It's time to upgrade my machine. The most taxing program I run is TS12, so I need to maximize performance for that without killing my wallet.
Here are my current specs:
The system runs Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit.
My main monitor is a Samsung 305T 30” LCD and my secondary is a Dell 2007FP turned on its side. I run Trainz at native resolution on the Samsung, which is 2560 x 1600. I run visual and quality settings maximized. Most routes are OK, but the newer routes in TS12 slow down into low teens and even single digit frame rates, which isn't acceptable.
I tried lowering the game resolution and got zero frame rate increase, even as low as 1280 x 800. I notice that my CPU usage for Trainz runs around 60%-75% at all resolutions, so although the CPU isn't completely saturated, but it's using lots of cycles.
I'm assuming it's time to upgrade my rather old CPU and motherboard (and possibly power supply).
Where is my money best spent for an upgrade? I'm pretty sure I have enough video card and memory, so it's the CPU. I can get a quad core CPU for my current motherboard or upgrade CPU and motherboard (and memory and power supply) to something newer. I'd like to spend as little as possible, but don't mind spending a few extra dollars if things will be good for a few years.
I'm also curious about going to dual video cards, but haven't seen much to indicate that will help. I'm also more of an Intel-Nvidia guy than AMD and ATI if that matters.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Thanks!
Here are my current specs:
- GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
- Kingston HyperX 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Quad Kit
- ENERMAX Noisetaker II EG495P-VE 485W ATX12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply
- EVGA FPB 768-P3-1360-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
The system runs Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit.
My main monitor is a Samsung 305T 30” LCD and my secondary is a Dell 2007FP turned on its side. I run Trainz at native resolution on the Samsung, which is 2560 x 1600. I run visual and quality settings maximized. Most routes are OK, but the newer routes in TS12 slow down into low teens and even single digit frame rates, which isn't acceptable.
I tried lowering the game resolution and got zero frame rate increase, even as low as 1280 x 800. I notice that my CPU usage for Trainz runs around 60%-75% at all resolutions, so although the CPU isn't completely saturated, but it's using lots of cycles.
I'm assuming it's time to upgrade my rather old CPU and motherboard (and possibly power supply).
Where is my money best spent for an upgrade? I'm pretty sure I have enough video card and memory, so it's the CPU. I can get a quad core CPU for my current motherboard or upgrade CPU and motherboard (and memory and power supply) to something newer. I'd like to spend as little as possible, but don't mind spending a few extra dollars if things will be good for a few years.
I'm also curious about going to dual video cards, but haven't seen much to indicate that will help. I'm also more of an Intel-Nvidia guy than AMD and ATI if that matters.
Thanks!