New computer, advice needed

[DPWIU7]

I'm looking to purchase a new computer in order to use Trainz. My budget is around a $1000. I'd like to get a dell, but my only thing is that I don't know what everyone else is using. I use to play on my laptop, but it got a virus and the graphics were running on the bare minimum requirements, so I'm looking to upgrade so that I run Trainz flawlessly.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Euphod]

You can build a decent PC for a grand, but I wouldn't use it to buy one from a vendor unless they build it for you. Trainz may still disappoint you when you run it because it can still overwhelm advanced systems under certain conditions.

 

[DPWIU7]

Thanks for a quick reply. But I need to know people's specs of what they're running on and if I have them built it for me, then what do I need? I'm not savy enough to "build" my own computer. I want to give someone the information, have them build it, ship it, and I get all the benefits of it.

 

[SuperFudd]

I sugest the Dell XPS 8300, i5 version, standard equipment. Not sure about the standard video card as I am not knowledgable of that card. I suspect it would be OK but you might want to kick in another $50 for the Nvidea.
I have the XPS 8000 (see below) and it works very well.

 

[RRSignal]

I'd avoid Dell or any other OEM (pre-built) unless you are certain you can't build one yourself or at least have one built for you. For a grand, you can build a decent, i5-based machine with SSD and a good graphics card. If you have a retail copy of Windows, so much the better; if not, you can buy one and use it for this machine and your next, rather than essentially having to throw your old copy out with your old machine.

Here's what I would buy:

i5-2500
Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 Motherboard
nVidia 560Ti
Kingston 4Gb memory
Kingston SSDNow 128Gb SSD
Corsair 850W power supply
Cooler Master HAF-922 Case
Lite-On iHAS-124 DVD burner

That roughly works out to about $950. I haven't factored in the cost the builder would charge or a new copy of Windows as I don't know if you need that or not. If you do get one, get Windows 7 64-bit and DO NOT buy an "OEM" copy; buy a "retail" copy, preferably of Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. You can save $100 by getting a cheaper video card, such as a 550Ti. You can also save $50 on the motherboard by getting a lower-end Gigabyte board, the GA-H61M, if you need to.

If 128Gb of storage isn't enough for you, tack on about $80 for a 500Gb, 7200RPM Sata-II/III hard drive. 128 should be enough for Windows, Trainz, and maybe a few other programs.

I do recommend, if you really want to get the most out of your Trainz machine, relegate the old machine to internet and email duty so you don't have to install firewalls and anti-virus on the gaming machine, since that can greatly affect performance. You SHOULD be able to reformat the old lappie (if you didn't get recovery disks, you may be able to still buy them from the manufacturer or on eBay). You don't need a lot of horsepower to browse the internet; you do for games.

Edit: You can probably safely go as low as a 700-Watt power supply, especially if you get one from a quality manufacturer such as Corsair, Seasonic, or Antec, and save a few bucks, though I recall seeing an 850W Corsair on sale recently at Tigerdirect.

 

[DPWIU7]

Now I'm all sorts of confused because some people have desktops, some have laptops, some say yes to dell, and others say no.

I don't mean to be bother to anyone on here, I just want to purchase a computer that is going to do exactly what I want to run Trainz.

With that being said, I need some more help:
1. If I go the route of having someone build it for me, who has a contact of someone that is legit, and won't take advantage of me on price?
2. If I go the route of having Dell build me one, what do I need to have them put in there? I see a lot of postings about watts and CPUs and which is the best one and which is the worst one. It's all confusing.
3. Why is this so hard to get a computer to run this game?

Thank you to everyone that has posted. It's very helpful and confusing all at the same time

 

[cascaderailroad]

Get a PC with a greater than 300watt Power Supply, or swap out the power supply for a higher wattage PS, add a 2Gb video card, and increase the RAM to at least 4Gb, and put in a 1Tb Hard drive. Easily done on a $500 PC with $500 in upgraded parts.

There are $800 gaming desktops in Big Box stores ... stay away from laptops, and if you buy a Dell ... You probably paid too much, and got too little miniscule hardware. Stay away from MAC.

 

[Propeller]

I had two Dells with major heat problems.

The latest machine I put together to run Trainz is the mid-range machine shown half way down on this page:
http://www.build-gaming-computers.com/gaming-desktop-computer.html

This page was put up by TigerDirect.com, nice people to work with.
I've been amazed how fast and well it works. The only change from this list was made when I added a liquid cooling system on the main chip on the mother board.

After putting everything together I had a friend look at it to make sure I didn't mess something up.
It worked the first time.

It only makes me wonder how the two machines that are bigger and faster than mine would do with trainz.

 

[RRSignal]

First of all, don't get a laptop. You pay severely for that portability in both performance and price. Roughly-speaking, the $800 desktop I specced out above can probably outperform the most top-of-the-line, $3,500 laptop.

However, I don't know of any national PC builders. I've been doing it so long I've never even looked. Most people just go to local, independent computer stores. Yes, those are still around, and for a reason. I have no idea what they'd charge, but it takes an inexperienced builder about 2 hours to put together a system, so weigh that versus the hourly charge most probably charge.

 

[William0d0]

RRSignal's list of components in post #5 looks good.

I will differ on the retail vs OEM part concerning Windows, and yes I do have the OEM version. Saving money is good.

Many years ago I bought a Gateway which came with Microsoft Word. A few years later I built a rig and tried to install Word onto it. Of course it failed so I called Microsoft and told them I was no longer using that computer, which was sort of true since even though I was still using it I was only using it as a media server and not running Word on it. I was given a new number to enter over the phone, afterwards it installed just fine. Just gotta be polite on the phone.

But, worst case scenario, I'm willing to bet the savings that an ASUS motherboard will last a least a few years.

 

[TramDU1214]

I'll give you this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7N82
And this will help you building your PC: