Hello everyone. I would like some advice on a good desktop for trainz. For about the past year, I have been saving my money to buy a good desktop to use it only for trainz and the internet. My budget is between $400 and $500. Right now, I have $280. I would like to have a good desktop with some really good performing components such as graphics card, intel processor, ssd hard drive, regular hard drive, motherboard, etc... One reason I would like a good desktop for trainz 2009 is that I can put a good amount of detail in my tri state area project, with very small amounts of lag, or no lag at all. The project should have around 1,300 baseboards. That is my guess. It covers the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut areas in one whole map. Would a top of the line gaming desktop be the choice for trainz if I want no lag or can I get a computer in my price range that can handle trainz pretty good with very high fps. I would like most routes to handle with 50-60fps, or even higher but the human eye would not notice too much higher than 60fps.
Choosing a computer that is in my budget price range
- Thread starter malikrthr
- Start date
Go on over to Tigerdirect and look at some of the barebones kits. I advise against actually buying one, because they cheap-out on some parts (mainly, the power supply, and they offer junky slow "green" HDDs) but it'll give you an idea of what you can get.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1376669&CatId=332
The above would be a good system with a 700W power supply, and maybe a GTS250. I'll probably be over $500 though even if you leave out 4Gb and the DVD burner, but you can find the GTS250 on rebate for about $45 now and again.
You're going to have a hard time getting an SSD on a $500 budget if you want the rest of the machine to be decent, though - in fact, even the 7200RPM drives haven't come down to the prices predating the floods in Thailand several months back.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1376669&CatId=332
The above would be a good system with a 700W power supply, and maybe a GTS250. I'll probably be over $500 though even if you leave out 4Gb and the DVD burner, but you can find the GTS250 on rebate for about $45 now and again.
You're going to have a hard time getting an SSD on a $500 budget if you want the rest of the machine to be decent, though - in fact, even the 7200RPM drives haven't come down to the prices predating the floods in Thailand several months back.
titaniclover
TS2010EE SP3; Build 49933
Hello malikrthr,
A budget of $400-500 is a bit tight however if you are only going to use for Trainz you may be able to save a few bucks here or there.
The above is an Entry Level PC from my latest edition of PC Gamer magazine I received approximately 2 weeks ago.
We are a little over budget here as you can see however the starting point is extremely helpful. You can swap out components as you may wish and always look for bundle and saving deals!
Personally I would propose a Core i5 for Trainz, maybe a 2500. A current pull on newegg.com shows a Core i5 2500 at $209.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115073).
If you really want a SSD you will have to definatly expand your budget. The smallest SSD (just for your OS, nothing else) is here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008120 600038486&IsNodeId=1&name=80GB
Those are only 80GB drives and your just under $200, 2/5 of your budget!
The GeForce 550 Ti is a pretty good card from what I have heard. However I am not sure what FPS you would be getting with it in Trainz. I would imagine the range you are interested in.
You are defiantly on a tight budget for PC with the performance you are hoping for. Maybe some other users will have some insight as well for you.
As Euphod said (Hi Euphod! :wave: ) can we know your currently specs so we can compare.
Cheers,
Adam
A budget of $400-500 is a bit tight however if you are only going to use for Trainz you may be able to save a few bucks here or there.
The above is an Entry Level PC from my latest edition of PC Gamer magazine I received approximately 2 weeks ago.
We are a little over budget here as you can see however the starting point is extremely helpful. You can swap out components as you may wish and always look for bundle and saving deals!
Personally I would propose a Core i5 for Trainz, maybe a 2500. A current pull on newegg.com shows a Core i5 2500 at $209.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115073).
If you really want a SSD you will have to definatly expand your budget. The smallest SSD (just for your OS, nothing else) is here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008120 600038486&IsNodeId=1&name=80GB
Those are only 80GB drives and your just under $200, 2/5 of your budget!
The GeForce 550 Ti is a pretty good card from what I have heard. However I am not sure what FPS you would be getting with it in Trainz. I would imagine the range you are interested in.
You are defiantly on a tight budget for PC with the performance you are hoping for. Maybe some other users will have some insight as well for you.
As Euphod said (Hi Euphod! :wave: ) can we know your currently specs so we can compare.
Cheers,
Adam
I'm doing one of the barebones kits from Tiger Direct, it's only 299.99, but yes, there are some cheap parts. However, you can upgrade them over time when money becomes available.
But that's IF, you are willing to take it slow for a bit so you don't kill it.:hehe:
I recommend HP Pavillion if you want a more lowerend but still good performing PC. My friend's Pavillion has a 2.8GHz Athlon II x2 and it runs TS12 really well, the kit I'm getting is an Athlon II x3 with 3.1GHz.
But that's IF, you are willing to take it slow for a bit so you don't kill it.:hehe:
I recommend HP Pavillion if you want a more lowerend but still good performing PC. My friend's Pavillion has a 2.8GHz Athlon II x2 and it runs TS12 really well, the kit I'm getting is an Athlon II x3 with 3.1GHz.
