NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super GDDR6 Graphics Card - 8GB

[JonMyrlennBailey]

Is this the most TRAINZ-worthy card on the market to date? Is this card sure to end those "slide shows" even on routes with tens of thousands of 3D trees and all the game settings cranked up to max? Amazon.com wants about $1,300 for this thing. eBay about $900. That $327 Zotac GeForce GTX 1650 of mine is now performing like a rusty gate in a route forest with 10's of thousands of 3D Hemlocks.

Here is the build sheet for my current PC.

Jon’s Home-Built desktop PC ... Computer Name and Model: PROVISION Gamer, Model JBP-3537 Personal Computer, custom-built in America by John P. Bailey in Lawton, Oklahoma, United States of America in August, 2021

Item	Source	Description	Price	Notes
HARDWARE
Badge for front of case	Lone Star Badge and Sign	plastic printed name plate	$14.02
Atrwork Vectorization for Case Badge	Copyartwork.com	PDF file from my modified png artwork, paid preparation for printing case badge	$8.00
Blu-ray Optical Drive, internal	Amazon.com	Pioneer Electronics USA, BDR-209 DBK (this drive writes Blu-ray disks, CDs and DVDs)	$68 .00
Building Supplies/ Tools	(various)	Philips screwdrivers, ruler, plastic locking cable ties
Cooling Fans/heat sinks as needed	n/a	1 on heat sink supplied w/ processor, 1 supplied w/ case, 1 supplied w/ power supply
CPU	Amazon.com	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6-Core, 12-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor with Wraith Stealth Cooler	$313.91	Supplied w/ AMD fan and heat sink
Fastening hardware as need	(various)	supplied w/ case
Graphics card if no video onboard mobo	Amazon.com	ZOTAC GAMING GeForce GTX 1650 OC 4GB GDDR6 128-bit Gaming Graphics Card, Super Compact, ZT-T16520F-10L	$326.99	SKU: ZT-T16520F-10L SN: 211900054686 PN: 9288-1N595-300Z8
Hard Drive, internal	Amazon.com	Crucial MX500 1TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD, up to 560MB/s - CT1000MX500SSD1(Z)	$130.79
Hard Drive Adapter Bracket (to install 2.50” SSD drive in 3.50” drive bay)	Amazon.com	Fenlink 2.5" to 3.5" Internal SSD Hard Drive SATA Drive Converter	$13.07
Keyboard and mouse	Amazon.com (keyboard), Fry's (mouse)	Adesso 3-color illuminated compact desktop keyboard, wired: ONN wired mouse, optical
Memory card reader/writer, internal, 3.5”	n/a	(none)
Memory, RAM	Amazon.com	TEAMGROUP T-Force Dark Z 16GB Kit (2x8GB) DDR4 Dram 3200MHz (PC4-25600) CL16 288-Pin Desktop Memory Module Ram (Gray) - TDZGD416G3200HC16CDC01 = 16 GB total	$83.92
Monitor	Fry's Electronics, Sacramento, CA	Samsung 20" LED	$200.00	Includes 2-year protection plan, purchased May 2013
Motherboard	Amazon.com	MSI Arsenal Gaming AMD Ryzen 2ND and 3rd Gen AM4 M.2 USB 3 DDR4 DVI HDMI Crossfire ATX Motherboard (B450 TOMAHAWK MAX II)	$119.89	BIOS Version: Serial Number: 601-7C02-080B2101025063 CHK: C27 Model: B450 TOMAHAWK MAX II
PC case	Fry’s Electronics	ATX form factor: Antec™ New Solutions NSK 4480B II	$66.00	Dimensions (H x W x D) = 16.50" x 7.80" x 16.60" Weight = 18.0 lbs.
Case Cooling Fan	Amazon.com	be quiet! Pure Wings 2 120mm PWM high-Speed, BL081, Cooling Fan	$14.16
Power Supply	Amazon.com	EVGA 210-GQ-0650-V1 650 GQ, 80+ GOLD 650W, Semi Modular, EVGA ECO Mode, 5 Year Warranty, Power Supply, Black	$81.18
Sound Card if no sound onboard mobo	n/a	supplied w/ mobo
Speakers		Wal-Mart Onn external amplified desktop speakers, pair
Wireless Adapter card , internal w/ driver	n/a	(none)
Wires, cables, connectors, adapters as needed	(various)	several USB cables for remote USB hubs, printers, etc.-monitor cable, wireless Ethernet bridge Cat-5 cable, power cable supplied w/ case
SYSTEM SOFTWARE
Copy of operating system installed on build	Online, MS Office Store, https://softwarepal.co.uk/terms-conditions/	Microsoft® Windows 10 Home Retail Version/64 Bit OEM COPY PRODUCT KEY:__	$55.43	OEM Builder, ME
Any drivers for internal components as needed	(various)	various supplied with extra devices on discs, Windows O/S and downloaded
Thermal paste	Amazon.com Deb Lope	ARCTIC ORACO-MX40001-BL MX-4 Thermal Compound Paste, Carbon Based High Performance, Heatsink Paste, Thermal Compound CPU for All Coolers, Thermal Interface Material - 4 Grams	$6.95	to install CPU heat
Switches/LEDs front panel	Amazon.com	Warmstor 2-Pack Computer Case LED Light Red Green ATX Power Supply Reset HDD Switch Cable 27-inch Long ATX Case Front Bezel Wire Kit Replaces burnt out status leds on ATX cases PC ATX Power Reset Switch Cable PC ATX Power Reset Switch Cable;Design : H.D.D LED, Power LED+, Power LED-, Reset SW, Power SW Sometimes it's the small parts that can make a big difference. Replace your burnt out LEDs and worn out switches with this handy ATX front bezel wire kit. The five-piece kit comes with two switches (Power, Reset) and three LEDs (Power, Hard Drive Activity, Sleep). Each switch and LED is clearly labeled to make installation easy. Make sure your computer still looks and works as great as the day you bought it with this replacement kit LED Number : 2;LED Light Color : Red, Green; Cable Length : 68cm / 27";Material (External) : Plastic LED Number : 2;LED Light Color : Red, Green; Cable Length : 68cm / 27";Material (External) : Plastic	$7.99	Had to modify front panel LED holes from original 3mm holes to larger holes to press-fit larger LED's: original LED's were both blue: had to file down power switch operating pushrod that connects with on/off button in panel for reliable operation

