Why is performance so bad when using 5m grid?

Hi;
My system specs:
Intel i5 2500 on MSI P67A mobo
16GB DDR3 @ 1600Mhz
TANE SP2 installed on part 1 (approx 1/2) of 500GB Samsung 850EVO SSD
Total approx 1.5TB storage (HDD & SSD)
Gigabyte NVidia GeForce 750Ti 2GB video on PCIE

When I create a new route using 10m grid, there is hardly any hesitation while creating terrain using the up and down tools.
But when I create the same route using 5m grid, the hesitation is pronounced. Action of moving height of terrain is "steppy", not smooth.
The only solution for me is to create the route in 10m grid, then convert it to 5m before laying track or scenery.

So, what do I have to do to get better performance in this respect, and overall in TANE SP2 and going forward to TS2019 (If I should choose to go that route).
Do I need a whole new system, or just upgrade the video?

Thanks for your help

CP

When running Offline (Eithernet Cable disconnected, or Network Wireless turned off) a PC has better performance, as there are no intrusions, nor updates, getting into your PC

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

A GTX 1060 is about the comfortable minimum and N3V are suggesting a GTX1070TI for the new version.

Nvidia shares are down since it expects the bit mining craze to come to an end which means a few second hand cards will be for sale on ebay and cards are dropping back to the recommended price.

I run a GTX 980 on the main rig and a GTX 1050TI on the second rig. For small layouts and choosing the assets reasonably well there is no difference in the appearance or frame rates which are limited to 30 fps. If you are less selective then a bigger card helps. Speedtrees need a bit of GPU by the way.

Nvidia have not announced any new cards for a while so if you can hand on I'd hang on for the moment. Oh and check your power supply the bigger cards like bigger robust power supplies.

Cheerio John

Thanks guys. I'll keep an eye out on Ebay for used boards.
At this point, I don't play TANE all that much, but I'm thinking I might want to get into beta testing of the new TS2019. If I decide to do that, I would think that N3V would want me to have a more up to date system.

Interesting about the Bitcoin mining. I was just informed the other day by a neighbor that the mining phase was done.

I think the problem with 5m grid is how the game has to render more polygons to allow for each 5m piece of terrain to be moved. This starts to wear on the game rather quickly on large(r) routes. I only use 5m grid on model railroads because i only need a few baseboards to make them. But on larger routes, the game has to render more ground terrain polygons, thus harming the game's performance. It's a flaw that comes with the upgrade to 5m grid, basically.

5m grid is 4x more work for your computer than a 10m, so if you had 40fpm at 10m you get 10fpm at 5m.

I just ran the benchmark test for submission to N3V for closed Beta testing of TS2019. I didn't expect N3V to accept me based on the older GPU, but I was curious to run the test anyway.
The test is this one: http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/8829749
It reported my Graphics at 23.2%. Not good. Everything else except my Windows 7 OS was OK. I can upgrade to Windows 10, so that's not an issue.
Looks like I need to be looking out for dropping prices on video cards if I want to run TS2019 by December.

I might be looking at a used card on Ebay, but I'm not completely confident with that option, since there would be no warranty.
What do you think about this?

A new graphics card would indeed revitalize your current rig and make your rendering life a whole lot easier.
Good news is that if you get a modern card, you'll be able to carry it over to a new gaming rig build when you're ready to take that step.
T:ANE is absolutely the best Trainz product at the moment for route building capabilities. Better tools and more utility options.
To make a demonstrable difference in your gaming experience, start looking for replacing your current GT 750Ti with a GTX-1070 or better.
(The GTX-1070 is rated by many as the best value for money performance GPU at the moment. It is very efficient, so you probably won't need to change your power supply unit. There are good prices on GTX-1080s at the moment).
Whether 2nd hand or new, such a card will make a world of difference, and bring your userbenchmark score up to 'Nuclear submarine' class!

johnwhelan said:

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

A GTX 1060 is about the comfortable minimum and N3V are suggesting a GTX1070TI for the new version.

Click to expand...

We will need a $500 video card to run the new version? Really?

I'm just about to drop $150 for an upgrade to a [h=1]GeForce GTX 1050 OC Low Profile 2GB Video Card[/h]I think N3V is going to be pricing out a lot of people.

ecco said:

We will need a $500 video card to run the new version? Really?

I'm just about to drop $150 for an upgrade to a GeForce GTX 1050 OC Low Profile 2GB Video Card

I think N3V is going to be pricing out a lot of people.

Click to expand...

