Hi John
Thanks for very detailed reply, I have tried to change the "trainzoptions file " but it won't let me ??? Just get message saying " Cannot create the file ?? I have no idea why. I'm using Vista which I think its a right pain compared to the older XP so this may have something to do with it. Have you any ideas why it won't let me change the file ?
PJ
Vista has a number of security features which prevent some things working as easily as they have done in the past. Specifically because of the extra security features most games run slower than they do under XP. Also the drivers are still being worked on and updated. I'd go to the web sites of nVidia and download the latest drivers from their site. You may not be able to do this from a "normal" Vista logon account but will need to be in an Admin account.
If you can see the file in the directory you should be able to edit it with notepad. Unfortunately Vista has much tighter permissions than XP, there are specific threads in the forum that deal with Vista and it's worth your while reading through them so that even if you don't understand how to correct the problem you can at least recognise the problem. There should be an admin account that if you logon might allow you to edit the trainzoptions.txt file by the way.
Unfortunately I don't run Vista, although I do have a copy at home on the shelf. As part of my normal work though I have been to a number of Microsoft presentations and reviewed hours of Channel 9 videos on the subject from Microsoft.
I'm unclear as to whether Auran support Trainz on Vista at the moment. Since your purchase is recent it might well be worth while contacting Dell to see if you can have Vista replaced with XP since the reason you purchased the computer was to run Trainz and unfortunately Auran does not yet support Vista. It's not quite as secure but at least it will run the software and it will be a lot easier to get support.
I've just noted that you are in Canada, I don't think newegg ship to Canada, probably cause I live here so you might need a different supplier. Where abouts are you? Someone might know of a decent dealer to go to. I'm in Ottawa but it's unlikely you are close.
Dell should be able to sort you out as well. Looking at their web site something like a 9200 with a 768MB nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX video card should do it. Vista likes memory by the way so 4 gigs rather than two, even though you really need 3 gigs not 4 but you are stuck in the Dell options. Monitors are tricky, a 19 inch 1440 by 900 5ms or less would be about as large as I'd like to go. LCD monitors work best at native resolution. Dell's 20 inch monitors native resolutino is too fine to be driven by Trainz my Dell in the office is 2560 by 1600 which means there are so many pixels to drive the frames per second drop through the floor. Talk nicely to Dell and see if they can get you something that works like the 9200 with XP on it, that would be the simplest solution.
I assume you took their advice when purchasing? If so they should take some responsibility. If you've purchased a wide screen monitor with a native resolution of greater than 1440 by 900 try running Trainz at a lower resolution and see what it looks like.
Tigerdirect.ca have a
Samsung 931BW / 19" Wide / 2ms / Dynamic 2000:1 - Static 700:1 / WSXGA 1440 x 900 / Black / DVI / Widescreen LCD Monitor
The lightning-fast Samsung 931BW for $260 but if you are on the west coast there are dealers on the west coast who I would probably use first. Tigerdirect if you know what you are buying is OK but the rebates can take a year to arrive. The letters DVI are critical here by the way it's the monitor interface to the computer that gives the highest quality image.
Dell usually does a nice job on the cooling side but aren't really geared upto the sort of machines that run Trainz well. They do howevr do a nice job on the integration so I have a Dell sitting on mother'stable in the UK. Possibly not the cheapest but it does the job without me having to worry about it. I do have an APC UPS on mother's for reliability reasons to help avoid software errors when the PC sees a voltage drop, such as the fridge starting up.
Cheerio John
