Looking at upgradeing from asus eah4870 512mb

[djt]

Apologies if I offend anyone here, but Game Booster also is able to stop certain Windows services which can slow it down (including on Vista/7, the service that deals with the fancy graphics etc)

Shane

Which would be avoided to begin with if Windows is setup to run performance applications from the start? Not to mention that majority of Windows services won’t make a noticeable impact on performance anyway.

What is the service that “deals with the fancy graphics etc”, lol?

 

[djt]

I always keep drivers up to date the windows came with the computer already installed.

That’s most likely a major cause of your performance issues right there.

 

[clam1952]

Apologies if I offend anyone here, but Game Booster also is able to stop certain Windows services which can slow it down (including on Vista/7, the service that deals with the fancy graphics etc)

Shane

Actually you can do that in the programs short cut under properties > Compatibilty > Disable Desktop Composition and Disable visual Themes.

Gamebooster is only really any use for old PC's, P4's single core Athlon's etc.

 

[shadowarrior]

Yeah...hmmm bloatware from a branded PC.... :|

macneil. Do these steps:

-Start>Run type PREFETCH and hit ok.
select all files in the folder which opens up. and shift+del

-start>run type TEMP and hit ok.
select all files in the folder which opens up. and shift+del

-start>run type %TEMP% and hit ok.
select all files in the folder which opens up. and shift+del

If a message pops up, files in use by Windows, try deleting the files individually. Or boot into Safemode first before following the above steps.

Restart pc.

 

[djt]

Yeah...hmmm bloatware from a branded PC.... :|

macneil. Do these steps:

-Start>Run type PREFETCH and hit ok.
select all files in the folder which opens up. and shift+del

-start>run type TEMP and hit ok.
select all files in the folder which opens up. and shift+del

-start>run type %TEMP% and hit ok.
select all files in the folder which opens up. and shift+del

If a message pops up, files in use by Windows, try deleting the files individually. Or boot into Safemode first before following the above steps.

Restart pc.

I don’t know how much that is going to help an OS with a questionable or compromised registry.

 

[shadowarrior]

I don’t know how much that is going to help an OS with a questionable or compromised registry.

From an OS' point of view...it wouldn't. But from the drive's point of view, if he has both the OS and the game installed in the same drive, it might help in unclogging his drive.

 

[djt]

From an OS' point of view...it wouldn't. But from the drive's point of view, if he has both the OS and the game installed in the same drive, it might help in unclogging his drive.

In that case he could give one of these OS optimization guides a try -
Windows 7 -


http://www.simforums.com/forums/topic34141_post198187.html#198187



Windows XP -


http://www.simforums.com/forums/topic31916_post183578.html#183578



From the little bit of information we’ve been given I wouldn’t even bother at this point, I’d get the OS disk out and do a full reformat. To be honest if this is the same OS install from time of purchase a reformat will have that machine running better then when it was taken out of the box for the first time.

 

[shaneturner12]

If it's XP, I would strongly avoid touching the Prefetch folder, as it will cause the next boot to take a lot longer (and potentially not load at all) - I should know, I've got another system (which is not running Trainz) here that runs Windows XP, and I ended up trying the Prefetch trick (for another reason), and ended up having to System Restore.

As for the Temp folders, Disk Cleanup normally does a reasonable job at clearing that.

A good defrag can sometimes free up space as well (from what I've noticed) due to file compaction.

Shane

 

[djt]

If it's XP, I would strongly avoid touching the Prefetch folder, as it will cause the next boot to take a lot longer (and potentially not load at all) - I should know, I've got another system (which is not running Trainz) here that runs Windows XP, and I ended up trying the Prefetch trick (for another reason), and ended up having to System Restore.

Shane

Actually it’s not recommended that you regularly touch it with Vista and Windows 7, with XP it will only slow things down on the first reboot. I’ve never experienced any issues where XP “did not load at all” by cleaning out the prefetch folder.

Take a close look at the XP guide above and the section that pertains to the prefetch folder.

 

[shaneturner12]

I've had different experiences -, doesn't Windows deal with the prefetching anyway?

