Okay, I just need someone to explain this to me...

[sawyer811]

I'm gonna sound like a total noob here for a while but please, bear with me.

this all revolves around a problem called sharding, which for me always happens when water is involved (on a route). I have to change the water to glassy water whenever i download a route, just to make the game run it. I thought that was the answer to the problem.

here comes the questions:
1) my videocard is a NVIDIA GeForce 8200, and i've always suspected that it was the underlying problem of all this. But now i had someone tell me (i think, as i don't really understand this tech stuff) that it could be the difference between running DirectX and OpenGL. well, i went to go fiddle with those settings to see if i could fix anything, but i can't seem to find where they are in the control panel, or even if they're installed at all (I assumed they'd come installed on the computer, right?) So, if they are installed, where is the location where i can switch between the two, and if they aren't, then where on earth do i get them?

2) If DirectX and OpenGL aren't to blame, and it is my Videocard (which is low end, to my understanding...it sure performs that way) then what is a good card to run Trainz on? I'm starting to look to upgrade (and maybe get a little more RAM too) but i don't want to go off blindly and get something that performs just as bad if not worse.

okay, i know i sound like i don't know what i'm doing, but i've never been really tech-savvy anyway. I know enough to get trainz running, and that's it:hehe: I don't know if this is really the right place to be asking this, but i thought i'd give it a shot. I'm getting tired of not being able to use sessions created for routes i've downloaded, it takes away the fun when i have to spend 2-4 hours plus programming and troubleshooting a session I could just as easily download from the DLS.

any help would be appreciated, and thank you in advance.

 

[fran1]

Launch trainz, select options,display, change to dx, save,exit.
Another 2 gig of matching RAM, and the million dollar question is, how much can you afford to spend on the card then we might point you in the general direction.
A 560 GTX TI runs nicely. Would go well if that processor is a dual core.
Another brainstorm, check your DX is up to date, have you got the latest drivers for your card.

 

[martinvk]

Start Trainz using the "Launcher" Trainz should have created an icon on your desktop when it was installed. Otherwise it is in your TS12 / Bin folder.
When Trainz starts, select options, display settings. There you will see two display modes, DirectX and OpenGL. Whichever one is selected, pick the other and try Trainz. Don't change any of the other settings. When testing, only change one variable at a time so you know what is causing any new behavior.

 

[Retro00064]

Deleted post; others have beat me to it.

 

[sawyer811]

Launch trainz, select options,display, change to dx, save,exit.
Another 2 gig of matching RAM, and the million dollar question is, how much can you afford to spend on the card then we might point you in the general direction.
A 560 GTX TI runs nicely. Would go well if that processor is a dual core.
Another brainstorm, check your DX is up to date, have you got the latest drivers for your card.

well, let me ask this; what does a decent videocard go for? I literally know nothing about this stuff, but i don't want to go cheap and be off worse than i am now, nor do i want to shell out inexorberant amounts of money, if you kinda know what i mean.

Start Trainz using the "Launcher" Trainz should have created an icon on your desktop when it was installed. Otherwise it is in your TS12 / Bin folder.
When Trainz starts, select options, display settings. There you will see two display modes, DirectX and OpenGL. Whichever one is selected, pick the other and try Trainz. Don't change any of the other settings. When testing, only change one variable at a time so you know what is causing any new behavior.

okay, will do that. thank you.

again, i don't want to come off as an idiot, but the fact is i have no idea what i'm dealing with here. sorry if this gets annoying, i'm just trying to learn.

 

[RRSignal]

I saw a GT240 for something like $40 at Tigerdirect on rebate last month. I bought one a few months earlier on a slightly better rebate. It's about the most powerful card I could comfortably handle with my limited power supply and all my drives but it works nicely.

 

[nfotis]

First off, try the various settings available for fine-tuning your graphics display (DX11/OpenGL, Quality settings, distance to draw polygons, etc.)

That said, the GF 8200 is a low-end card, and the minimum for an adequate performance in Trainz is a 8800GT or equivalent from this generation of graphics cards.

How large is your power supply?
This will put a cap on the graphics card that you can install in your computer
(a GeForce 8800GT eats about 100Watts, while a 560 Ti eats nearly double that)

N.F.

 

[sawyer811]

Hmm, it appears i have more to consider than i thought. There's a lot i don't know about this computer (I got it cheap at one of those second-hand places...I guess you get what you pay for!). I'm not sure exactly what you mean by power supply; is that the power output of the computer itself or the power strip i have it jacked in to? I guess i should really start learning these things...will have to look into that.

 

[lewisner]

I bought a Palit Geforce GTX 460 1 GB graphics card about 8 months ago and it handles trainz really well. The same companies GTX 560 Ti 2GB is now about the same price as I paid for my 460.

