My New Xidax X-2 Gaming Rig

I have been told that Trainz does not require a top of the line expensive desktop PC

$ 1617 (minus 5% discount) $ 1536
Motherboard: MSI MPG Z390 EDGE AC
CPU: Intel Core i5 9600k 6 Core 4.6GHz
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 6GB
RAM: Xidax Extreme DDR4 2666MHz Memory-16GB
Power Supply: SEASONIC FOCUS GOLD 550W
HDD: Western Digital Black 1TB
SSD: Xidax Performance SSD 1TB
CPU Cooling: DARK ROCK TF 220W CPU AIR COOLER
CPU Paste: Premium CPU Thermal Paste-Lower Temps 5-10° C
GPU Paste: Premium Graphics Card Thermal Paste-Lower Temps 5-10° C
OS: Windows 10 Home Premium 64-Bit


With an RTX 2070 which scores 14,000 on the 3D mark I have my sliders set back from max to get reasonable frame rates. With an GTX 1660 at 11,000 being generous you're expecting to have the sliders set to max?

Choose your content carefully and you might even do it.

Have fun and I'm sure the thermal paste on the GPU will make a difference. My video cards are just slotted in as they come.

A dell with an i5 and a GTX 1660 is $809 by the way. I suspect the thermal paste is the expensive bit.

Cheerio John
 
Something you might like to consider is the "normal" system would be a GTX 1660 but many people on the forum run RTX 2070 GPUs. Faster GPUs are not unknown. These are people who know TANE/TS19 and the only reason they have RTX 2070 GPUs and faster is they consider that to run the sim this is the sort of level of hardware you need.

I suspect the salesperson who says you don't need a high end machine does not have the same experience as many forum members. I also suspect they are on commission. I can run TANE on a laptop with Intel integrated graphics and get 20+ frames per second but there are no speedtrees and the content is very carefully selected and specially created. So yes what the salesman is saying is technically correct you don't need a high end machine to run Trainz but realistically to be able to run a variety of content at reasonable frame rates with the sliders set away from minimum you need a higher end machine.

Cheerio John
 
I have been told that Trainz does not require a top of the line expensive desktop PC


The key word here is "require". You can run TRS19 on a $500 machine, but you can't turn on the bells and whistles.

My advice is always the same, "Buy the best system you can afford".
 
The key word here is "require". You can run TRS19 on a $500 machine, but you can't turn on the bells and whistles.

My advice is always the same, "Buy the best system you can afford".
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I'll qualify that statement slightly. Start here: https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php sort by value. Ideally you want an nVidia about 14,000+ on the 3D benchmark. Basically the sweet spot at the moment is an RTX 2070. Then its just a matter of what goes round it. To me a Dell refurbished tower workstation ideally xeon 6 core with 16 gigs and a very nice power supply works well. They have an 8 core xeon with 32 gigs of memory at moment for $900 and be aware you need to have some knowledge of computers to choose a video card that will fit, upgrade the hard drive and flip it to Win 10. The very nice thing about them is the thermals are worked out for you and trainz pushes the thermals. The workstations when new are about $4,000.

You can buy a more expensive card than the 2070 and you will get more bells and whistles on some layouts with some assets. If you are running Middleton for laptops you'll get the same bells and whistles on a GTX 1660 as a Titan RTX and you won't notice the difference between the two in frame rates. Middleton for laptops needs a 3D score of 457 to give reasonable frame rates or Intel integrated graphics series 4000. It really does depend on the content. Normal content ie DLC type layouts you better off with 14,000 or so.

Middleton will run on an i3 by the way however I'd stay with a minimum of an i5 but a 6 core xeon isn't overkill. The Dell gaming rigs are usually well balanced so look at them to get an idea of what combination of SSD, GPU and CPU gives the best performance per dollar.

Cheerio John
 
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The GTX1660TI is the lowest spec graphic card I would go for. I have just upgraded to that from a 6gb GTX1060 OC and now get 30% better framerate at the same settings, or, as I have chosen to do, turn on a few more bells and whistles at a slightly higher but much smoother framerate. If you are looking to merge routes to go very large, as in a couple of thousand kilometres of track (Sydney to Seymour with most of the branches *too big for a cdp*) I would recommend 32gb RAM at least, otherwise the merge will fail. I do only have an i5 6700, but would recommend an i7 of any description due to the extra processor cores.
cheers
Graeme
 
The GTX1660TI is the lowest spec graphic card I would go for. I have just upgraded to that from a 6gb GTX1060 OC and now get 30% better framerate at the same settings, or, as I have chosen to do, turn on a few more bells and whistles at a slightly higher but much smoother framerate. If you are looking to merge routes to go very large, as in a couple of thousand kilometres of track (Sydney to Seymour with most of the branches *too big for a cdp*) I would recommend 32gb RAM at least, otherwise the merge will fail. I do only have an i5 6700, but would recommend an i7 of any description due to the extra processor cores.
cheers
Graeme

i5 normally have 4 cores these days, as do i7 some i7 do have more but they are the higher end more expensive ones. The major difference is in the cache the i7 have a similar deeper caches to the xeons.

