Building a computer for TC (Noob alert!)

The case is a good one its what I have and I like it.

The power supply - I havent heard of this brand so others can comment on that. It is better to make sure you have a descent psu with a 8800GTS etc so it could be worthwhile paying a little extra to get a good quality one. The one I have is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002

The motherboard I havent come across as it is new and I usually buy Asus. I suggest doing a search for some reviews on it if there are any, to check out its pro's and con's.

John
 
Lo_Poly said:
Here is the case

Here is the power supply

Here is the motherboard

What are your opinions...
Click to expand...

I'm unclear why you have decided on this case.

Power supply read the power supply tests in tomshardware and in www.anandtech.com. Manufacturers rate their power supplies in different ways to different standards. This 500 watt power supply might be good enough it might not be. Antec tend to be conservative in their power supply ratings. The efficiency is only 65% these day 80% is much more normal. Low efficiency means higher electric bills but more importantly
more heat in the case you need to get rid of. Read through the reviews on the Antec, it should give you things to look for. In particular one major software problem is low voltage, if the voltage isn't high enough typically the disk drive isn't written to reliably. Putting a UPS is the normal way to protect against this and it does depend on your electricity supply. Typical problem appliances are fridges and freezers, when they start up the voltage to the computer will drop. Modern power supplies do protect against low voltage but check to see if it says it does.

Motherboards, I rate them in three classes, top of the line whose manufacturers will release a bios upgrade or driver etc if required, middle tier sort of works well with XP but may not have got their drivers sorted out for Vista, and brand X, driver well it sort of works if you don't want to play games.

Trainz uses drivers and parts of drivers that nothing else does. Intel make the highest quality motherboards but very close behind them come ASUS. both companies take the time and have the money to get the drivers right.

Middle tier have a look at their sites and see if they have updates and tech support forums. Now compare that to ASUS site. A particular motherboard might be OK or it might not as far as drivers are concerned.

Also look for an on board sound processor not on board sound on the motherboard. Saves the cost of a separate sound card.

Sorry to sound negative but it's best you do the research first before purchasing to get an idea what is important and what is not. If you decide to go ahead with your original plan then at least you should have a better understanding of why you have chosen what you have chosen.

Cheerio John
 
I really need to know whether that memory stick will work with the motherboard. Google isn't bringing up anything. :(
 
Well the answer to that is maybe. The brands that Abit say are compatible are listed in that post, but that doesnt mean that it wont work just that they havent tested it. You would have to contact patriot and ask them as that motherboard is new and not listed on their web site as yet.
If you want to be sure then you have to get a brand of memory that Abit says will work.

John
 
According to the thread, the following are compatible with that mobo:
Corsair 2GB Dominator DDR2 PC2-8888 (2x1GB) CAS4
Corsair 2GB Dominator DDR2 PC2-6400 (2x1GB) CAS3
Corsair 2GB Dominator DDR2 PC2-8500 (2x1GB) CAS5
Corsair 2GB TwinX DDR2 PC2-6400 (2x1GB) CAS4

OCZ 2GB REAPER HPC Edition DDR2 PC-9200 (2x1GB) CAS5
OCZ 2GB REAPER HPC Edition DDR2 PC-8500 (2x1GB) CAS5
OCZ 2GB FlexXLC Edition DDR2 PC2-9200 (2x1GB) CAS5
OCZ 2GB SLI-Ready Edition DDR2 PC2-8500 (2x1GB) CAS5
OCZ 2GB Platinum XTC Series DDR2 PC2-6400 (2x1GB) CAS4

Crucial 2GB Ballistix Tracer DDR2 PC2-8500 (2x1GB) CAS5
Crucial 2GB Ballistix DDR2 PC2-8500 (2x1GB) CAS5
Crucial 2GB Ballistix DDR2 PC2-8000 (2x1GB) CAS5 <Discontinued>
Crucial 2GB Ballistix DDR2 PC2-6400 (2x1GB) CAS4
Crucial 2GB Ballistix DDR2 PC2-5300 (2x1GB) CAS3
Crucial 2GB 10th Anniversary DDR2 PC2-5300 (2x1GB) CAS3 (Limited Edition) <Discontinued>

Team 2GB Xtreem DDR2 PC2-9600 (2x1GB) CAS5
Team 2GB Xtreem DDR2 PC2-6400 (2x1GB) CAS4
Team 2GB Xtreem DDR2 PC2-6400 (2x1GB) CAS3 <Discontinued>

