Good PC/Bad PC?

[HiBaller]

I saw the post for the iBuyPower gaming PC, but Costo is offering a different one with a few more bells and whistles. The comments took note of the hot CPU, so I'm prepared for that. But otherwise, how does this one stack up against Trainz? I'm currently running TS2019. An end-of-the-month sale will subtract $300 from the list price.

COSTO

Bill

 

[johnwhelan]

I would suggest you don't buy a 14th gen Intel processor until the dust settles. There are problems with them and I'd wait until the problems are resolved fully before buying either a 13th or 14 th gen Intel processor. Google it for more details.

The RTX 4060 has a 3D score of 19,595 which is respectable but not world beating.

PassMark Video Card (GPU) Benchmark Charts - Model List

Video Card Benchmarks - Over 200,000 Video Cards and 900 Models Benchmarked and compared in graph form - This page is an alphabetical listing of video card models we have obtained benchmark information for.

www.videocardbenchmark.net

Cheerio John

 

[AFdude06]

That PC seems like it could handle TRS19, but I agree with John about the CPU. Mine has an Intel i9-9900K and GeForce RTX 3080Ti, and runs Trainz Plus very well. I am considering upgrading my CPU because it bottlenecks my GPU, and would get something relatively closer to what is in the one you are looking at. My main thought after seeing it is that the case looks somewhat sealed, and the only air intake is from the front, so airflow might be an issue. That could be problematic, especially as it has an air cooler. Otherwise, Windows 11 is fine, seeing how W10 is getting closer to ending. An RTX 4060 is okay, but the 3080Ti, 4070, and even just the 4060Ti are much better, so you might want to think about that.

My thoughts.
Cheers

 

[blueodessey]

Based on several reviews, this computer is not ready for prime time. You don't need the headache.

Would not buy this computer period. Support seems lacking as well.

 

[Stonegate]

Both the 13th gen and 14th gen processors have problems. Intel has confirmed this, so it would be sensible to wait until the problems are resolved. Alternatively you could see if there are any systems still available using 12th gen. With regard to "hot running", stay well away. This will cause throttling of the cpu at best and thus worse performance, and probably a shorter a shorter life.

Mike

 

[HiBaller]

I have done more reading, especially in 3-star or less comments at a lot of stores, including Costco's forums. It does seem there will be CPU throttling, and heat problems from inadequate cooling. Plus, the CPU cooling fins block the slot where extra RAM can be added. I think I'll pas on this one. I have a Microcenter only 50 miles away. Can probably get a better deal there, and they have no problems letting you peek inside any of their computers.

Bill

 

[johnwhelan]

If you look on dellrefurbished.com they have a couple of 5820 towers available this morning, with an RTX 4000 GPU at 15,504 3d score or an RTX 5000 or even an RTX 2080 3D score of 18,796. These machines have lots of cooling and very solidly built. Look at the configuration at the bottom of one of the 5820 towers to find them. You can always drop in a better GPU later on if you find you need one. They are win 10 but upgrade to win 11 fairly easily.

Cheerio John

 

[HiBaller]

Just now looked. No 5820s on the desktop page. Must be gone already. I couldn't find any of them that mentioned the video card.

EDIT: Ah. Found them...

Bill

 

[HiBaller]

Interesting. Thanks for the info, John.

Bill

 

[pdkoester]

My suggestion is to use 12th Gen. Intel processor, if that is your liking. Microcode issue is present in all 13th and 14th Gen. Intel processors, until updates are available. If you do go with the newer, you can limit the processor in BIOS settings to alleviate it, but that takes some knowledge in what to change, which is fortunately on a lot of YouTube videos. I upgraded a month ago to a 12th Gen. Intel and was surprised this microcode problem came up later on the newer processors.
@HiBaller , what is your current systems specifications? I'm interested to know what graphics card (GPU) that is installed.

 

[HiBaller]

My current system is:

AMD Ryzen 7 1700 8-core @ 3.0Ghz
16G of RAM
Windows 10 Pro (64-bit) (Will NOT run Windows 11 due to CPU)
Nvidia GeForce GTX1070 w/8G of RAM
Direct 3D 12_1

Bill

 

[blueodessey]

I have done more reading, especially in 3-star or less comments at a lot of stores, including Costco's forums. It does seem there will be CPU throttling, and heat problems from inadequate cooling. Plus, the CPU cooling fins block the slot where extra RAM can be added. I think I'll pas on this one. I have a Microcenter only 50 miles away. Can probably get a better deal there, and they have no problems letting you peek inside any of their computers.

Bill

I shop Costco before they were Costco and have bought a few Computers there. That was as of 6 or more years ago. However this last couple of Years I noticed issue with service and quality of builds on certain models.

