My trusty MAC laptop finally gave up the ghost after 10 years.

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sparky15

New member
Right now, I'm staring at a Windows box.

MSI 110 AC motherboard.
16 GB DDR4 2133 RAM
R9 380 Sapphire Nitro 4GB GPU
WD 1TB hard drive
CPU cooler. Off brand.

Wheeled and dealed a bit. I have $250 wrapped up in this. I'm stuck on the CPU at this point.

I am not exclusive to Trainz. This is a gaming confuser. I would like to load up DCS A10C, a flight Sim of my beloved A-10 aircraft I spent many hours in real life working on. Falcon BMS, another flight Sim. Trainz, I could settle on TS2009, no paranoid content manager, locked switches and layers.

I am looking at the i3 6100 processor. Two cores, hyperthreading at 3.7 GHz. It would smoke my flight Sims all day with their single core dependency. My question is this, if I went to TANE, how would this processor work out?. At this price point, an i5 or i7 isn't out of reach, but, really not needed for my other diversions. Anyone use the i3 6100?
 
Get a Windows Gaming desktop, there are very few high quality gaming laptops under $1700

I have never used my laptop, placed on my lap ... it eternally sits on a desk ... so it is a desktop/laptop
 
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Sparky15 - see if you can indeed stretch to an Intel i5 CPU - preferably a quad-core one running on your socket 1151 mobo.
That will run your DCS really well on your AMD card. (Runs beautifully at highest settings levels on my R9-280X DC2 TOP and Intel i7 4790k)

It should also run T:ANE smoothly too, as long as you don't turn up all the eye candy to "Ultra".
You'll be amazed at the performance difference compared to your (now ancient) Mac!
 
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If you are not planning to run around with your PC, forget a laptop and buy a desktop instead. That way you either get a lot more performance for the same money or the same performance for a lot less money.
 
I'm looking at an i5 6600k at the moment. With so little wrapped up in this, it makes sense the more I think of it. Thanks , PC.
 
An i7 would be sweet..........

I'm still a Mac head. I had saved up $2000 for a new laptop when I lucked into the parts I listed. So, I need to keep the PC build under $700, including a decent 27" monitor for around $250. Having a dedicated gaming PC, I could get by with a 13" macbook pro or macbook for all my other needs. The PC is for only a handful of games.

I hope this makes sense.

The PC needs to be around $700 including the monitor.
 
pdkoester - unfortunately, the Intel i7 4790k is socket LGA1150, not 1151.
The equivalent LGA1151 i7 looks to be priced out of sparky15's reach given the other constraints he's mentioned above.
Just wondering if the amount shown as allocated already ($250 in the original post) included provision for the PSU and case?
Or do they still need to be factored in?
What does that leave to be purchased with the budgeted US$700?
Monitor+ CPU+ Peripherals?
 
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The $250 is included.

I need CPU, monitor, mouse, keyboard.............

Peripherals start climbing towards TrackIR for the flight sims , Thrustmaster OSBs........ The nicety list I call it.

Given I have $250 in the parts listed, my Best Buy cart has:
i3 6100. $130
HP 27" monitor. $150 on sale.
Wireless Logitek mouse and keyboard. $57

This should complete my little rig well under the $700 "cap" I mentioned. I few bucks more, I can add TrackIR. I know I sound odd but, I hope you can see where I'm going here. A bit of a balancing act to get the most of a budget gaming system and leave room for my Mac laptop as well. That is why I asked here, hoping to find a user who doesn't play just Trainz. The PC is purely for my gaming and diversions. I can't see paying over $2000 for a Mac just to boot into Windows to play a few flight sims. A low end macbook pro would fill 85% of my computer usage. A budget gaming PC would fill the rest.

For reference, that old 2.16, x1600 256mb GPU, 17" macbook pro played every Trainz tittle in my signature acceptably well for my needs. Now, I'm after 1080p at 60fps at high or very high resolution. Be it GTA V, DCS World, Falcon BMS or Trainz. Not being a hardcore gamer, I have no problem dialing things down a bit. Trainz, I build model railroads in, my joy in the program. Being an Air Force mechanic for 24 years, I'm a bit more intense in those. GTA V, pure anger management on occasion.

Hope that helps in filling out my gaming needs. Laughing.
 
Sparky,

For whatever machine you go with, you might find this useful.

http://www.pcmag.com/coupons

I recommend signing up for their deals. You'll receive an email with discounts on hardware, some new; some refurbished but mostly new stuff. You might find a nice bundle.