Mushkin 2GB DDR2 Redline XP2-8000 (2x1GB) CAS4

CellShock 2GB DDR2 PC2-8000 (2x1GB) CAS4
CellShock 2GB DDR2 PC-8000 (2x1GB) CAS5
CellShock 2GB DDR2 PC-6400 (2x1GB) CAS4

G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PQ PC2-6400 (2x2GB) CAS5
G.Skill 2GB DDR2 HZ PC2-6400 (2x1GB) CAS4
G.Skill 2GB DDR2 HK PC2-6400 (2x1GB) CAS4

And I hate to apply any pressure here, but Auran seems to frown on hardware threads.....I would expect this thread to be gone when they return after the weekend!:confused:

Ed
 
Whether they frown or not, I bought TC to run on an averagely decent machine of 2 years ago. TC is unplayable, and TRS2006 runs, but I only get 10-14 fps max!!

I appreciate that times change, but the differences between '06 & TC is not so great! I was very unimpressed with TC.
 
Euphod said:
And I hate to apply any pressure here, but Auran seems to frown on hardware threads.....I would expect this thread to be gone when they return after the weekend
Click to expand...
Odd... my last hardware thread stayed.

Anyway, I compared the G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PQ PC2-6400 (2x2GB) CAS5 with the Patriot eXtreme Performance 4GB. :)

G.Skill | Patriot

Type: 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM :Type
Capacity: 4GB(2x2GB) :Capacity
Speed: DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) :Speed
Cas Latency: 5 :Cas Latency
Timing: 5-5-5-15 | 5-5-5-12 :Timing
Voltage: 1.8v - 1.9v | 2.0v :Voltage
Heat Spreader: Yes :Heat Spreader

The ones in blue note ones that match perfectly. Both boards appear to be mostly the same, so I think the patriot would work. Your opinion?
​
 
SandwichSpread said:
Whether they frown or not, I bought TC to run on an averagely decent machine of 2 years ago. TC is unplayable, and TRS2006 runs, but I only get 10-14 fps max!!

I appreciate that times change, but the differences between '06 & TC is not so great! I was very unimpressed with TC.
Click to expand...

Be nice have a look here http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=14993 and try it for me. On my machine TC runs a little faster than TRS2006. Are you using the same trainzoptions.txt file etc?

Cheerio John
 
johnwhelan said:
Be nice have a look here http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=14993 and try it for me. On my machine TC runs a little faster than TRS2006. Are you using the same trainzoptions.txt file etc?

Cheerio John
Click to expand...

Well I am amazed, although I have at least a shortage of 256Mb in memory for TC (768Mb) and my Gfx card is only a 128Mb MX-400!!

The install is a standard install as I tend not to get too clever with Auran as they invented the DLS which is highly over complicated. So TC is "as installed out of the box". It takes up to 5 minutes to load when running the game compared to 15secs(ish) for '06!! Note: Unacceptable for a game.

I will have a look at your link tomorrow John as it's a "tad" late here now though and reply then. Hopefully something nice! :hehe:

Chris
 
Drop that Rosewill cap Power supply,
Get an Antec, Thermaltake, or Ultra PSU AT LEAST 600W
Also drop the RAM Patriot has some serious quality issues
Kingston, or Crucial are the way to go.
 
GP_38-2 said:
Drop that Rosewill cap Power supply,
Get an Antec, Thermaltake, or Ultra PSU AT LEAST 600W
Click to expand...
I already know I'm going to need a bigger PSU with how all the parts keep adding on. :eek:

GP_38-2 said:
Also drop the RAM Patriot has some serious quality issues. Kingston, or Crucial are the way to go.
Click to expand...

It has a lot of good reviews, and if it's a DOA or anything I can always return it within 30 days.

And will someone please tell me if that soundcard will work?!?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
So I ordered a new computer...
Replies
9
Views
3K
clam1952
C
G
Thinking of building a computer
2
Replies
21
Views
5K
ccowan2126
C
S
All In One's - Any Good for Trainz?
Replies
8
Views
3K
sterrett
S
S
Will these computer system requirements run Trainz 2010 Eng. Ed.?
Replies
13
Views
5K
mrscsi
M
T
Panning For New Gaming Computer
Replies
13
Views
4K
johnwhelan
J
Back
Top