What Desktop

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martinpaling

New member
... thanks to our nations morally corrupt banks it looks like i'll be getting a repayment on a PPI

I've been thinking over the last year of buying a Windows PC to replace my PS3 for gaming. As an Apple user for over 20 years I really have no idea where to start or what to look for, at this moment time you could probably sell me a desktop tower filled with magic beans.

Where should I look, what kind of processor, graphics card.

I'd want to play Trainz, Cities in Motion and Skyrim

Would this do the job http://www.johnlewis.com/231496993/Product.aspx ?
 
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No. It has integrated graphics. Plus, HP has a tendency to burn people on upgradeability. How much do you have to spend?

Assembling your own is usually if not always better than buying a pre-built (OEM). Here's an idea:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1375733&CatId=333

Somebody posted a thread with some U.K. sources and prices, let me know if you want me to look for it. I think it was before the forums were upgraded i.e. the search feature probably won't work.
 
If you don't want to mess with making your own or having one custom made at a local shop, try Dell. A good PC is likely cheaper at Dell. I sugest an XPS 8300. Get the i5 CPU. I hear there is no advantage to the i7 for games. I sugest the standard 8G of RAM, 1G hard drive. The standard AMD Radion HD6450 (1G DDR3) is unknown to me. The Nvidea GT530 is an extra $50 USD.
 
When buying a Desktop PC look at the power supply wattage, if it only has a 300watt PS then you will be limited to a 300watt video card. (Although a upgraded Power supply can be swapped into a low power desktop for @ $150 USD). You can put in a fair 300watt 1Gb video card for @ $100 USD, and a desktop will perform very good.

There are gaming Desktops for @ $900 USD

A good desktop should have a fast CPU, and a 2Gb dedicated graphics video card

Trainz only uses 2Gb RAM ... so don't be mislead by a 8Gb RAM, I7 machine that has Integrated Graphics, as it is no better than a notebook laptop ... bloated with carp.

I would look for at least 5Gb Ram, a 1Tb hard drive, and a 3Ghz or faster CPU.

If you bought a Dell ... you probably paid way, way, way, way too much for a mediocre machine, that has a low wattage PS, a slow CPU, a 500Gb hard drive, 3Gb RAM ... etc ... mediocre Apple equivilent.
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A good gaming laptop will cost @ $1200 USD and will have a 2Gb video card built in, and will have a 17" screen, with 8Gb Ram and a 1Tb hard drive.
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Inexpensive PC's will not run Trainz well at all ... the $1000 USD range is what you can expect to lay out.

Watch out for Big Box stores that sell a carpy mediocre PC for $1000 ... crooks selling junky PC's at inflated prices.
 
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In the past, I tested trainz 2006 on a Dell Optiplex Desktop with Windows XP 32 bit, 2GB RAM, and Integrated Graphics. Believe it or not, trainz ran pretty good with the scenery and detail set to medium. It lagged just a bit on heavy areas but overall, a desktop with integrated graphics will run trainz better than a laptop with integrated graphics.
 
This firm seems to get a lot of praise, both from magazines doing reviews and people in forums who have bought one. They seem to put together a lot of variations, at a reasonable prices and with an exceptional warranty. I haven't got one myself but am thinking that this is where I'd start should I feel unable to resist the seductions of a shiney new machine.

http://www.chillblast.com/

Discussions elewhere in this forum seem to suggest that a discrete graphics card (not necessarily the biggest & best) and an SSD data drive are necessary to get Trainz performing at its best. Most modern processors seem fast enough. A SATA III interface for the hard drives is the latest standard (as far as I know) and PCI Express 2.1 slots for the plug-ins such as graphics cards. An external eSATA connection and USB3 sockets are probably a good idea. The Chillblast place seems to do all of these in various of its offerings.

Lataxe
 
cascaderailroad said:
Trainz only uses 2Gb RAM ... so don't be mislead by a 8Gb RAM, I7 machine that has Integrated Graphics, as it is no better than a notebook laptop ... bloated with carp.

I would look for at least 5Gb Ram, a 1Tb hard drive, and a 3Ghz or faster CPU.
Click to expand...

All excellent advice except these parts. Laptops have greatly inferior CPUs and GPUs than their desktop counterparts as they need to conserve battery power and cannot be cooled as efficiently. That's why they have lower power ratings and separate designations - they are essentially heavily de-rated parts.

Also, I'm guessing this was a typo, but 5Gb is an oddball number and won't help you any more than 4Gb will; Trainz uses up to 4Gb on a 64-bit OS. But, you're right, even under one, you'd be hard-pressed to get it to use more than about 2Gb even with all it's background processes running.
 