I use this site to get a general idea of how the videocards rank:
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/
Euphod: Throughout my trainz experience, I have only ran Trainz on my Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop. For my Trainz PC, I would like to have Windows 7 64 bit as an operating system. I have no experience with building a PC. I would like to build one because I can choose certain parts so the desktop will be able to meet or pass my Trainz standards.
Titaniclover: Do you think $700 would be a good budget. Also, do you think it would be good to have a motherboard that has the capability of using SLI or crossfire.
Jkuhn: I will be sure not to rush anything. I think I would like to first go to Tigerdirect and make a shopping cart of components that I like, and then from there save up enough money to match the price of whatever is in my cart. I am sure there is nothing wrong with buying a barebone kit instead of attempting to build my own computer because it already comes with the parts required to build the computer.
Thanks for the help everyone. Really appreciate it
. Now I have some idea of what to be on the lookout for to make a good Trainz PC. Just gotta expand my budge a bit, be on the lookout for good performing components, and learn how to build a computer.
Here are my laptop specs
Model: Dell Inspiron 1545
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit sp2
Display adapter: Mobile Intel 4 series express chipset family
Monitor: Generic PnP monitor
Processor: Intel Pentium Dual CPU T3400 @ 2.16Ghz
Ram: DDR2 4.00GB
Graphics type: Integrated
Titaniclover: Do you think $700 would be a good budget. Also, do you think it would be good to have a motherboard that has the capability of using SLI or crossfire.
Jkuhn: I will be sure not to rush anything. I think I would like to first go to Tigerdirect and make a shopping cart of components that I like, and then from there save up enough money to match the price of whatever is in my cart. I am sure there is nothing wrong with buying a barebone kit instead of attempting to build my own computer because it already comes with the parts required to build the computer.
Thanks for the help everyone. Really appreciate it
. Now I have some idea of what to be on the lookout for to make a good Trainz PC. Just gotta expand my budge a bit, be on the lookout for good performing components, and learn how to build a computer. Here are my laptop specs
Model: Dell Inspiron 1545
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit sp2
Display adapter: Mobile Intel 4 series express chipset family
Monitor: Generic PnP monitor
Processor: Intel Pentium Dual CPU T3400 @ 2.16Ghz
Ram: DDR2 4.00GB
Graphics type: Integrated
titaniclover
TS2010EE SP3; Build 49933
If you really want to get the most out of your computer I would be prepared for a worse case scenario with price. That would be about $1500, however if we can make it to or under a $1000 cap and get the right components you can have a system that will do well.
A mix of barebone, and bundled parts can save you money and get what you want.
Looking at your current laptop specs I can see that Vista has got to go right away. If you don't have the OS disks for Windows 7 you may have to buy them. At least an OEM of the version (64bit in your case) you want. I would recommend Ultimate or Professional.
Next thing I see is a monitor. Do you have one already or want to buy a new one solely for the computer? A 19-23" should do you fine if that is the case. You could go even smaller too.
I still suggest a Intel Core i5 2500. It is an upgrade for your system and is a Quad core. i5 is the middle of the road in Intel's processor lineup so it will do you nicely. An upgrade of 8GB of RAM will also do you justice, DDR3 of course.
As RRSignal pointed out; SLI or Crossfire will not improve performance. An SSD will in most cases however.
Adam
A mix of barebone, and bundled parts can save you money and get what you want.
Looking at your current laptop specs I can see that Vista has got to go right away. If you don't have the OS disks for Windows 7 you may have to buy them. At least an OEM of the version (64bit in your case) you want. I would recommend Ultimate or Professional.
Next thing I see is a monitor. Do you have one already or want to buy a new one solely for the computer? A 19-23" should do you fine if that is the case. You could go even smaller too.
I still suggest a Intel Core i5 2500. It is an upgrade for your system and is a Quad core. i5 is the middle of the road in Intel's processor lineup so it will do you nicely. An upgrade of 8GB of RAM will also do you justice, DDR3 of course.
As RRSignal pointed out; SLI or Crossfire will not improve performance. An SSD will in most cases however.
Adam
ScottPhillips
New member
Whenever I'm looking for hardware I have two methods:
1. Set a minimum spec and get the best price
or
2. set a budget and get the most hardware
I was just cruising NewEgg.com and playing with their search features they currently have 55 choices between $479-$694. If I were you, I would set a budget and but the most processor and memory, leaving room to get the best video card I could. And by best I don't necessarily mean most expensive, I mean the ones that are known to work with the games you are planning to play.
I just spent a about $320 to get a new motherboard, processor and memory. I am always shocked at how memory prices fall...
1. Set a minimum spec and get the best price
or
2. set a budget and get the most hardware
I was just cruising NewEgg.com and playing with their search features they currently have 55 choices between $479-$694. If I were you, I would set a budget and but the most processor and memory, leaving room to get the best video card I could. And by best I don't necessarily mean most expensive, I mean the ones that are known to work with the games you are planning to play.