As of this month I found some computers at Costco I liked HP and MSI, however the price 1700$ or 1900$ was too steep for me. So I went to MicroCenter in Southern California, and bought a Refurbished 2023 Model previously a Leased Biz Computer, which had everything I needed except 1 Terabyte SSD was not large enough for me. Easily fixable with swap out new Samsung 990 Pro SSD 4 Terabyte.

And the best part, 8 Gig NVidia Geo force RTX 4060 and does it make a heck of difference over my 6 yr old ROG 1080 NVidia 2 Gig GPU. I can't believe the difference in Clarity of Pictures etc.

 

[blueodessey]

My current system is:

AMD Ryzen 7 1700 8-core @ 3.0Ghz
16G of RAM
Windows 10 Pro (64-bit) (Will NOT run Windows 11 due to CPU)
Nvidia GeForce GTX1070 w/8G of RAM
Direct 3D 12_1

Bill

I wanted a AMD but couldn't find one with the rest of what I needed. How do you like AMD over Intel.?

 

[HiBaller]

Seems to be running well. I know FSX isn't a benchmark any more, but I've never had it stutter. For that matter, neither has Trainz. I bought it a MicroCenter in Cincinnati about three years ago. Runs very well, but cannot be upgraded to Windows 11 due to the CPU not being good enough. I don't really care, and don't plan on upgrading it as I'm a firm believer in "if it works, don't mess with it."

Bill

 

[blueodessey]

Seems to be running well. I know FSX isn't a benchmark any more, but I've never had it stutter. For that matter, neither has Trainz. I bought it a MicroCenter in Cincinnati about three years ago. Runs very well, but cannot be upgraded to Windows 11 due to the CPU not being good enough. I don't really care, and don't plan on upgrading it as I'm a firm believer in "if it works, don't mess with it."

Bill

Excellent, and in same camp, it works, and that is what we want to hear.

Also, stay with Win 10 as long as you can, I am not to keen about this AI setup Microsoft is trying to get user into. I seriously thinking of downgrading from 11 to 10 for a myriad of reasons.

 

[AFdude06]

Also, stay with Win 10 as long as you can, I am not to keen about this AI setup Microsoft is trying to get user into. I seriously thinking of downgrading from 11 to 10 for a myriad of reasons.

I agree. I’m very much against AI beyond what is necessary to run a computer. For example, I avoid Copilot completely.
Cheers

 

[JCitron]

Excellent, and in same camp, it works, and that is what we want to hear.

Also, stay with Win 10 as long as you can, I am not to keen about this AI setup Microsoft is trying to get user into. I seriously thinking of downgrading from 11 to 10 for a myriad of reasons.

Don't get me going on this!

I'm a firm believer that an OS spec'd for hardware at the time should be available to operate on that hardware. This is probably my old corporate support coming out!

I've had OS updates make computer systems totally unusable as the OS versions become heavier and heavier with each update. It makes me wonder if this isn't a deliberate action.

 

[blueodessey]

Don't get me going on this!

I'm a firm believer that an OS spec'd for hardware at the time should be available to operate on that hardware. This is probably my old corporate support coming out!

I've had OS updates make computer systems totally unusable as the OS versions become heavier and heavier with each update. It makes me wonder if this isn't a deliberate action.

Good Evening John,

I hear you loud and clear, since my days as IT for some 19+ yrs we too expected the same, but I now have less than the 1/2 my hair on my head, from collectively pulling it out. When Microsoft or our Database Programmers would mess up things to the hilt.

Especially year 2000 math caper, that everyone in Software development, knew since 1970 and beyond. But failed to address the Date Code issue, and kicked the proverbial can down the Street.

As much, in checking in on the Win10 lifecycle, it appears now, I can't revert back to WIN10, cause if I do, our friends in Richmond will cut off support in Sept of this year of our lord. EEK! Unless of course your have a business and pay for extended support patches etc.

Looks like I am going to be stuck with 11, and even that, Win 11 lifecycle is ending similar time frame in 2025.

However one thing I will not let in, is Co Pilot or any AI other than a few minor things, like my NVIDIA card for now.

 

[JCitron]

Yup. I have a couple of machines still running Win10. They are older and can't be upgraded. One of them is no more than a MIDI controller for my digital piano. I run Pianoteq and other DAW software on it and nothing else. The only reason I go to the web is for software updates on the developers' websites and nothing else. The other machine, also music-related, runs proprietary software used for sheet music and that software does not run on Windows 11.

Co-Pilot works well on web searches when I'm looking up tech info and call out incorrect information often. The so-called AI does nothing more than a helpless desk does and that's to quote search links and the top-level ones at that.