Building 64bit system. do I need to download trainz again?

[dvaladl]

Hello Guys,

Today I have purchased/downloaded/installed trainz 12. PC I am running is kind of old and getting terrible frame drops. It is impossible to play
So, I am considering building brand new Windows 7 64bit system. Question is: should I download 64bit installation binaries separately? Also, will 64bit makes big difference compared to 32bit?

Thank you in advance,

Levan.

 

[Gandalf0444]

There is no difference between the installation files. Trainz is a 32bit program, however a 64bit OS will allow trainz to access more RAM at once then if it was run under a 32bit OS.
So in short no need to redownload anything if you have the files you already downloaded saved. And yes it will make a difference. But that also depends on the hardware as well.

 

[RRSignal]

No and no. There is no separate binary of Trainz. It's a 32-bit application that can make some use of 64-bit extensions, specifically, the ability to access a full 4Gb of memory under a 64-bit OS. The problem is I believe that's more theoretical; I have yet to see Trainz use much more than 2Gb, whether or not under a 64-bit OS, and, having asked that same question very recently, it seems no one else does. Therefore, there's really no benefit to a 64-bit OS. You can get a 32-bit OS to permit access to up to 3Gb with certain settings, but it's unlikely that you'll need to do that.

BTW, what are your system specs?

Edit: One fella here says he got his to use up to 3.2Gb, and you can still get 3Gb on a 32-bit OS. Either way, it's far from the limiting factor.

 

[dvaladl]

Thanks for your fast reply.

I will review threads in this forum and will get best recommended hardware.

Levan

 

[dvaladl]

My current system is:
Intel Core2 CPU 6400 @ 2.13Ghz, 2gig memory, GeForce GTX460 with 1gig.

I think major problem is motherboard. It only has old version of PCI express bus. Not even PCI express 2.0

First, I tried tutorial routes and it was kind of OK. No frame drops there. but then I opened one of the Russian routes (in full graphics details enabled) and I probably got maximum 5 frames per second. hahaha

So, if you guys recommend hardware I should get, I will go to tigerdirect today and get one.

Thanks for your help,

Levan.

 

[RRSignal]

The PCI level doesn't really matter, especially on a single GPU. You'd get more mileage from a faster processor, since Trainz is still pretty CPU dependent. I'm running a 3.2GHz E6700, and TS12 runs pretty well. You should be able to find something similar for about $60-$70 at TD. Probably adding a gig or two of memory would help too, since, in all likelihood, your OS is using half of that 2Gb you already have.

 

[dvaladl]

Thanks so much guys.

 

[RRSignal]

Oh, yeah, just double-check your board manufacturer's site and be sure your motherboard can support whatever specific new CPU model or memory brand you buy. Usually, they should - sometimes you *might* need a BIOS update - but it's a good idea go check anyway.

 

[dvaladl]

Thank you.

I will buy new motherboard together with CPU and memory.

 

[RRSignal]

Well, if you're going to do that, don't bother with socket 775 anymore. AMD Phenom is the way to go, and will probably work out to be reasonable in terms of price. The CPU will cost more but the memory will be less.

 

[dvaladl]

Hello Guys,

Just to provide some updates:

Spent little more than $500 and got 64bit Intel Core i7-2600K with Gigabyte motherboard and 8gig memory. I have reused my Video card (GeForce GTX 460 1gig).

Running Windows 7 64bit.

Success! Trainz is super fast. No frame drops at all with DirectX11. All graphics features are maxed out.

I am still getting some occasional frame drops when using OpenGL.

Thanks for you help,

Levan.