PC Hardware and Windows License Value Total: = $1,310.30





Benchmark Test Score: 8/20/21

UserBenchmarks: Game 41%, Desk 87%, Work 39%

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 - 84.3%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1650 - 42.7%
SSD: Crucial MX500 1TB - 119%
USB: Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB - 18.8%
RAM: Unknown TEAMGROUP-UD4-3200 2x8GB - 72.3%
MBD: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX II (MS-7C02)

[url]https://www.userbenchmark.com/Software[/URL]

 

[dundun92]

A 3060ti (currently going for $550) will be much more worth it. It almost matches in performance, and newer architectures are almost always better.

 

[johnwhelan]

GeForce RTX 3090 Ti would be the optimum.

https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php

RTX 2080 Super 19507 $1,100 on newegg.com

RTX 3060 TI 20355 $470 on newegg.com

Cheerio John

 

[pdkoester]

GTX1080 or higher spec is all it needs for these Trainz. They don't even have RTX enabled in it.

 

[Forester1]

I have a GTX1080 on an Intel I7 and it seems to do fine with TS2019. I would say it is probably a minimum though. The 2k cards or at least the 1080i would definitely be better.

 

[clam1952]

GTX1080 or higher spec is all it needs for these Trainz. They don't even have RTX enabled in it.

Raytracing is coming to Trainz according to the last weeks newsletter,

DX12 and Raytracing

Behind the scenes, we've also been working on DX12 support. This is now mostly complete so we can begin adding support for advanced DX12 features such as ray tracing. When complete this will bring Trainz scenes to life even more with ultra-realistic visual effects and faster frame rates.

Be hard pushed to actually find a new 1080 or 1080TI in fact the 2000 series cards are getting rare.

Only having a 650watt PSU probably rules out anything over an RTX 3070 as the 3070TI upwards need or rather it's recommended to have a 750 watt PSU, might get away with that Gold rated EVGA PSU though, got a 750 watt Gold EVGA version here.

