For the $750 price, can this boxed gaming PC be beat for Trainz play?

• Walmart is offering a Dell Inspiron Gaming Desktop 5680, Intel® Core™ i5-8400, NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060, 16GB M.2 PCIe Intel® Optane™ Memory + 1TB HDD, 8GB RAM, i5680-5382BLU-PUS for a paltry $749. This seems more practical in the long run than one of these paid cloud gaming services that John C. and others here say aren't so hot. It would seem that this Dell is the Corvette of gaming PCs if not a "Ferrari". Better to save up for or finance a new Corvette than rent a Ferrari.

• What's more is this Dell even has a DVD and front USB ports unlike the Vanquish. If there is an issue with the machine when it is new, it can easily returned to my local Walmart store and not have to be shipped. Could I be gettin' a DELL, dude?
  
  The 1060 card can run T:ANE up to 139 fps according to this benchmark test site:
  
  https://www.game-debate.com/hardware...e%20GTX%201060

If you build the gaming PC yourself, you will not have the warranty or the same level of tech support benefits. Or, the convenience of returning the thing to your local Wally-World for a full refund if the thing just doesn't cut it as soon as you install Trainz, your content and give it a test drive.

Bear in mind you only have 15 days to return computers and computer hardware to Walmart, so you have a limited amount of time to try out Trainz for a performance test.

Why wouldn’t you have any warranty if you built it yourself?
You’ll have store warranty from where you get the parts from.
Some parts also have additional warranty as well.

Here in Idaho we don't have an electronics brick-n-mortar superstore like Fry's out in California. You have to order stuff online here and face possible shipping costs and return hassles. I just had problems with a new Gigabyte motherboard I ordered from amazon.com to replace the original Gigabyte board in my 9-year-old home-built home office. The old board quit working after blowing dust out of the PC with compressed air as I had done annually for the past nine years. Two of the USB ports aren't working on my newer board. I have contacted Gigabyte. They want the serial number off the board and I don't feel like tearing the damn thing out of the case again so I can read the damn number on the side of the main power connector. I just use an expansion hub on one of the working ports. Unless you live with a Fry's in your neighborhood, as I did when I was in Sacramento, California two 1/2 years ago before moving to Idaho, it isn't worth the hassle of home-building.

I did buy a SquareTrade for my new motherboard. I can't use it until the one-year Gigabyte warranty expires. I will probably wait until the Square Trade kicks in and make a claim that the USB ports quit working and get paid some money from Square Trade, possibly a full refund with no need to return the board. If the board is still usable by then I will still continue to run it into the ground.

I think I will write off Gigabyte motherboards in the future and maybe use an Asus next time I need a new board.

The same board has other issues. The automatic fan speed control pulse-width modulation (PWM) controller doesn't work so I have to use my 120mm rear case fan running directly off the PSU at constant speed. Also, occasionally, usually only when watching YouTube videos and thankfully never while running Trainz, the screen goes black intermittently for a couple of seconds and I don't know if it's the board or something else. The monitor HDMI connectors are air tight.

Note: always note the serial number of a new mobo and write it down somewhere BEFORE putting it in the computer tower!!

Where I’m from in Australia i ordered all my computer parts from the bigger city.
Thankfully only had a power supply fail and was under warranty so that was fairly straight forward replacement with the manufacturer.

Always going to be risks when buying parts online. Even with a new prebuilt box something could fail.

Yes, a new boxed PC can fail possibly but at least I have a nearby Walmart here in Boise, Idaho. If I buy a boxed PC there and something craps out when I try it out, it's convenient and fast just to drive back to the store.

I bought a new boxed HP Pavilion low-end notebook w/ Windows 10 from my local Walmart a year and half ago and thankfully never had to return it. It has a 3-yr Square Trade covering it too.

The only thing I hate about my HP laptop is that pesky Windows 10. HP won't provide support drivers to run Windows 7 on it. I loved Windows 7 so much better.

It's just much less pain in the a_s if a computer (or its makings) bought at a local store fails than the failure of one (or its makings) bought over the Internet and shipped.

I bought the components of my homebuilt PC nine years ago at Fry's Electronics in California off the shelf. I had some trouble getting the machine up and running at first but
Fry's store people were very helpful in finally making my machine "POST". They can test every component including motherboards right in the store and right on the spot. Their store clerks are also
very helpful for selecting off-the-shelf parts for a home build too. We don't have this luxury in hillbilly states like Idaho. Most people here just buy something ready-made at Walmart or Best Buy.
Or they deal with Internet mail orders which can be a real pain if something goes haywire. Idaho is too hickish for serious computer home-building. Walmart is just most convenient for most.

I guess he never heard of Newegg or their support and policy. Seems pretty good to me.

WARNING: Brand endorsement follows. Sensitive readers may find it cringe worthy. NB: I do not work for Dell. In fact, when I did work, it was for one of their competitors, and I consequently held Dell in low regard (you have to back your team!).


I have run Trainz on very many setups over 16 years. I am very happy with my current Dell XPS 8920, which I've had for a little over a year.

I live an hour from the Sydney suburban fringe, so purchasing a Trainz capable config locally was not really an option. Dell offered delivery to my door, and followed up by sending an on-site support person (next day, 2.5 hr return drive) to fix a problem which turned out not to be related the new purchase anyway, but a compatibility issue with my existing hardware.

