how does this hardware sound?

[Malcolm67f]

TIA everybody. My daughter's PC partner (I'm a mac guy) has looked at my macbook pro running vista using bootcamp performance vis a vis trainz 2010. He suggests I would get much better performance from a customized PC, and has suggested i get one made up at a local store with the following components:
1. CPU intel core i3 540 3.06GHZ 4MB
2. RAM DDR3 3 x 2GB 1600MHz dual channel intel core i7
3. Graphics radeon HD5750 video memory 1GB clock 4.6GHZ

In the experiences of this forum, does this seem a reasonable setup? Finally, he recommends windows 7 and running at 32 bit. Any comments?
Thanks
Malcolm Giles

 

[fran1]

I would say win 7 64 bit. You can utilise more RAM.

 

[winjmoore]

I would say win 7 64 bit. You can utilise more RAM.

Yes I have both 32 and 64. for trainz 64 is better. Even auran says so. The system is cheap and will do what you want

 

[SnakeLight64]

This will run anything you want pretty well, although I would say have Windows 7 64 bit installed, this will be able to read more RAM and use more.

 

[shadowarrior]

Also see if you can replace the Intel for an AMD. They tend to be cheaper most of the times, and will be enough for your needs.

I would suggest the AMD x4 965 BE processor. You would benefit from the L3 cache.

You didn't mention anything about motherboards. AMD motherboards are often cheaper than the ones which supports Intel chips. Also, AMD motherboards are known to support old chip architectures, meaning, your motherboard would most probably support newer releases of AMD processors.

With most of the Intels, every new processor launched has a different architecture, meaning, you would need to change the motherboard if you want to upgrade to a newer CPU.

With the launch of ATI 6XXX graphics cards, the 5XXX series prices has gone down. You might consider jumping from a 5750 to a 58XX series. 5850 are good value for money graphics cards.

Do remember to get a good power supply. Good power supplies and chassis can outlast numerous upgrades. A 500W Power supply should be more than enough for your system.

As suggested by others, go for a 64bit OS.