GPU Add-on Advice

Y

YNER

New member
Okay, so recently, I got a laptop for Christmas and it plays TS2009!

The problem... it's only a single core, runngin at 1.6Ghz, so there's terrible lag when there's lots of buildings and high poly count objects withing the screen, especially at my video card is playing the game at it's top rendering quality.

However, I've stumbled (quite literally!) onto a computer that could solve that problem:

The ZT Affinity 7334Ma http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/zt-affinity-7334ma-phenom/4505-3118_7-33774408.html

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad-core processor at 3Ghz.
8GB Ram
1TB Hard drive


The problem with this computer lies within it's GPU, an INTEGRATED ATI Radeon HD 4200 chipset. Now, I don't know if that'll play Trainz flawlessly smooth at full 1080p HD quality, so that's where I come to for help in this thread.

The PC has extra slots for after-market GPUs, and I'd like advice as to what I should get for it. Input would be greatly appreciated. :) Thank you. -YNER
 
A good compliment for that CPU would be an ATI 5770. Or if you don't plan on using any DirectX 11 games, you could pick up a previous-generation version of the card, which is the ATI 4870.

The 5770 is around $160-180. But the older 4870 can be had for about $150. The 5770 is about equal in performance to the 4870, but the 5770 has newer DirectX 11 and triple monitor capabilities.

Beware however, ATI's HD 4000 series is slowly being phased out in favor of the 5000 series, so if you decide to go for the 4870, you want to act fast.

Or if you want something a little beefier, you could try going for a 5830, which is a little faster than the 5770, but also for $200-250.
 
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Money's not going to be a big factor for me, and I prefer faster over cheaper, so, I'll most likely get that Radeon HD 5830. Of course, I'm still open to other options should someone present them. :)
 
Scratch That - New Computer Found

Well... Now that a long time has passed...

I've found another computer that I need a second opinion on.

HP Pavilion Elite 210Y

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pa...rive/9840504.p?id=1218182298296&skuId=9840504

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad-core Processor @ 3GHz per core
8GB Ram
1TB Hard Drive
And the best Part: ATI Radeon HD 5450 512MB Graphics Card ALL Discreet, Dedicated Graphics Memory

Now, I need a second opinion regarding this computer, especially with its graphics card and processor speed:

Will it play TRAINZ 2009 at very high anti-aliasing setting at very smooth frame rates (Such as, 15-30fps) when bombarded with ridiculous poly counts? I'd like to know, as I'm more of a Trainz filmmaker, and I'd like to capture scenes that don't have a lot of pixelation, or aliasing (If that's the opposite of anti-aliasing, I wouldn't know). A good example of what I'd like for my Trainz filmmaking experience can be found HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3G2A0NO15E (Please Note: Video is not mine. It belongs to its respectful owner. This video was referenced for example only.)

....So, yeah. What say you people?
 
That graphics card isn't anything special - it's one of the lowest performing cards ATI currently has. You could get that one and upgrade the graphics card. But that's voiding your warranty if you did, not to mention the extra cost.

If you want a powerful computer for Trainz and multitasking, here are a few that fit the bill:

$1,099 Gateway FX6840-03E - Intel Core i7 makes for great multitasking, and the 5770 is great for Trainz.

$869.99 iBuyPower 555D3 - Not the nicest looking on the outside (in my opinion), but the Phenom II X4 965 is a great processor (especially for overclocking if you get into that), and again, a great 5770 graphics card.

The same system as above, but a different case and $10 cheaper.

Here's a good 6-core AMD system with an ATI HD 5830 by again iBuyPower for $1,069.99.

All those systems would more than work for you with Trainz and recording in the background.

Oh BTW, anti-aliasing is what removes the "pixelation" effect and it smooths out edges of shapes, resulting in a smoother & more realistic looking picture.

Hope this helps!
 
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Probably more important than the hardware is to run your current rig or whatever as your internet-enabled machine and run your gaming rig strictly offline, or, with tightly restricted internet access on an as-needed basis, for accessing the DLS.

You'd be surprised at what performance you can get from a low-end machine setup the correct way, not running anti-virus software, no network overhead, etc.
 
saintjimmy said:
Here's a good 6-core AMD system with an ATI HD 5830 by again iBuyPower for $1,069.99.

All those systems would more than work for you with Trainz and recording in the background.

