I have a challenge for anyone who is willing to accept it.

[amtrak2041864]

I have about 480 dollars saved up. What do you think is needed (parts) for a PC to play trainz and never lag?

 

[JIb228]

Well, get a better internet connection. Though, 90% of Trainz can be done offline, so lag really isn't a problem. Unless your in a MP session.

 

[nicky9499]

If you're talking about a completely new computer, 480 doesn't quite cut it. If you already have a decent machine, put your money into parts in this priority:

1. Better and/or more memory
2. Solid State Drive
3. Graphics card
4. Processor

It'd be helpful if you posted your specifications.

Cheerio,
Nicholas

 

[itareus]

I have about 480 dollars saved up. What do you think is needed (parts) for a PC to play trainz and never lag?

More money, sad to say !

As Nicholas has said, upgrading would be your best bet on that budget. Please post your existing PC specs, including PSU and case make & model if known.

Chris

 

[amtrak2041864]

I am only 16 years old, so 465 dollars is alot for me. I have to save every dime I have. Lag is not related to local play. I have played Swtor and it runs very will. But I will be going down the AMD route.

 

[pdkoester]

what parts do you already have?

 

[davesnow]

What the heck is Swtor?

 

[nicky9499]

Swtor?

wut?

 

[JIb228]

Lag is not related to local play.

Correct, but maybe wrong meaning to what your saying there.

Let me expand.

Lag is a network term. It is used to describe a high ping or latency. This is how long it takes your computer to talk to another computer/server. Higher ping, slower game play=lag.

FPS Drop, or low frame rate is when the game demands more of your computer then what you computer has. This often leads to stuttering, freezing, and a over all poor experience. And what 99% of every one refers to incorrectly as "lag."

A game like Trainz might not look like it takes a lot, but it dose. First off your computer needs to render the models. I then needs to run any scripts. Then it must to physics calculation's. There's a lot more it has to do then just that, but you get the idea. Such as run the OS, run your favorite instant messenger. Other games might not be as demanding is system recourse as other programs. Hench why Star Wars the Old Republic, SWTOR, seams to play nicely on your computer.

As for you $465, thtas not much but you can run with it. I paid about $480 for my Gateway Desktop right from the shop at Bestbuy. Admittedly not the best computer right off the bat, but it did get the job done. I could run Trainz at 20-30FPS 95% of the time I since have put more money into it to bost that a bit to at least 40-60FPS most of the time.

This is why I say go with a desktop. You can get a decent one for around your price range, and they can be a bit cheaper to upgrade in the long run. Yes you to lose the portability of a Laptop, but its a fair trade off in the end.

 

[JIb228]

As for what parts to get, here's what I did.

I took note of the system requirements for the games I play. Then I went to the Best Buy web site and started searching for computers that at least met the average specs I would need to meet the few games I play and still be in my price range.

THIS is about what I found that fit MY needs and price range. This is about $30 more then your budget (Looking at $530 with tax) but should play Trainz all right. And it gives you room to grow and expand on your gaming rig.

 

[KingConrail76]

I have about 480 dollars saved up. What do you think is needed (parts) for a PC to play trainz and never lag?

If you're talking about a completely new computer, 480 doesn't quite cut it. If you already have a decent machine, put your money into parts in this priority:

1. Better and/or more memory
2. Solid State Drive
3. Graphics card
4. Processor

It'd be helpful if you posted your specifications.

Cheerio,
Nicholas

I am only 16 years old, so 465 dollars is alot for me. I have to save every dime I have. Lag is not related to local play. I have played Swtor and it runs very will. But I will be going down the AMD route.

Before anyone can tell you what you could upgrade, you need to tell us what you have NOW!

I would also re-arrange Nicky's list to:
1. Power Supply
2. Processor and/or Mother Board(+CPU)
3. Memory (4 gig minimum, 8 gig better, 12 gig good)
4. Video Card (1 gig DDR3 good, 2 gig DDR5 better)
5. 10K rpm disk drive or SSD drive (10k traditional disc is cheaper and bigger, SSD is faster but more $ and smaller)

 

[sdiesel]

Correct, but maybe wrong meaning to what your saying there.

Let me expand.

Lag is a network term. It is used to describe a high ping or latency. This is how long it takes your computer to talk to another computer/server. Higher ping, slower game play=lag.

FPS Drop, or low frame rate is when the game demands more of your computer then what you computer has. This often leads to stuttering, freezing, and a over all poor experience. And what 99% of every one refers to incorrectly as "lag."

A game like Trainz might not look like it takes a lot, but it dose. First off your computer needs to render the models. I then needs to run any scripts. Then it must to physics calculation's. There's a lot more it has to do then just that, but you get the idea. Such as run the OS, run your favorite instant messenger. Other games might not be as demanding is system recourse as other programs. Hench why Star Wars the Old Republic, SWTOR, seams to play nicely on your computer.

As for you $465, thtas not much but you can run with it. I paid about $480 for my Gateway Desktop right from the shop at Bestbuy. Admittedly not the best computer right off the bat, but it did get the job done. I could run Trainz at 20-30FPS 95% of the time I since have put more money into it to bost that a bit to at least 40-60FPS most of the time.