I just spent a about $320 to get a new motherboard, processor and memory. I am always shocked at how memory prices fall...
There's a few links in this thread that may help you:
http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=84455
http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=84455
The other day I started thinking, do I really need a top of the line desktop to run trainz. To be honest, I really just want a desktop that can handle trainz very good. The desktop would be used only for trainz and the internet so I can download trainz content. The laptop that I use right now would be for anything else. Would there be any desktops that has an ssd hard drive, decent processor, and a good graphics card. I saw on Youtube, that it is possible to get good performing desktops that can handle the latest games very well. Would a $500 budget gaming PC like this be good for trainz 2009 or 2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW1NdcHSUiw. As long as I am getting 40fps or above from trainz, than I am very happy
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Check out New Egg for parts too. They have decent parts, excellent customer service, and excellent return policies.
www.newegg.com
John
www.newegg.com
John
I was just thinking, instead of saving up alot of money for a brand new budget gaming desktop, I wonder if it would be good to just get an SSD hard drive from crucial and put it in my laptop and run trainz off of that. Right now, without using gamebooster, my fps is around 12-25fps on a transdem generated route. When I use gamebooster, I can get around a maximum of 30fps on the same route. Even though my Dell Inspiron 1545 has an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD, if I added an SSD hard drive to my laptop dedicated for trainz only, would I see my fps go up. I have heard alot that SSD hard drives can give a huge boost for the fps but I am not sure how it would work on the Integrated Graphics card that my laptop has. I think If I had a 64GB or 128GB SSD hard drive in my laptop that has Integrated Graphics, I think I would be seeing around a 45fps maximum on the transdem generated route. That is just my guess. Right now, I don't think I need anything high end. As long as I am getting 25fps or over with trainz, I am happy.
I just went on the Crucial Website and it scanned my laptop and here is what I got back.
I just went on the Crucial Website and it scanned my laptop and here is what I got back.
Memory Type: DDR2 PC2-6400, DDR2 PC2-5300, DDR2 (non-ECC)
Maximum Memory: 8GB
Slots: 2
Each memory slot can hold DDR2 PC2-6400, DDR2 PC2-5300 with a maximum of 4GB per slot.
I think if I increased my RAM from 4GB to 8GB and instead of using the DDR2 PC2-5300 RAM, I could go for the DDR2 PC2-6400 RAM, I can see a bit of an increase in the loading times. Maybe that will fix some of the stuttering problems in trainz. Not necessarily dealing with fps but every now and then, trainz will stutter when there is alot of details. The DDR2 PC2-6400 should operate at faster speeds compared to the 5300. The Crucial website also shows that I can put a 128GB Crucial m4 SSD hard drive in my laptop. There are also other sizes such as 256GB or 512GB but those would be more expensive. So the main question is, if I swapped the default RAM out with two sets of the 4GB kit (2GBx2) DDR2-PC2 6400 Ram stick which would give me 8GB of RAM and purchased a 128GB Crucial SSD Drive and put it in my laptop, will I see a 10-15fps increase in the transdem generated route. The route I am referring to is the Major Tri State Area route. I have a thread here on the forums showing screenshots of the route so if anyone wants to see it, you can. Also, would it be possible for my laptop to operate the default Sata Hard drive along with an SSD hard drive.Maximum Memory: 8GB
Slots: 2
Each memory slot can hold DDR2 PC2-6400, DDR2 PC2-5300 with a maximum of 4GB per slot.
cascaderailroad
New member
I don't know about SSD External Hard Drives ... I put TS10 on a SATA USB 3.0 standard external HD, and got 0.02 FPS 
On an Integrated Graphics laptop.
On an Integrated Graphics laptop.I doubt it. The graphics card (or, really, lack thereof) will be the bottleneck. Looking at the specs, the CPU isn't that great either. Increasing memory probably won't do a thing because Trainz (in it's current incarnations) only uses a maximum of 4Gb and in most cases won't use much above 2Gb, and that's including all the Trainz background processes. Further, if you got the SSD or SATA drive, into what do you plan to plug it in? Laptops are not like desktops with (usually) several if not many connection ports and options; your laptop likely only has one internal SATA port, which means anything else has to be external, and probably connected via a relatively slow interface like USB 2.0.
I think on the Crucial website, there was a SSD hard drived that could be used similar to a flash drive. I'll check that out later. But I thought the SSD that is compatible with my laptop would improve trainz performance because everyone here on the forums that says they have ssd drives, they see a big increase in fps. Well, I guess building a computer or buying a desktop would be my best bet for an increase in trainz performance. If I am going to have a desktop that can handle trainz, I think I would like something that would be around $500 or a bit under. It could be slightly over my budget price. Just one thing for my laptop. The route does not lag but I noticed there is some stuttering when I am driving the train. Does anyone know how to fix that. I already adjusted the detail and display settings to something that I would like.