Cheerio John
 
Is a Ryzen 3800X better for Trainz than INTEL CORE i9 9900k 8C/16T 5.0GHz ?
 
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New Dell G5 Gaming Desktop
Inspiron 5090
CPU: 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7 9700 (8-Core, 12MB Cache, up to 4.7GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology)
GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2070 SUPER 8GB GDDR6
RAM 32 GB Dual Channel DDR4 at 2666MHz; up to 64GB (additional memory sold separately)
SSD: 512 GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Boot)
HDD: 1 TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)
Chassis Options 460W, Chassis with blue LED lighting accent
Windows 10 Home, 64-bit, English
$1,779.99
New Dell G5 Gaming Desktop Price Includes $180 Instant Discount - $180.00
Free Shipping
Tax $96.00
Item Total:$1,696
Black Friday - Special price: $1,662.07

Due to package theft: Dell assures me that certified delivery confirmation is required by the driver, and that it will be delivered to me, and only me, and it will not be dropped off by a private rental van, delivering box's to any old wrong address, that oftentimes loses packages in our area.
 
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These are my last 3 choices, I am now ready to buy

My final choice, I am no longer cutting costs, except for opting out of a 2080 video card, and an I9 CPU

$2276 Xidax (Less 5% discount) $ 2162

Motherboard: MSI MPG Z390 EDGE AC
RAM: Xidax Extreme DDR4 2666MHz Memory - 32GB
CPU: INTEL CORE i7 9700K 8 CORE 4.9GHz
GPU: NVIDIA RTX 2070 SUPER 8GB
Power Supply: Seasonic FOCUS PLUS 850W GOLD
HDD: Western Digital Black 1TB
SSD: Xidax Performance SSD 1TB
CPU Cooling: be quiet! DARK ROCK TF 220W CPU AIR COOLER
CPU Paste: Premium CPU Thermal Paste - Lower Temps 5-10° C
GPU Paste: Premium GPU Thermal Paste - Lower Temps 5-10° C
OS: Windows 10 Home Premium 64-Bit
Windows Recovery: WINDOWS 10 RECOVERY FLASH DRIVE

==============================

$2,400 DELL Discount $2,100

XPS 8930
CPU: 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7 9700 (8-Core, 12MB Cache, up to 4.7GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology)
GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2070 8GB GDDR6
RAM: 32 GB DDR4 at 2666MHz; up to 64GB (Additional memory sold separately)
SSD: 1 TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Boot)
HDD: 2 TB 7200RPM 3.5" SATA HDD (Storage)
850 Watt Power Supply [80 Plus Gold Efficiency]
Wireless 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.2, Dual Band 2.4&5 GHz, 1x1
CD ROM/DVD ROM Tray Load DVD-RW Drive (Reads and Writes to DVD/CD)
Windows 10 Home, 64-bit, English

==============================

$2,079 DELL Discount $1,780

Inspiron 5090
CPU: 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7 9700 (8-Core, 12MB Cache, up to 4.7GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology)
GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2070 8GB GDDR6
RAM: 32 GB Dual Channel DDR4 at 2666MHz; up to 64GB (additional memory sold separately)
SSD: 1 TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Boot)
HDD: 2 TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)
460 Watt Chassis with blue LED lighting and clear side panel
Wireless Qualcomm® DW1810, 1x1, 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2
Windows 10 Home, 64-bit, English
 
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Does one really need:
32 GB RAM ?
16 GB RAM Is this perfectly sufficient for TS19 ?

Or is a:
SSD: 256 GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Boot), Is this too small for TS19 ?
SSD: 500 GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Boot), Is this too small for TS19 ?

Does one really need:
SSD: 1 TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Boot)
HDD: 2 TB 7200RPM 3.5" SATA HDD (Storage) (Knowing that an 8 TB HDD reads faster, than a 1 TB HDD)
 
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