Anything 1080 upwards will work fine with the Ryzen 5 3600 hope you got the original wraith cooler and not the noisy new version without the copper core, I had to junk mine and put a decent Air Cooler in that I had spare to get rid of the noise! I do have an original quite Wraith spare however the Cooler I used is way better.

A 1080TI is actually pretty much the same as an RTX2080 just doesn't have usable raytracing, you need to go up to an RTX 3070TI to get a noticeable increase in performance over the 1080TI which also out performs the RTX 2080.

I actually have the 1080TI and the 3070TI and both will run maxed out, frame rates are better on the 3070TI. The only reason I got it was I needed a decent GPU for a recent upgrade to a Ryzen7 3800X system so I could play with Win11, and could put the the 1080 TI back in i7 - 6700K Rig where I'd borrowed it from, it's still a pretty fast setup. Got the 3070TI as it was cheaper than the 3070 which I was aiming for as on special offer.

GPUs are dropping in price rapidly, leastwise in the UK and I'd avoid Amazon or Ebay unless it's from a known supplier and not scalpers, not sure about the US but a few UK suppliers also use Amazon and Ebay as well as their online stores.

An RTX 3090 way too expensive and only an advantage if using 4K monitors or obsessed with benchmarks.

The soon to be released Nvidia RTX 4000 series are apparently going to need bigger PSUs if the leaks can be believed.

 

[ColPrice2002]

A couple of years ago my gtx 770 card died.
it was replaced by an rtx 2060 - it runs Trainz at 30+fps with shadows and high scenery routes. I don’t use ultra settings, so your choice will be ok.
After all, you can always update a graphics card later depending on budgets and pricing.

Colin

 

[JonMyrlennBailey]

A 3060ti (currently going for $550) will be much more worth it. It almost matches in performance, and newer architectures are almost always better.

Here is a side by side with a 2060 Super??:

I already have a Zotac Gaming GeForce GTX 1650 OC and in Trainz Railroad Simulator 2012 driving through a forest of 10's of 1,000's of 3D trees, it is a real slide show for action performance even at a draw distance of only 1,000 meters and with trees set at LOW detail.

 

[pdkoester]

Raytracing is coming to Trainz according to the last weeks newsletter,

I wonder what Raytracing will ACTUALLY do that hasn't been already done...

 

[dundun92]

I found a video showing TRS19 on max settings on a 3060ti. It averages 60fps, sometimes peaking into the 100s and dropping to 35 at the lowest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bie4nH_wXF4. I remember another video I was watching who had a 1080ti, and it was maintaining about 50fps at max settings and dropping to about 30 in certain scenarios. Its just amazing how a newer $400 GPU can match or even outperform a once $700 GPU.

 

[Paulsw2]

I have an RTX 2080 S card and, in answer to your question ("Is this the most TRAINZ-worthy card on the market to date? Is this card sure to end those "slide shows" even on routes with tens of thousands of 3D trees and all the game settings cranked up to max?") basically, yes! (though I don't have shadows on ultra and I reduce draw distance to 8km).

Paul

 

[johnwhelan]

I have an RTX 2080 S card and, in answer to your question ("Is this the most TRAINZ-worthy card on the market to date? Is this card sure to end those "slide shows" even on routes with tens of thousands of 3D trees and all the game settings cranked up to max?") basically, yes! (though I don't have shadows on ultra and I reduce draw distance to 8km).

Paul

And I suspect you avoid the show stopping scenery objects made with Sketchup.

Cheerio John

 

[JonMyrlennBailey]

I have an RTX 2080 S card and, in answer to your question ("Is this the most TRAINZ-worthy card on the market to date? Is this card sure to end those "slide shows" even on routes with tens of thousands of 3D trees and all the game settings cranked up to max?") basically, yes! (though I don't have shadows on ultra and I reduce draw distance to 8km).

Paul

It seems like TRAINZ is the ultimate software to put any gaming machine to the ultimate graphics performance acid test. Trainz will hiccup and jitter on machines whereby American Truck Simulator or even Microsoft Flight Simulator Deluxe won't. Playing TRAINZ, or vehicle sims in general, is not like playing Windows XP Solitaire, Internet Spades and Checkers, Atari Pong or even Space Cadet 3D Pinball.

