My current Trainz machine was originally bought for business use and as such it has a low spec graphics card (ATI Radeon 3450 256mb DDR2).
Running TS2009 (Build 38411) I'm getting reasonable frame rates (15-25 fps) but would like to boost this a bit with a better graphics card. The trouble is that the power supply on my PC is (according to Dell) rated at only 300w which rules out a large number of the better cards. I also need dual monitor support.
I've done a fair bit of research on the net and searched the forums here. The best card I can see for a 300w power supply appears to be the NVidia 8600 GT 256mb DDR3. Toms hardware rates this about 4-5 times better than my current card although quite how that works out in practice I'm unsure.
Anyway my question is - has anyone any first hand experience of this cards performance with Trainz and any good and bad points they would like to share?
Thanks in advance
Chris
***
PC Specs:
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Inspiron 530
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.lh_sp2rtm.090410-1830)
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8200 @ 2.33GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.3GHz
Memory: 3326MB RAM
Page File: 1147MB used, 5734MB available
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
--- DISPLAY ---
Card name: ATI Radeon HD 3450
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x95C5)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Display Memory: 1659 MB
Dedicated Memory: 252 MB
Shared Memory: 1407 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
--- HDD ---
Drive: C:
Free Space: 404.5 GB
Total Space: 466.6 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: Hitachi HDP725050GLA360 ATA Device
Drive: D:
Free Space: 4.5 GB
Total Space: 10.2 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: Hitachi HDP725050GLA360 ATA Device
Running TS2009 (Build 38411) I'm getting reasonable frame rates (15-25 fps) but would like to boost this a bit with a better graphics card. The trouble is that the power supply on my PC is (according to Dell) rated at only 300w which rules out a large number of the better cards. I also need dual monitor support.
I've done a fair bit of research on the net and searched the forums here. The best card I can see for a 300w power supply appears to be the NVidia 8600 GT 256mb DDR3. Toms hardware rates this about 4-5 times better than my current card although quite how that works out in practice I'm unsure.
Anyway my question is - has anyone any first hand experience of this cards performance with Trainz and any good and bad points they would like to share?
Thanks in advance
Chris
***
PC Specs:
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Inspiron 530
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.lh_sp2rtm.090410-1830)
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8200 @ 2.33GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.3GHz
Memory: 3326MB RAM
Page File: 1147MB used, 5734MB available
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
--- DISPLAY ---
Card name: ATI Radeon HD 3450
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x95C5)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Display Memory: 1659 MB
Dedicated Memory: 252 MB
Shared Memory: 1407 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
--- HDD ---
Drive: C:
Free Space: 404.5 GB
Total Space: 466.6 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: Hitachi HDP725050GLA360 ATA Device
Drive: D:
Free Space: 4.5 GB
Total Space: 10.2 GB
File System: NTFS
Model: Hitachi HDP725050GLA360 ATA Device