Periodically Dell has a bundles which include a monitor, keyboard, and mouse in addition to the PC while other times these required peripherals are deeply discounted as part of the PC package. Lenovo and HP do the same, and in some cases you can get deals like this even from New Egg www.newegg.com

Hope this helps.
 
JCitron, I have the parts listed in my first post all mounted in a case. Awaiting a CPU.

I am hoping to get out of this gaming PC as cheap as possible to put the balance towards another macbook pro for my real needs. I don't just play Trainz, I have other interests in gaming. I also have real needs and Mac software I've spent a lot of money on. For instance, a 13" macbook pro is a small screen. On the go its good. Better when running a larger monitor at home. It doesn't have the oomph to run games. It does run some expensive software I own.

I hope I don't sound rude. At the moment, I only have an iMac circa 2000 and ten year old G5. They are showing their age but run. Another Mac is on my horizon, I just don't want to spend over $2000 to get a mediocre gaming machine and just boot into Windows for a diversion like Trainz. Hard drive space, mobility and a decent graphics card come at a premium with Macs.

A gaming PC rig and and low end macbook pro solves my needs for under $2000. I'm $250 into the PC as it stands. Monitor and CPU is all I need. Outside of Trainz, the i3 would do well. I'm asking if anyone here has experience with one, in this program. Should I step up to TANE, will the i3 suffice? Will draw distance affect a one board HO route? Two board? I'm not a power user running The Mohave. I have about 3gb of content that runs well on my old dinosaur, or did.

My main interest is flight sims with this. Some GTA V, maybe, my weekend model railroads to kill the time in winter. A simple question, could I run TANE on a one or two board model railroad given the specs of what I have on hand and an i3 6100?

Once again, not being rude. Given my limits of what I would expect from TANE and my other games, will this set up work if I go there?
 
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sparky15 said:
JCitron, I have the parts listed in my first post all mounted in a case. Awaiting a CPU.

I am hoping to get out of this gaming PC as cheap as possible to put the balance towards another macbook pro for my real needs. I don't just play Trainz, I have other interests in gaming. I also have real needs and Mac software I've spent a lot of money on. For instance, a 13" macbook pro is a small screen. On the go its good. Better when running a larger monitor at home. It doesn't have the oomph to run games. It does run some expensive software I own.

I hope I don't sound rude. At the moment, I only have an iMac circa 2000 and ten year old G5. They are showing their age but run. Another Mac is on my horizon, I just don't want to spend over $2000 to get a mediocre gaming machine and just boot into Windows for a diversion like Trainz. Hard drive space, mobility and a decent graphics card come at a premium with Macs.

A gaming PC rig and and low end macbook pro solves my needs for under $2000. I'm $250 into the PC as it stands. Monitor and CPU is all I need. Outside of Trainz, the i3 would do well. I'm asking if anyone here has experience with one, in this program. Should I step up to TANE, will the i3 suffice? Will draw distance affect a one board HO route? Two board? I'm not a power user running The Mohave. I have about 3gb of content that runs well on my old dinosaur, or did.

My main interest is flight sims with this. Some GTA V, maybe, my weekend model railroads to kill the time in winter. A simple question, could I run TANE on a one or two board model railroad given the specs of what I have on hand and an i3 6100?

Once again, not being rude. Given my limits of what I would expect from TANE and my other games, will this set up work if I go there?
Click to expand...


I understand what you are looking for. I've been spec'ing out systems for nearly 30 years for both individuals, and at one time big corporations as well. What you are looking for is a decent PC with a low price point. What you have spec'd out will give you fits. The i3 is not really adequate for your games and it will cause frustration. Believe me, I have an i3 based tablet which I use for sheet music and that machine definitely lags far more than I expected so consider the i3 as the far lowest you can go before you go for a Celeron, which is like running a Ford Pinto by today's standards. On the technical side, these chips lack the caching and cores to adequately run the graphics and throughput needed for your games. With games like T:ANE, you need the CPU caching and throughput as well the memory (I spec'd out 16GB here), and a decent video card. You try to do with less, and your performance will be far less than stellar even for older games and programs. That said, you don't need to spend $2000 for a PC to run T:ANE. Sure that would be the bonus machine and believe me a machine at that price would be well above in the totally really awesome category - the equivalent of a nice sports car! However, the machine I've spec'd out below will

So anyway, I talked with my bro who recently built a nice AMD machine.

Here's the specs:

Motherboard:

GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-USB3 (rev. 6.0) AM3+ AMD 760G + SB710 USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128565

CPU:

AMD FX-8350 Black Edition Vishera 8-Core 4.0 GHz (4.2 GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W FD8350FRHKBOX Desktop Processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113284&cm_re=amd_8350-_-19-113-284-_-Product

Video Card:

GIGABYTE Radeon R9 390 DirectX 12 GV-R939G1 GAMING-8GD 8GB 512-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready ATX Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1N83U90682

Memory:

G.SKILL Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-16GSR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m_re=G-skill_DDR3_1600-_-20-231-609-_-Product

Power Supply:

Thermaltake Toughpower TPD-0750M - SLI / CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Gold Certification and Semi Modular Cables Black Active PFC Power Supply Intel Haswell Ready (PS-TPD-0750MPCGUS-1)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153198

Case:

Rosewill CHALLENGER - Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Three Included Fans - 1 x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1 x Top 140mm Fan, 1 x Rear 120mm Fan - Two More Optional Side 120mm Fans Supported

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153&ignorebbr=1


Now for the prices:

AMD CPU: $154
Motherboard: $54
RAM: $70
Video Card: $277
Power Supply $79
Case: $49
Hard Drive: $100 for 1TB internal HD. Any brand since they all cost the same.

Base: $783

Monitor/Keyboard/Mouse: $125

Monitor/Kyb/Mouse:

Display: $100-130
Keyboard: $20
Mouse: $5

Total $938


Note: Check for bundles such as Logitech Mouse/Keyboard bundles $40 at Staples --- It might be more or less. The same with monitors as well. You could easily get a display, keyboard, mouse bundle, and even CPU and motherboard bundle. New Egg has these bundles all the time.

The system is spec'd using the supplied cooling. There are other cooling solutions starting at $49.00

This does not include your OS, which is about $199 or a DVD-RW drive (recommended). These cost roughly $20.00 plus or minus.
Shipping and sales tax not included.

Anyway, this is the best I could do to keep your price as low as possible, and this running $188 over your max price point, but where would you cut? I surely wouldn't cut the RAM, video, CPU or power supply. Put in a $120GB SSD and save $40? That would never fit anything, well maybe just the programs and the OS and you'd have about 10MB left. In the end you'll end up cutting corners to shave nickels off the price and only end up frustrated in the end.
 
Mick_Berg said:
John, why specify an 8-core CPU? Doesn't TANE famously only use 2 cores?
Mick
Click to expand...

I've seen it use more than that when in Driver and busily running lots of consists. In fact here's a copy of my CPU usage as it is right now while I have Surveyor open on one display and the forums running on another. It was actually a bit busier before while I was editing, copying, and pasting.

T:ANE may support, at the minimum 2 cores, that doesn't mean it's not using them.



The other thing too when building a machine one of the rules is never cut things so short that it becomes penny-wise and pound foolish. If you want a cheap system, way at the bottom-most specs, then pick up an HP from Walmart but don't expect it to run T:ANE or any other program half way decently.

This is one of the biggest issues I have seen here on the forums. People get an i3 with 4GB of RAM and expect it to run T:ANE. T:ANE doesn't need a 6800-series i7-E processor with its 10-cores along with 128GB of RAM and 2x GTX1080Ps to operate, but don't cut the machine down to nothing and still expect it to work.
 
John, thank you for taking the time to spec that out, but, I already have the parts listed in my original post bought for $250.

For the record, I went with the i3 for $130, an Acer 23" monitor for $120 on sale and an Insignia wireless keyboard for $21. Wanted to try the trackpad on it for flight sims. I found my trackball so I'm good there. Just waiting for the processor to arrive Wednesday. Not bad for around $550 total.

If it runs TANE at an acceptable rate, we'll see. If not, plenty of older versions in my signature to keep me busy for a while.

The i5 was attractive. A little more stretch to an i7. The i3 will suffice until I can swing an i7 later if needed.

Thanks, All.
 
I'm glad you were able to get things in the price range you requested. You can always upgrade later if your motherboard will support that.

The monitor is priced in the range I saw them at. It was difficult to pick one and hope it's the right one -- displays are such a personal thing like keyboards and pointing devices.

I will say it was kinda fun doing your system build for you. I need the practice since I haven't done that in awhile.

John
 
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