TRAINZ should be the ultimate industry standard to challenge any computer gaming hardware.

 

[johnwhelan]

It seems like TRAINZ is the ultimate software to put any gaming machine to the ultimate graphics performance acid test. Trainz will hiccup and jitter on machines whereby American Truck Simulator or even Microsoft Flight Simulator Deluxe won't. Playing TRAINZ, or vehicle sims in general, is not like playing Windows XP Solitaire, Internet Spades and Checkers, Atari Pong or even Space Cadet 3D Pinball.

TRAINZ should be the ultimate industry standard to challenge any computer gaming hardware.

You're forgetting user created content in Trainz means not all of it is efficient.

Cheerio John

 

[JonMyrlennBailey]

You're forgetting user created content in Trainz means not all of it is efficient.

Cheerio John

I never thought about that. In my routes, it seems as if having too much Auran-created 3D trees (certainly not something I created) is doing all the gumming up of the works. The software runs smooth as a baby's bottom otherwise whenever there is a simple landscape of just grass out on a wide-open plain. In a thick forest of Auran pines and hemlocks, however, it runs like a rusty machine badly needing oil.

 

[johnwhelan]

I never thought about that. In my routes, it seems as if having too much Auran-created 3D trees (certainly not something I created) is doing all the gumming up of the works. The software runs smooth as a baby's bottom otherwise whenever there is a simple landscape of just grass out on a wide-open plain. In a thick forest of Auran pines and hemlocks, however, it runs like a rusty machine badly needing oil.

If it's just one tree repeated then the machine load is much lighter. Try to stay with four different trees and rotate them, bury them to different depths and you should see much better performance. Variety costs performance.

Cheerio John

 

[Paulsw2]

You're forgetting user created content in Trainz means not all of it is efficient.

Cheerio John

This is true. You shouldn't need a 1080 / 2080 / 3080 Nvidia card to get good performance out of this game though. I thought with the new game engine for TANE and beyond that we'd get something more efficient? Shame N3V can't partner with Nvidia to optimise the game's performance.

Paul

 

[johnwhelan]

This is true. You shouldn't need a 1080 / 2080 / 3080 Nvidia card to get good performance out of this game though. I thought with the new game engine for TANE and beyond that we'd get something more efficient? Shame N3V can't partner with Nvidia to optimise the game's performance.

Paul

They are part of the program by nVidia to optimise code for their video cards or at least were part at one time.

Cheerio John

 

[ZecMurphy]

This is true. You shouldn't need a 1080 / 2080 / 3080 Nvidia card to get good performance out of this game though. I thought with the new game engine for TANE and beyond that we'd get something more efficient? Shame N3V can't partner with Nvidia to optimise the game's performance.

Paul

There's only so much performance that a game engine can provide when it's trying to deal with millions of triangles on objects with no LOD or very inefficient LOD.

Here's the thing, those performance sliders for scenery detail only work if the assets have LOD. If no LOD, then there's no 'reduction' of detail to provide, and hence you are essentially forced by that content creator to view the content as if you are using the highest settings. The only gain you will potentially see is that Trainz will simply stop rendering objects further away at lower settings.

It's worth noting that this issue applies to not just 'drawing' the objects themselves, but also drawing the shadows from and on those objects.

This will mean that your main methods of adjusting performance with this content will be either the draw distance, or settings such as shadow detail.

With well made efficient content, on a well designed route, performance should be quite good at suitable performance settings on any supported hardware. But when you start using very high poly models with little or no LOD, then you'll absolutely start to see performance issues...

Regards

 

[dundun92]

There are other games that are likely rendering way more polys and detail then even the most heavily unoptimized scenery populated trainz route, and yet are running faster and smoother with better visuals then trainz because UE4/5 is way more efficient then Trainz E2. Its not a poly problem (though that's part of it), its more a game engine problem. Why should trainz be running a high end 3060ti at 100% all the time? I feel the E2 engine still has a whole bunch of potential for optimization.