It's not just Windows that will slow down (at least for the first time), any program run will also be slow for the first time after doing that.

I'm always weary of messing about in the Prefetch folder, as there are risks involved (remember, Windows keeps prefetch data for programs that run on startup)

As far as I'm concerned, clearing out the Prefetch folder is unlikely to free up much hard drive space (if any) as it will simply fill back up again as programs are run.


Shane

EDIT: Just read further down that guide - it's suggesting risky changes (like turning off System Restore) - is that such a good idea?

 

[clam1952]

EDIT: Just read further down that guide - it's suggesting risky changes (like turning off System Restore) - is that such a good idea?

Only if you know what you are doing and backup by other means. As many people seem to need to run the thing frequently and don't back anything up, well, that is the ones who come to me for help when it doesn't work! It's probably a good idea for non techies to leave well alone.

I never used System Restore on XP, never needed it. I have the allocated space reduced on Win7 on the system drive, the other drives disabled, again I have never needed to use it, I back up all data to one of my Linux boxes anyway.

 

[djt]

I've had different experiences -, doesn't Windows deal with the prefetching anyway?

Yes it does and Vista/Windows 7 takes it even further with “super prefetch” along with better memory management.

It's not just Windows that will slow down (at least for the first time), any program run will also be slow for the first time after doing that.

Programs will load slower for the first time not run slower.

I'm always weary of messing about in the Prefetch folder, as there are risks involved (remember, Windows keeps prefetch data for programs that run on startup)

As I said before with Vista and Windows 7 it’s recommended that you leave it alone, with XP you can clean it out once in a while and let it rebuild itself with the most recently started programs.

Over the years (on an otherwise healthy OS) I’ve never had any problems cleaning out the prefetch folder in XP, has it made a big difference, no, but then again on my gaming setups OS installs usually never last more than 4 months.

As far as I'm concerned, clearing out the Prefetch folder is unlikely to free up much hard drive space (if any) as it will simply fill back up again as programs are run.

It will rebuild itself again starting with whatever programs were started after the prefetch folder was cleaned out.

 

[macneil]

Thanks for all the replys everyone after alot of thought I have decided just to upgrade and buy a new tower to start trainz fresh.

 

[shadowarrior]

let us know if you need help choosing parts for to build the new tower macneil.

 

[djt]

let us know if you need help choosing parts for to build the new tower macneil.

A better idea would be to do some research on components for a new build in a real hardware forum -


http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=59

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/index.php

http://www.hardforum.com/

http://forums.anandtech.com/

 

[shadowarrior]

A better idea would be to do some research on components for a new build in a real hardware forum -


http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=59

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/index.php

http://www.hardforum.com/

http://forums.anandtech.com/

My business builds custom gaming rigs
Plus am an active contibutor in various hardware forums..

And I think he would get a good help from us in referring to what exactly he needs for running Trainz (or anything else he uses his PC for) and what’s overkill for his use.

 

[RRSignal]

Thanks for all the replys everyone after alot of thought I have decided just to upgrade and buy a new tower to start trainz fresh.

Consider relegating your old computer to a role as an internet/email machine. You get a substantial performance boost without the overhead of networking and all the required security software. shadowarrior is right about overkill - you don't need to get a second mortgage, especially to play Trainz!

 

[djt]

My business builds custom gaming rigs
Plus am an active contibutor in various hardware forums..

And I think he would get a good help from us in referring to what exactly he needs for running Trainz (or anything else he uses his PC for) and what’s overkill for his use.

Same here, but it isn’t wise to get information just from one source.


With a CPU dependent game like Trainz that uses an out dated game engine, there’s very little out there that is going provide a lot of overhead and still provide consistently good performance with routes of any real detail.

 

[RRSignal]

Same here, but it isn’t wise to get information just from one source.

Unless that one source is a certain know-it-all, whose answer to everything is to get a $3000+ machine to play Trainz... lol.

 

[djt]

Unless that one source is a certain know-it-all, whose answer to everything is to get a $3000+ machine to play Trainz... lol.

Trainz and about 15 other sims/games.


When you have real experience (not speculation) with hardware then maybe you can consider yourself a good source, lol.