The posters who have said "2GB RAM is enough for Trainz" etc seem not to have noticed that the OP said he also wishes to play Skyrim which is a high end video game. I had a look for "Gaming PC" on Ebay and this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/great-gam...t=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item35b9fa180c is a complete package with good specs. At present it has no bids so if it doesn't sell it may be possible to do a deal.
Alternatively I would suggest either building your own - or having it built - to the specs in one of the PC magazines such as Custom PC , which give lists of parts to build various types of PC up to "Extreme Ultra" to suit your pockets and requirements.
This is a look inside my self built PC, though I have replaced the GPU with an XFX ATI 7950 DD.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinzac55/6840762307/in/photostream
 
martinpaling said:
This is why I use a PS3 for playing games and a Mac for work.... buying PC's is so hard!!

Ok i've bee trudging around some sites and this is one suggestion a friend had > http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-217-OE&groupid=43&catid=2040&subcat=1444

It can be upgraded to have a second SSD, is there any problems associated to running Trainz from a second drive


Slowly digesting your posts and suggestions guys, thanks!
Click to expand...

I run trainz off a separate hard drive away from the O/S, no problems there. A SSD does speed things up, quite a few people have them and say a definate improvement on your 5400+7200 rpm drives.
Base your new comp on a good CPU and GPU and buy the rest to suit. Have a look for a thread by DR Jones, he's just built a comp and reckons it's a good one.
 
lewisner said:
I had a look for "Gaming PC" on Ebay and this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/great-gam...t=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item35b9fa180c is a complete package with good specs. At present it has no bids so if it doesn't sell it may be possible to do a deal.
Alternatively I would suggest either building your own - or having it built - to the specs in one of the PC magazines such as Custom PC , which give lists of parts to build various types of PC up to "Extreme Ultra" to suit your pockets and requirements.
Click to expand...

Hmm that eBay one is worth considering, thanks.

I guess it would be cheaper to build one... but apart from installing new ram in a mac i've never done anything like that!

Where I am now... I'm looking at a budget of £600-£700

And after reading all your posts it looks like i'm looking for...

4-8gb Ram

Something like an i5 processor?

Graphics Card (I read Trainz is better on nVidia?) so is an GTX 560 Ti ok?

A SSD, or a 2nd SSD drive

Thanks guys
 
I don't know Skyrim but I noticed in Smiths that this month's issue of Custom PC tells you how to build a Skyrim usable desktop for £300.
 
martinpaling said:
Hmm that eBay one is worth considering, thanks.

I guess it would be cheaper to build one... but apart from installing new ram in a mac i've never done anything like that!

Where I am now... I'm looking at a budget of £600-£700

And after reading all your posts it looks like i'm looking for...

4-8gb Ram

Something like an i5 processor?

Graphics Card (I read Trainz is better on nVidia?) so is an GTX 560 Ti ok?

A SSD, or a 2nd SSD drive

Thanks guys
Click to expand...

Lets say you did go down the self build route - it is daunting at first, but then you realise that virtually any PC is simply a lot of modules and the only thing you have to be sure of is that they are compatible with each other. If you use the specs as outlined in Custom PC or PC Format then you KNOW they are compatible. There are any number of "How to build a PC" videos on YouTube which take you through it literally screw by screw.
I've bought many of my components on Ebay after careful scrutiny and with an eye on what the price of the component "new" would be - so that I don't get carried away and spend too much!
This ASUS Maximus mobo http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150764884979?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 is currently for sale by Novatech - a reputable computer firm - "refurbished" and for the mobo alone (no accessories) but the same mobo new is £300. Teamed up with an i7 2600K CPU you have the makings of a killer PC.
 
teddytoot said:
I don't know Skyrim but I noticed in Smiths that this month's issue of Custom PC tells you how to build a Skyrim usable desktop for £300.
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"Usable" is quite different from "playable". As we all know the "minimum specs" for Trainz are quite different to what you actually need! If you want to play Crysis 2 or Battlefield 3 you need to set your sights higher :cool:
 
lewisner said:
"Usable" is quite different from "playable". As we all know the "minimum specs" for Trainz are quite different to what you actually need! If you want to play Crysis 2 or Battlefield 3 you need to set your sights higher :cool:
Click to expand...
Skyrim is very scaleable. It certainly doesn't look as pretty as it might, but I'm happily playing on a 3GHz dual-core IMac through bootcamp.
 
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