This is why I say go with a desktop. You can get a decent one for around your price range, and they can be a bit cheaper to upgrade in the long run. Yes you to lose the portability of a Laptop, but its a fair trade off in the end.

i hate to say it, but the game engine in trainz is utter crap nowadays. i have a 'contenders' system(not the best or new crap, just good hardware at good price) and every game ive put on this machine gives me great fps, no shutter, and full gfx settings up, i know my pc systems. but this game, well it looks at my computer and pretty much faints at the sight of the power. games like swtor run well on his system because the game engine(which is also pretty bad after it was patched on and on by bioware with bad/unskilled code) is using the hardware that is available in the system. trainz on the other hand, will not utilize the power of my gtx 660 as other games always will(eg, memory utilization is always low, gpu utilization is same as idle pc).
now, that isnt to say the game doesnt run well. i can hold 60fps(vsync) nearly all day in trainz, minus my slowish hard drive which does give some shutter. get enough trains on a route and fps will drag, computer still waiting for some work to do.
i might add, ive used msts and the latest railworks(2014) on this computer and was amazed to see msts actually kick up the gpu for work. game was so old i figured it woulda been like trainz, railworks was the same story(to be expected). either way, it's quite obvious that trainz hits a software limit with hardware.

another way to put it, i could run trainz for the next year 24/7 knowing that my gpu/cpu/mobo will NEVER get above idle temps(eg perm screen saver on).
any other game made in the last 5 years, id actually be worried, because my computer is actually working [mild/hard/extreme].

i do hope this is addressed in new era.
(no, im not using 500000 poly sketchups =P)

but 450 could be a perfect trainz 12 system, all depends on if your gettin all new hardware of if ya have a couple parts to use. could also be a good tiem to just sit on the cash and keep stacking till new era comes.

 

[cascaderailroad]

Buying at a Big Box store, you will usually pay allot, and get low end hardware inside a marked up PC.

Diamonds (for example) are marked up 600% once they hit a store, or change from every vendor to vendor.

 

[nicky9499]

1. Power Supply
2. Processor and/or Mother Board(+CPU)

A good one of either will blow his budget already. OP's question is probably along the lines of "what can I buy with this bit of money to give me a value-for-money performance boost before I build/buy a new computer a year or two later?".

Going from HDD to SSD is a huge jump, he doesn't need the latest SSDs. Small capacity older-generation ones are remarkably cheap. An OCZ Vertex 460 120GB costs S$150 right now, which is less US$120. When these things were first introduced, a dollar a gigabyte was unimaginable.

 

[lewisner]

Buying at a Big Box store, you will usually pay allot, and get low end hardware inside a marked up PC.

Diamonds (for example) are marked up 600% once they hit a store, or change from every vendor to vendor.

The truth. If I was on a budget I would be looking carefully on Ebay for a rig with decent basic specs capable of being upgraded, or components. For instance on ebay UK recently a full HAF-X case went for just £20. If you search the components you want from sites like Newegg then look for them used in Auction you can make huge savings, as I have done.

 

[pdkoester]

Until he replies and acknowledges our questions, let's not overwhelm him with too much.

Paul

 

[KingConrail76]

A good one of either will blow his budget already. OP's question is probably along the lines of "what can I buy with this bit of money to give me a value-for-money performance boost before I build/buy a new computer a year or two later?".

Going from HDD to SSD is a huge jump, he doesn't need the latest SSDs. Small capacity older-generation ones are remarkably cheap. An OCZ Vertex 460 120GB costs S$150 right now, which is less US$120. When these things were first introduced, a dollar a gigabyte was unimaginable.

STOP SPECULATING! IF the OP does not tell what he has, no one can say what he needs.

And why are you argueing with my opinion? I stated what order I would prioritize upgrades to a PC...

As for SSD's.. SSD's in the OP's "budget" range are too small of GBs to be worth the upgrade.

 

[drchoi21]

BIOSTAR TA970 AM3+ -80 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339
AMD FX-4300 Vishera -110 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113287
Team Zeus Blue 8GB - 65 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313435
Rosewill R519-BK Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case w/ 500W Power Supply - 65 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147081
Western Digital WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive, Blue - OEM - 60 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339
MSI R7770-PMD1GD5 Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - 100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127687

Total $480
This configuration should run Trainz fairly well, PM me if you have any questions

 

[drchoi21]

SUPERMICRO 1U 2x L5420 Xeon QC 2.5GHz 8GB 250GB SATA Half Depth Server X7DCA-L - $130 http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUPERMICRO-...073851?pt=COMP_EN_Servers&hash=item20e04ca8fb
put it inside of this case
NZXT Source 210 S210-002 White w/Black Front Trim “Aluminum Brush / Plastic” ATX Mid Tower Computer Case -40 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146076
GIGABYTE GV-N660OC-2GD GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card -190 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125443
2x Dynatron H46G 77mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler -70 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835114056
CORSAIR CX series CX430 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply- 40 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026
Rosewill RC-701 5.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - 10 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829265001

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-S...-VARIOUS-BOARDS-MCP-260-00027-0N/251312465233 I/O shield if you really need it

You get 8 cores, 8GB of RAM, GTX 660 2GB (that's plenty for Trainz), ability to hackintosh this rig.

 

[nicky9499]

Re-purpose a secondhand server as a budget gaming PC, that's thinking out of the box Dr. Choi I'll give ya that.
Fingers crossed T2 will finally run multi-core though...