You may wish to think twice before upgrading. Prices are coming down since bitcoin mining on GPUs is no longer economic and nVidia have not released a new video card in some time. I have the GTX 1050 ti on one machine and its not too bad but it does have limitations. I suggest going for the TI version rather than the normal version by the way.

Cheerio John

johnwhelan said:

You may wish to think twice before upgrading. Prices are coming down since bitcoin mining on GPUs is no longer economic and nVidia have not released a new video card in some time. I have the GTX 1050 ti on one machine and its not too bad but it does have limitations. I suggest going for the TI version rather than the normal version by the way.

Cheerio John

Click to expand...

I agree as well. The GTX 1050 is a decent starter card for the current generation of Pascal cards but it will definitely limit your Trainz experience because of the low amount of VRAM. I would say, it would be best to get a card that has 4GB and higher of VRAM, to smoothly render the high resolution graphics and textures. I have a GTX 1060 but am limiting or bottlenecking my Trainz experience as well due to using an outdated AMD Phenom II X4 965 and older Gigabyte Motherboard that does not support DDR4 RAM.

John and Malik, Thanks for the feedback. As with all things computing, one can always wait for a better bang for the buck.

The 1050 Ti is just a little better than the Oc (According to http://gpu.userbenchmark.com ) but costs about 33% more - $200 vs $150. Both are 200% - 500% better than what I currently have.

ecco said:

John and Malik, Thanks for the feedback. As with all things computing, one can always wait for a better bang for the buck.

The 1050 Ti is just a little better than the Oc (According to http://gpu.userbenchmark.com ) but costs about 33% more - $200 vs $150. Both are 200% - 500% better than what I currently have.

Click to expand...

GPU cards earlier this year were double the price of a year ago due to bit coin miners buying them up. Although it no longer is profitable I'd hold back until September when prices should be back down to the manufacturer's recommended retail price.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html you're hovering over the good enough line and I'd still go for as much GPU processing power as you can. The lower end GPUs are better value in power per dollar but if its too low it doesn't work and that's your gamble. If the 1050 doesn't cut it then you'll need to buy a new card, if the GTX 1050 TI is overkill you've just spent $60 unnecessarily.

Cheerio John

johnwhelan said:

You may wish to think twice before upgrading. Prices are coming down since bitcoin mining on GPUs is no longer economic and nVidia have not released a new video card in some time. I have the GTX 1050 ti on one machine and its not too bad but it does have limitations. I suggest going for the TI version rather than the normal version by the way.

Cheerio John

Click to expand...

Well, despite prices still being high, I bit the bullet and paid $200 for an EVGA GTX 1050 Ti. I had been using an onboard Intel HD 400. I went with the EVGA because it was the smallest and I have an HP Micro Tower with a 300 PS.


The slot is really close to a poorly placed heat sink, but IT FIT. The card itself is not longer than the junky AMD Radeon I replaced, but it is a lot fatter.

Installation was pretty straight-forward. It took about an hour including fiddling with getting the two monitors set up properly.


According to ...
http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-1050-Ti-vs-Intel-HD-4000-Desktop-115-GHz/3649vs2169
... my Average User Bench is 887% better. My SpeedRank went from 354/590 to 67/590.

Scrolling around in Surveyor is like flying an F18 at low altitude (Dino's highly detailed Kauia Route). Rendering is almost instantaneous even for distant tree covered mountains.

Driver looks great. Jumping from train to train still takes about 5-6 seconds to fully render. But once rendered, it's beautiful. No stuttering whatsoever.

Thanks again for the input -especially johnwhelan for recommending the Ti.

-Might be a dumb question but is T:ANE more cpu or gpu heavy? I'm going to be building a whole new computer hear within the coming weeks.

-Joe

socalwb909 said:

-Might be a dumb question but is T:ANE more cpu or gpu heavy? I'm going to be building a whole new computer hear within the coming weeks.

-Joe

Click to expand...

GPU heavy the CPU is not so important. So depending on your purse ideally think in terms of a GTX 1060 or better. Chris (windwalkr) is recommending a GTX 1070 TI and something with half a dozen cores or more on the CPU for the next version of Trainz.

A GTX 1050 TI is about as low as you might like to go.

Cheerio John

Might be a dumb question but is T:ANE more cpu or gpu heavy? I'm going to be building a whole new computer hear within the coming weeks​

Click to expand...

Without question, T:ANE is much more GPU-dependent. You can get away with a modest multicore CPU, but you really need a powerful GPU to make T:ANE fly.
Of course, these two components go very well together, so a high-end CPU should ideally be matched with a high-end video card, so that the rig can keep up with the PhysX and 'feed the pixel beast'.