are many more default assets there are in TS2010 compared to TS2009 with the addition of those extra routes.

 

[GDennish]

Thanks

Thank you everyone so much. I found on steam that TrS2009 is only $3 USD so I am downloading to see how well it does. Yes since TrS2010 is slow TC3 is my main trainz game I play since TRS2006 and below aren't supported. Wish there was some more American TC3 content.

 

[hminky]

Thank you everyone so much. I found on steam that TrS2009 is only $3 USD so I am downloading to see how well it does. Yes since TrS2010 is slow TC3 is my main trainz game I play since TRS2006 and below aren't supported. Wish there was some more American TC3 content.

Best version of 2009, has CM 3.3. Took them forever to update the Steam version but was worth the wait. Practically, TS2010 without Speedtrees.

First Trainz I bought. Need 2009 to run those old routes to prevent the Speedtree replacement by Auran.

Harold

 

[Euphod]

Glad to know you disregarded the advice and went on the price point instead, good luck to you!

 

[GDennish]

Yes I am happy with the results! With no speed trees it runs mostly better than 2010 I tested it out with a Big boy and a bunch of USA cars on City and Country UsA. It slowed down near the mountains but I am going to try a Percy from Sodor island 3d which even slowed down TC3! :hehe: I will let you guys know what the results are!

 

[GDennish]

Sorry to double post but....... When I ran Percy with DirectX and the game ran so slow..... But when I changed it to OpenGL it was a miracle! It is running much better that TC3!!!!! Now If we can only get Trainz IPad updated.......l