Oh BTW, anti-aliasing is what removes the "pixelation" effect and it smooths out edges of shapes, resulting in a smoother & more realistic looking picture.

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

Well - it does. And that system would be good... except I've found another one that may or may not be what I'm looking for:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113131



Oh, and thank you for the info on anti-aliasing. Me amz more educated now. :Y:


Well... what say you people? I've found it? The perfect computer for all my Trainz and video making needs? -YNER
 
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Depends on what resolution you'll be playing at. My equivalent 4850 card sometimes struggles on the larger routes or yards with high-poly cars, and I'm playing at 1680 x 1050. So I'd recommend a 5770 if you're at that resolution, and a 5830 if you play at 1920 x 1080 (1080p). But below 1680 x 1050 (say, if you play at 1600 x 900), the 5750 card will do fine.
 
Perhaps this one, then...?

Phew! I haven't posted here in - how long? It's a shame, the length of my absence, and that, so far, this has been the main place I've posted stuff.

Well, I've a final configuration that I'm almost set on. Just need some of your opinions on it to confirm its a good one, if you wouldn't mind giving them to me.

HERE ARE THE SPECS (PLEASE NOTE: I CONFIGURED THIS 'PUTER ON (GASP!) CYBERPOWER PC.):

Processor: AMD Phenom™II X6 1090T

Hard Drive: 2TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD

Memory: 8GB DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module

Motherboard: GigaByte GA-870A-USB3

Monitor: ASUS VH222H-P Black 21.5" @ 1920x1080

And Finally:

Video Card: AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB

What are your thoughts? :)
 
Looks good to me, bearing in mind I'm not an AMD or ATI guy. If you can get a faster processor, even if it has fewer cores, it'll help better with Trainz. I think there's an AMD that goes to 3.6 or 3.7GHz. But that's still looks like a good system.
 
No problem with that processor, its actually overkill, I have one, it's also highly over clockable, running it at standard though as coupled with a GTX460 and 8GB of DDR3 it runs 2010 and TS12 very well.
My 3 core Athlon II is no slouch either.

The 1090T will clock up to 3.87 and remain stable with no heating problems when I tested it, some have them running up to 4.1. As I said though there is no need.
 
Well, that configuration above is simply a budget-friendly, realistic computer that I would want given the circumstances.

However, I'm as fickle as... as... Oh, I don't know, I'm just someone who wants on thing one day, another thing another day.

As said before, the above computer is a realistic choice.

THIS is my idealistic choice of specs for a Perfect Computer (PLEASE NOTE: THIS ISN'T THE COMPLETE LIST OF SPECS):

Intel Core i7 2600K @ 3.4GHz per core
AMD Radeon HD 6990
Corsair Dominator GT 8GB DDR3 RAM @ 2400MHz
4x 2TB Western Digital HDD at 6GBPs, 64MB Cache, 7200RMP
Corsair 40GB Solid State Drive
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

I realize that all of this is WAYYY overkill, but there is a reason to my madness:

I'm - more or less - a Trainz Machinimist. (If that's what you call those who make Trainz Machinima.) I'd like to be able to make movies - Real, Dramatic, Epic Feature-Length Films - with Trainz, because it stands to be one of the cheapest ways to make films. Albeitly, this computer costs around $6000USD, not even including the price of FRAPS, After Effects, and Mixcraft, but still, you can build your sets with objects you make in GMax, a free, old, but oh so versatile modelling program; You can BUILD PEOPLE in GMax; You can build DRIVEABLE PEOPLE. FOR FREE. What other type of filmmaking lets you do that? You can recreate extremely awesome camera moves without having to buy cranes and rigs and such. It truly is a great way to get started in filmmaking, not to mention all of the other PC games about that you can use for Filmmaking purposes, me being an aspiring filmmaker and all.

But then again, that's just me and my own purposes and thoughts and feelings, etc.

So with all that said, I must ask you all a question:

How many frames per second do you think I'd get with FRAPS recording a video of an extrememly detailed route with all its tracks filled to the brim with extremely detailed locos and rolling stock at THESE settings:

-8x Anti-Aliasing
-16x Anisotropic Filtering
-1920x1080 resolution
-5000M Draw Distance
-No Fog
-All Detail Sliders set to full
-CPU overclocked to 4.5GHz per core

To end this very - er - tenacious post, I'll say I apologize if I sound -- impoverished.

-YNER
 
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