 

[RRSignal]

The Power Supply Unit converts the line wall line voltage into levels and forms usable by the electronics 12V, 5V, 3.3V, all DC, as opposed to AC which is household. But there's a limit to how much current it'll output, and most pre-builts - whether OEMs like Dell or no-names - have just the minimum power rating they need to get by. It's the box inside the computer where the power cord goes in. You might be able to find a wattage rating on the outside of the PSU by the cord or on the inside, or there may be a listing of currents and voltages (load) in a sticker inside the case, but some of the no-name brands have no info.

That said, I think the 8200 uses a lot of power under load, so you might be okay with a similar draw. GT240 will certainly work.

Edit: You might even be able to take a 460 or 560...that's good news...still, try to find out the power ratings of your supply.

 

[tomurban]

Hmm, it appears i have more to consider than i thought. There's a lot i don't know about this computer (I got it cheap at one of those second-hand places...I guess you get what you pay for!). I'm not sure exactly what you mean by power supply; is that the power output of the computer itself or the power strip i have it jacked in to? I guess i should really start learning these things...will have to look into that.

The Power Supply being referred to here is the one built into your computer. It converts the supply voltage in your home, 120 Volts in the US and Canada to the low DC voltage needed to run the computer and it's components. A low end computer would have a Power Supply rated at 250-300 watts. The same as 4 or 5 60 watt light bulbs. For a decent video card, take a look at the GT 430 video cards listed at newegg.com. There are about a dozen different cards to choose from. Get one with at least one GB of RAM (memory) installed. These cards (GT 430) will hum along nicely at 30 Watts or less which is probably less than your current video card requires. Let us know how it goes.

tomurban

 

[nfotis]

Hmm, it appears i have more to consider than i thought. There's a lot i don't know about this computer (I got it cheap at one of those second-hand places...I guess you get what you pay for!). I'm not sure exactly what you mean by power supply; is that the power output of the computer itself or the power strip i have it jacked in to? I guess i should really start learning these things...will have to look into that.

As others said already, your computer power supply is (basically) a transformer that eats AC current from the wall plug and converts it to the appropriate voltages and currents for the internal components.

It is the box with the blower where you plug the power cord, and usually it has a number like 350W written near the plug or on its side (visible when you open the PC tower).
Usually, today's midrange graphics card want two separate 12 Volt DC leads from the power supply, which old units rarely provided.

350 Watts is a typical low-end PC power supply, for a card like Nvidia 460 GTX I would suggest at least a 450 Watt power supply, and for a bigger one like the 560 Ti a 550 Watt power supply would be preferable.

Hope this helps,
N.F.

 

[sawyer811]

well, one more for the road...

okay, not to dig up a thread and start the noob-fest again o) but i have another question. I'm going to be getting the computer worked on soon, and the question came up as to just where exactly trainz runs. The RAM on the videocard or the RAM on the motherboard? or something completely different? I'm gonna get 2-3GB more RAM anyway (since i know i'm below the recommended limit by 2GB) but i wanted to know because we weren't sure what exactly we needed to replace, or if what ran on the videocard would dictate which one we got.

again, any help would be appreciated.

 

[martinvk]

Trainz like every program runs in the system memory that is on your motherboard. It tells the graphic card to draw an image. The graphic card prepares the image in the video ram (this can be its own dedicated memory or some borrowed from the motherboard ram). This image is then sent to your monitor so you can see it. When done fast enough, you think you see a smooth moving picture. If anything slows down the process, you get stuttering.

That in a very over simplified way is how you get to see the beautiful Trainz images.

 

[Retro00064]

The system RAM is probably what you want to upgrade. I am not sure if the video RAM is upgradeable.

Regards,

Retro.

 

[clam1952]

Careful with the latest Nvidia Driver 280.26, it's buggy and about to be replaced. Nvidia said it would be soon about two or three weeks ago. I'm testing the beta at the moment, seems to be a performance increase here.

 

[RRSignal]

You really need to upgrade the VIDEO CARD more than anything else. I'd upgrade the system memory too if you can afford to do so, but that's second. A decent card shouldn't be much.

 

[tomurban]

You really need to upgrade the VIDEO CARD more than anything else. I'd upgrade the system memory too if you can afford to do so, but that's second. A decent card shouldn't be much.

Definitely: See my previous Post (#11). Add two GB of RAM to your MB and your good to go.

tomurban

 

[sawyer811]

okay, having been "busy" the last couple days (read "I forgot about bumping this") i want to say thank you for replying...again. that's what i thought it did, but i just wanted to make sure. 2GB more RAM is a definite yes, as is a new videocard.

again, thanks. Hopefully i'll be able to get this mess sorted out soon, and have a better computer because of it.

 

[SuperFudd]

If you are considering a GT430, get the GT440 instead. Same power consumption and a bit better performance for about the same cheap price.
The high end high price high power cosumption high performance cards work better, if you can suport it but I suspect the GT440 will suit Trainz well since I am satisfied with a mere GT220.