New GPU for 1440p ULTRA Smooth Trainz Game-play

Hi everyone, my 1060 is showing it's age, and I've been holding out a year for this new generation of GPU's, and I'm happy that I did. Now, I have three considerations:
RTX 3070
RTX 3080
AMD 6800xt

The 6800xt has twice the VRAM than the RTX 3070, and I was wondering how much difference that would make for Trainz? Also, is Trainz better optimized for Nvidia GPU's, or doesn't it matter that much with which brand you go?

And is there someone who has the 5700/5600 AMD GPU's from last generation, if so, could they perhaps provide their feedback on how it runs Trainz? Many thanks in advance!

I would avoid AMD processors due to issues with them in general like crappy drivers to be honest. Don't get me wrong. I used to be AMD all the way but found I was constantly fighting them even in the early days with black-screen problems, BSOD crashes, and other problems. Every one of these issues was always their video cards. When I said every one of their video cards, I mean a real ATI video card in some of them. This was back before OEMs made video cards, which have lead to other problems unless you can find a good manufacturer. Swapping to NVidia, proved the opposite most of the time. I have never had the BSOD or black-screen issues with NVidia-based cards, but drivers can be better sometimes.

With that said, I would avoid the 30xx series right now. First let the geeks grab the latest and greatest and pay the premium price for them. Let them go through the teething pains of new hardware and issues due to the new board and chip production. After 6 or 8 months or longer, maybe, I would look at them because by then the GPU chips have gone through some stepping levels, meaning that the chip processing and revisions have lead to some improvements such as stability and you also want the prices to drop.

Look at the 20xx series such as a 2080 right now. Last year's models have all the stability built into them now because they've been through the stepping levels and the quirks and bugs have been mostly worked out, and geeks are now flocking to the latest and greatest so you have access to the still great hardware at a much lower cost.

As far as the amount of RAM goes, I don't think it makes much of a difference here. These video cards are fast and make use of multiple channels and a different bus than regular RAM and system components.

AMD are finally making good CPUs again equal to or better in some cases to Intels, however, like John I'm extremely sceptical over their GPUs especially as they are still being made by what was formally ATI whose cards were at best IMO abysmal.

The 6800xt is aimed at the RTX3080 not the 3070 and more Vram as in 16GB does not equal better performance and unlikely to be needed for Trainz.

The previous generation of AMD GPUs did not live up to the hype or expectations whereas Nvidia mostly tend to be more accurate in their claims, exception being the 4GB GTX970 with the 1 GB of slower Vram, they forgot to mention.

Looking at the blurb you would need a new AMD CPU to get the best out of the new AMD GPUs, that's if they live up to AMD's claims. I'd wait until there are reports from actual users not paid reviews....

I always used AMD CPUs up to the PhenomII, I gave up with anything higher as they were put bluntly crap compared to Intel, The Bulldozer was out performed by the PhenomII it was supposed to replace however the Ryzens are a whole new ball game. I have a Ryzen5 1600 which beats my i7 6700K on multicore benchmarks and is within spitting distance of Single core benchmarks and that's a first generation Ryzen and its stays stone cold on a stock AMD cooler, pretty impressive.

So I think it's a case of watch this space, AMD appear to be living up to claims with CPUs so just maybe they have got a decent GPU.

I have a new Alienware Aurora R11 with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090. I have been using it now for about a week. I have been very pleased on how well it works and the performance I get running Trainz.

One of my most liked routes, Alma by David Snow, works really well with all sliders maxed out on this computer. With my previous computer using an NVIDIA 1080 TI there were some areas in the route where there was some jerkiness. This route, which has trains, boats, planes, and more trees and scenery detail then you can imagine, is a real workout for the computer. If you want to test out your computer performance I suggest this route and session. The scenery is gorgeous and very real to life for the Arkansas countryside.

The NVIDIA 3090 GPU should future proof the computer performance for running Trainz for many years.

Of course it will...it's a 1500 dollar GPU! Lol, glad you are liking it man!

I just ordered an RTX 3070, it will be arriving in a few days. I will either keep it, or sell it again when the hustle has died down and the stocks are normal again. I need a new GPU right now, and the RTX 3070 is a great one, but it never is a bad thing to look what AMD has to offer later in November, when we have the reviews of their cards.

Paul_Bert said:

I have a new Alienware Aurora R11 with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090. I have been using it now for about a week. I have been very pleased on how well it works and the performance I get running Trainz.

One of my most liked routes, Alma by David Snow, works really well with all sliders maxed out on this computer. With my previous computer using an NVIDIA 1080 TI there were some areas in the route where there was some jerkiness. This route, which has trains, boats, planes, and more trees and scenery detail then you can imagine, is a real workout for the computer. If you want to test out your computer performance I suggest this route and session. The scenery is gorgeous and very real to life for the Arkansas countryside.

