Trainz and Mac

[Kris94]

What range of MAC Books would be able to run a lot trains and high detailed trains at a decent performance level and what's the price range.

 

[drchoi21]

don't get macs, they have integrated graphics in most of them (cheapest is around 1000 to 1600) the decent mac books come from 2000 dollar range, while you can get fully decked out windows PC at that price that even beats desktops. Mac Pro (Tower) on the other hand can play Trainz decently but I reccomend getting cheapest one and change the graphics card

 

[dgallina]

I play Trainz Mac nicely on a Retina MacBook Pro with GeForce GT 650M video, SSD drive, at 1440x900 resolution. Runs at about 3/4 detail and the load speeds are much better than on my iMac desktop due to the SSD. That kind of MBP runs around 2K at this point. As others mentioned, you want to avoid the Macs that have only Intel integrated video as that really isn't the most pleasant experience for Trainz. Diego

 

[Kris94]

I'd love a laptop that would give decent quality play along with the ability to edit the running numbers on Jointed Rail rolling stock with out lagging or crashing. Two systems without success. I haven't been able to do anything since I've gotten the laptop because I'm always busy. JR says it must be my system because it shouldn't do that but I'll figure it out.

 

[boyerm25]

Trains runs fine on a basic MacBook 2011 laptop. A little laggy, but it never crashes.

 

[Rivkah]

My latest 17" MacBookPro runs Trainz very well. Circa 2012. (2.5 Ghz Intel Core i7)

My older 17" MacBookPro doesn't. It is a 32bit with a much slower processor circa 2005. I also tried running Trainz 2010 via Parallels but each frame took seconds or minutes to render. (Rather than 20-100 frames per second ie really sloooowwwww).

The laptop format helps me because I am in and out of the VA hospital. Don't forget to obtain a security cable to keep it from growing legs.

I also have a Alienware 2012 PC. (2.3 Ghz Intel Core i7 i think) Specs are a bit below Mac.

If you have the money a high end PC is recommended. Trainz 2012 and 2010 are much more robust than Trainz Mac particularly when it comes to the Content Manager features. Trainz Mac Driver runs better in my opinion, and doesn't have a lot of the PC issues.

Hope this helps.

 

[Kris94]

​Well what about PC laptops?

 

[WindWalkr]

Regardless of the OS, I would recommend an i7 processor with a discreet GPU. You will find that Windows tends to be slightly faster in terms of raw FPS on a given hardware spec, however if you've got a decent machine to start with this probably isn't a big deal for you. SSD is very nice if you can get it, but it's also expensive for any decent capacity.

For the record, nearly all of my development work is undertaken on a Mac. For many Trainz purposes, they're a complete solution and better in many ways than Windows. If you want to undertake 3D modelling for Trainz however, probably best to stick with Windows for now.

chris

 

[Kris94]

​What kind of discreet GPU?

 

[JCitron]

Kris,

Welcome back!

The most important things with gaming laptops is the video and processor. Ensure that your machine will have at least an i7. (Never go less), and discrete video. Avoid those CAD/CAM precision workstations or the equivalent. CAD-based video is not good for games due to the way it works.

So having said that, Dell makes some decent gaming machines. Both of these lines are in their-high end so you will pay for the quality. For the top-end look at Alienware. I have a slightly older M17x which is a decent i7 based machine with a ATI 59xx series video card. The newer machines of the same line have an NVidia card in them now. These are discrete video, and not just a chip on the motherboard. Dell's other gaming line, with similar video options is a big less expensive, but will run pretty well. These too have the discrete video option.

Neither of these machines are cheap, and you'll get what you pay for. Keep in mind the cooling and the weight as well. The large-display Alienware which I have weighs a ton, and it gets pretty warm. The whole case is aluminum and acts as a heat sink. I put one of those coolers underneath the machine to keep it cool while running.

John

 

[Kris94]

​Well I'll look into both systems then.

 

[Dralex]

Hi everybody!

I run Trainz on a MacMini with the following specs:
Processor 2.5 GHz Intel I5
Main storage 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics AMD Radeon HD 6630M 256 MB
Software OS x 10.8.3 (Mountain Lion)
Works quite satisfactorily (for me), and I have one or two mega routes. As long as there are not too many trains, that is.

Dralex