Laptop configuration

[angelsd]

My laptop has died and I have a lot of trubles about which one to buy.

Of course monyo is a very inportant factor.

Please: could somebody to help me in select it?

What is more efficient: 8G RAM and I5 processor or less memory and better processor?

The graphic carde included are: nvidia gforce 610, 630, 710 or Radeon 766; are all of them enough to run Train 12?

 

[drchoi21]

those will not play TS12 very well, you could build your own desktop if you want

 

[pdkoester]

in comparison, I have a two year old laptop, Intel Core i7 quadcore @2.8Ghz, 8GB of RAM, ATI HD 5650 dedicate GPU... runs TS12 with SP1 and both patches fine. Of course, the desktop is always a better choice, as you can run it with all the highest settings. But, the laptop does fine with view distance at 3000, reduced tree settings.

 

[JCitron]

I have a similar laptop as Mr. Koester's. This is or was an expensive Alienware machine which is a gaming machine. In order to get a laptop to do what you would like, and satisfactorily so, you need a fairly hefty (this translates expensive) machine. You'd be better off with a desktop which you can build for relatively low cost and get more performance out of the machine and thusly more satisfaction with the performance.

Remember too that while Trainz runs, like any system intensive program, the computer will get hot. Laptops run slower anyway, and will run even slower as they get hotter. Keeping this in mind, there's nothing like spending a lot of hard earned cash on what appears to be a decent machine only to have it never really meet your experience expectations.

John

 

[pdkoester]

I have a similar laptop as Mr. Koester's. This is or was an expensive Alienware machine which is a gaming machine. In order to get a laptop to do what you would like, and satisfactorily so, you need a fairly hefty (this translates expensive) machine. You'd be better off with a desktop which you can build for relatively low cost and get more performance out of the machine and thusly more satisfaction with the performance.

Remember too that while Trainz runs, like any system intensive program, the computer will get hot. Laptops run slower anyway, and will run even slower as they get hotter. Keeping this in mind, there's nothing like spending a lot of hard earned cash on what appears to be a decent machine only to have it never really meet your experience expectations.

John

Yes it does run very warm or hot. I bought a $65 cooler for mine for summer. Because of of this it does run pretty good. This is an entertainment series DV model called Pavilion by HP. It cost $849 after all discounts. Of course I topped off the memory and add the cooler for additional cost. Still is working good.

 

[cascaderailroad]

Question: Will this play TS12 ?

HP pavilion m6
http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/09/05/HP_Pavilion_m6_35437737_02_620x433.jpg
Product Number B5S08UA
Microprocessor 2.50 GHz 3rd generation Intel Core i5-3210M Processor with Turbo Boost Technology up to 3.10 GHz
Memory 8GB DDR3 SDRAM (2 DIMM)
Memory Max Maximum supported = 16GB
Video Graphics Intel HD graphics 4000 with up to 1696MB total graphics memory
Display 15.6-inch diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit display (1366x768)
Hard Drive 750GB 5400RPM hard drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
Multimedia Drive SuperMulti DVD burner
Network Card 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
Wireless Connectivity Intel 2x2 802.11b/g/n WLAN
Sound Beats Audio with 2 speakers and a subwoofer
Keyboard Full-size island-style keyboard with numeric keypad
Pointing Device Touchpad with on/off button and precision multi-touch gesture support.
External Ports Multi-format digital media card reader for Secure Digital cards and Multimedia cards
Dimensions 14.94" (heart) x 9.87" (W) x 0 .87" (min H)/ 1.04" (max H)
Weight 5.29 lbs
Power 65W AC adapter
ID Mech Description HP TrueVision HD Webcam with integrated dual array digital microphone
comes with a fingerprint id scanner

 

[JCitron]

Yes it does run very warm or hot. I bought a $65 cooler for mine for summer. Because of of this it does run pretty good. This is an entertainment series DV model called Pavilion by HP. It cost $849 after all discounts. Of course I topped off the memory and add the cooler for additional cost. Still is working good.

That's a nice system. My M17x actually has an i7 and not the i5, and has a discrete video card as well - an ATI (AMD) fairly highend card for the time. Perhaps this is part of the difference that makes my machine such a power and heat bug. I too added in a laptop cooler that I put the machine on when I use it. It's now an extra addition to the heavy bag that I carry the machine in. I purchased my machine about 2 years ago when all you could get was 8GB of RAM. The system works okay, but would I go this route again? Probably not. The laptop serves its purpose, like waiting for my car to be repaired, well. I get other guys in the repair shop hanging around me as we play with Trainz. They love it and ask a ton of questions so this is perhaps a little Trainz promoter tool at the same time! The weight though, being the Alienware, makes it very heavy. I think it weighs almost as much as my portable Visual Commuter computer from 30 years ago.

John