The NVIDIA 3090 GPU should future proof the computer performance for running Trainz for many years.

Click to expand...

What hard drive did you go with? There is a configuration on their website with a 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Boot) + 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage). That can be upgraded to a 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD but perhaps 256GB SSD is enough.

I assume you got an Intel i7. I have read on the Internet that Dell computers including the AURORA R11 can have heating issues. Did you add any extra fans or a cooling system?

Cayden

Cayden said:

What hard drive did you go with? There is a configuration on their website with a 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Boot) + 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage). That can be upgraded to a 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD but perhaps 256GB SSD is enough.

I assume you got an Intel i7. I have read on the Internet that Dell computers including the AURORA R11 can have heating issues. Did you add any extra fans or a cooling system?

Cayden

Click to expand...

I got the one with 1 TB SSD and a 2 TB hard drive. I am running TRAINZ on the SSD drive and use the regular hard drive for everything else. The processor is an Intel i9. Cooling does not seem to be an issue so far. This model comes with a water cooled system. The most demanding routes I have run only use about 55% of the capacity of both chips which also helps on the cooling issue.

I have had an Alienware laptop for 2 years which is running an NVIDIA 1080 GPU. It runs most of my routes really well. I have been very pleased with the laptop, and the support is really good.

I was amazed that the Alienware Aurora with the 3090 was available within a week of ordering based upon all the talk about the shortage of the chip and the high prices scalpers were asking for them.

The Alienware computer is expensive because of the NVIDIA 3090 card, but at least when I am on my deathbed I will not have to say I am really glad I saved some money by not buying that computer.

Paul_Bert said:

I have a new Alienware Aurora R11 with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090. I have been using it now for about a week. I have been very pleased on how well it works and the performance I get running Trainz.

One of my most liked routes, Alma by David Snow, works really well with all sliders maxed out on this computer. With my previous computer using an NVIDIA 1080 TI there were some areas in the route where there was some jerkiness. This route, which has trains, boats, planes, and more trees and scenery detail then you can imagine, is a real workout for the computer. If you want to test out your computer performance I suggest this route and session. The scenery is gorgeous and very real to life for the Arkansas countryside.

The NVIDIA 3090 GPU should future proof the computer performance for running Trainz for many years.

Click to expand...

You mention your sliders are maxed out but what resolution are you running on your monitor ?

I'm very happy with my Ryzen 3700X and RX 5700. Just would choose not PowerColor anymore but msi again next time. Rest works with the usual quirks now and then. Been considering to go for an RX6xxx but my GPU is too new to upgrade and 6800 as lowest is a bit much for my use cases. What I like best is that power consumption in regular work load lowered from ~300W (previous Bulldozer build) to ~150W for all system.

Okay, good to know some feedback from some recent AMD GPU's.

I've bought 3070 and it's coming soon, but if AMD keeps their promises, I won't hesitate to switch to AMD for better performance for the same price.

Railhead001 said:

You mention your sliders are maxed out but what resolution are you running on your monitor ?

Click to expand...

I use a 2560 x 1440 monitor.

There is loads of hype at the moment about both AMD and Nvidia GPU's which may or may not be true. Either way all the manufacturers cards will be at full price until the initial surge is over and those who must have has spent their cash. I'm waiting for the New Year when hopefully the better cards speak for themselves, pricing has levelled out and some of you rich Trainz Members start feeding back on your latest acquisitions. Peter

Cayden said:

What hard drive did you go with? There is a configuration on their website with a 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Boot) + 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage). That can be upgraded to a 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD but perhaps 256GB SSD is enough.

I assume you got an Intel i7. I have read on the Internet that Dell computers including the AURORA R11 can have heating issues. Did you add any extra fans or a cooling system?

Cayden

Click to expand...

Here is what I have found regarding the heat issues on my Aurora R11. The 3090 GPU is water cooled, a standard feature of the Aurora R11 systems running the 3000 series graphic cards. I am running the Alma route by Dave Snow, a very scenic intense route which was a challenge for my NVidia 1080 TI. The room temperature is 75 degrees F. All my sliders are maxed out except for the shader quality which I have set at standard.

The temperature is being measure by the new feature in Task Manager under the performance tab.

The 3090 GPU is stated to have a maximum temperature of 93 C as stated in the spec sheet.

In my case the GPU shows 30 degrees C at rest. I ran the Alma route for over an hour. Most of the time the temperatures ranged in the 60 - 63 degree range. Several times it reached 68 degrees, but only for about 15 to 20 seconds. This was in an area where there were lots of trees, buildings, people, 2 trains, and a boat.

I'm not sure whether this is good or bad, or how it compares to other GPU's under load. But it appears to me to be well within the safety limits for the temperature for this card.

Paul_Bert said:

I use a 2560 x 1440 monitor.

Click to expand...

I would love to see a video posted of that route with max sliders on in that resolution..............