The XPS range have a 465 watt power supply. While not bleeding edge gaming spec, this is good for anything up to a GTX 1070 (which is what I specified), and the cooling seems well thought out. The XPS can also be configured with the OS (and Trainz) on a SSD - my recommendation. I would advise waiting for the model you want to come on special, either on their own website, or on their *bay shop. Specials come up frequently, and can save you up to 25% on their already reasonable prices.

On the back of my experience with the XPS desktop I also replaced my old laptop with a Dell gaming laptop It has proven to be equally satisfactory. My next (XPS desktop replacement) will almost certainly be a Dell. If it turns out to be a bag of SH*T I will just as vigorously bag it out as I have enthusiastically offered this current endorsement.

JonMyrlennBailey said:

Most people here just buy something ready-made at Walmart or Best Buy. Walmart is just most convenient for most.

Click to expand...

You will find that "you get what you paid for", and "you pay for what you get" ... If you buy a totally inadequate hunk of junk, it will not perform well at all from the get go, and your cheepo laptop may clog with dust from constantly sitting on your lap, overheat, blue screen, fry the inadequate integrated graphics chip or blow out the inadequate video card, and the inadequate PC will need to be replaced when it goes out in the trash can next year (or before). Bring some garbage in ... and it will only prove to be garbage out. I saw a video on a Walmart gaming desktop PC ... the RAM was half of what the specs show, the power supply was underpowered, and the video card was a lower end model than what was printed in the specs

FootplatePhil said:

WARNING: Brand endorsement follows. Sensitive readers may find it cringe worthy. NB: I do not work for Dell. In fact, when I did work, it was for one of their competitors, and I consequently held Dell in low regard (you have to back your team!).


I have run Trainz on very many setups over 16 years. I am very happy with my current Dell XPS 8920, which I've had for a little over a year.

I live an hour from the Sydney suburban fringe, so purchasing a Trainz capable config locally was not really an option. Dell offered delivery to my door, and followed up by sending an on-site support person (next day, 2.5 hr return drive) to fix a problem which turned out not to be related the new purchase anyway, but a compatibility issue with my existing hardware.

The XPS range have a 465 watt power supply. While not bleeding edge gaming spec, this is good for anything up to a GTX 1070 (which is what I specified), and the cooling seems well thought out. The XPS can also be configured with the OS (and Trainz) on a SSD - my recommendation. I would advise waiting for the model you want to come on special, either on their own website, or on their *bay shop. Specials come up frequently, and can save you up to 25% on their already reasonable prices.

On the back of my experience with the XPS desktop I also replaced my old laptop with a Dell gaming laptop It has proven to be equally satisfactory. My next (XPS desktop replacement) will almost certainly be a Dell. If it turns out to be a bag of SH*T I will just as vigorously bag it out as I have enthusiastically offered this current endorsement.

Click to expand...

Dell pay a lot of attention to cooling and compatibility and as a result have a good reputation for reliability in the corporate world. The Canadian Federal government at one time was buying more than 70% of its machines from Dell which wasn't the result of any directives but merely the decisions of individual managers, the cost of the desktop is much less than the support costs for a year. Go back about thirty years and Gartner pegged them at $2,000 for the PC and $10,000 for support for a year.

Cheerio John

cascaderailroad said:

You will find that "you get what you paid for", and "you pay for what you get" ... If you buy a totally inadequate hunk of junk, it will not perform well at all from the get go, and your cheepo laptop may clog with dust from constantly sitting on your lap, overheat, blue screen, fry the inadequate integrated graphics chip or blow out the inadequate video card, and the inadequate PC will need to be replaced when it goes out in the trash can next year (or before). Bring some garbage in ... and it will only prove to be garbage out. I saw a video on a Walmart gaming desktop PC ... the RAM was half of what the specs show, the power supply was underpowered, and the video card was a lower end model than what was printed in the specs

Click to expand...

This has always been the case....

I saw that same video and commented on it in fact. The reviewer received the wrong PC, the $1400, ahem, not the $2000 he ordered. He then did take the machine apart anyway and found out the system integrator used the lowest end motherboard, even though it was a name brand, with the least amount of bandwidth for a so-called gaming machine and from the specs this will be the same lower-end motherboard on the super over priced model as well.

In conclusion the is regardless of the model, this is an underpowered, overpriced POS. Sure there's a GTX1080Ti in the higher end, but the power supply is some off-brand and at the minimal spec for the machine. There are also other garbage about it as well with hot glue used to hold in the USB3 cable, which only connects to a single back panel connector leaving all the ports in the top of the case unused.

I agree with Phil (Footplatephil) that if one is to purchase a pre-made machine go with a Dell for their great service and support. There are higher end gaming machines by various builders, but it depends upon how much the user wants to spend with Digital Storm being among them. Whenever I have spec'd out a machine, whether assembling myself or purchasing pre-built, I have always purchase at the highest level I can afford at the time with plans on replacing the hardware in four to five years. My older machines get trickled down in the family to others who don't do intensive graphics or gaming and the machines live on for even longer for other users including laser-engraver controllers, RIPs for high-resolution printers, 3d-printers, and embroidery-machine controllers.