Seeking advice: more memory or better graphics card?

[peterhayes]

I agree with Papa Expres in that ona 64-bit OS 4GB of RAM is marginal.
Even a 32-bit app like TS2013 can use UP to 4GB RAM and the OS - Win 7 in my case uses between 2.4 to 2.8GB depending on what is running in the background.
On a route like WCMLN my total RAM usage is around 4.2 - 4.3 GB so having 8GB in my cases prevents a slowdown where TS 2013 might have to use the Paging File.
RAM is cheap and it does not harm performance.

With choosing a video card you must also take into consideration the monitor size - I have a 1920 x 1200 IPS monitor and in TS2013 I have seen uses of up to 1.4GB of VRAM.
IMHO the lowest spec card for a cpu running up to 3.8GHz would be a GTX 650TIB 2GB VRAM (I don't know about AMD cards). Up to 4.2GHz a GTX 660/660TI and above this a GTX 670/680 or the latest 770/780 series.

Regards
pH

[OldProf]

Just to keep my much appreciated advisers up to date: I ordered a 4Gb memory module from Amazon.it, which should be delivered today. Actually, the courier should have brought it to me this morning at my favorite cafe, as we agreed yesterday evening when he called me to ask when someone would be at home today. Since I wasn't completely sure (I don't make daily plans in Italy), I suggested he look me up at the cafe where I have cappuccino and a bun while reading about the latest Italian political high-jinks in the Corriere della Sera, but he hadn't shown up by 11:00 and my wife wanted to get some shopping done, so I'm still waiting for my memory to arrive (in both senses).
Once I get that installed, if TS still runs too slowly, I'll search for a new graphics card. As one of you already mentioned, my Acer is a reduced-format desktop and none of the ever-larger new cards will be able to squeeze into it. Figuring out the actual size of a card isn't easy, either. The measurements that Amazon.it provides strike me as the size of the box, not the card itself. If all else fails, I'll go have a talk with the local computer shop in the town down the mountain from Cortona. Life in Italy can be a bother, sometimes! (I'm sure you'll all feel sorry for me.)

[glenn68]

I am in the same boat. Looking to upgrade my video card. I have a HP Pavilion with AMD quad core, ATI 5450 video card and 8 gig worth of ram. I want to stay with ATI/AMD for the video card. Price rang of 350 to 500.

[buzz456]

Those video cards Peter is talking about are massive overkill for Railworks. I had a 55oTi and it worked just fine except on the highest settings. I suspect with 8g of RAM and ANY 2meg video card you would be just fine.

[peterhayes]

Buzz
I'm sorry to disagree but the better the video card the better the experience with TS2013 as long as it is matched to the cpu etc.
Yes sure, you can go cheap and buy a lowish spec card but it may not be able to deliver in the way that you want it to.
On an analysis of about 200 forum posts here in the US and in the UK 38% of posters had something wrong with their graphics and the vast majority had what I call lower end cards.
But if your card works and you are happy with - great.
All I can tell you that I have never seen TS2013 running or looking better than on my rig using a GTX 670 against a 4.6GHz cpu (i7 2600k) it was a vast improvement over my 560TI.
Regards
pH

[buzz456]

Buzz
I'm sorry to disagree but the better the video card the better the experience with TS2013 as long as it is matched to the cpu etc.
Yes sure, you can go cheap and buy a lowish spec card but it may not be able to deliver in the way that you want it to.
On an analysis of about 200 forum posts here in the US and in the UK 38% of posters had something wrong with their graphics and the vast majority had what I call lower end cards.
But if your card works and you are happy with - great.
All I can tell you that I have never seen TS2013 running or looking better than on my rig using a GTX 670 against a 4.6GHz cpu (i7 2600k) it was a vast improvement over my 560TI.
Regards
pH

I guess I need to buy a Cray and then I will be totally immersed. Many have financial constraints not allowing for all of the bells and whistles and we should not leave the impression that you need all that or you can't enjoy our obsession.

[peterhayes]

Buzz
A Cray wouldn't work - fps would be non-existent - wrong architecture!!
I was talking about balance most of the faults on the forums are to do with the cpu/RAM/mobo/gpu being unbalanced.
I only found about 2% "faults" directly attributable to RSC (10% to Windows).
On my slower rig (no TSX) it runs at 3GHz with a 560TI and that IMHO is well balanced no throttling of the cpu or gpu.
Regards
pH

[buzz456]

Buzz
A Cray wouldn't work - fps would be non-existent - wrong architecture!!
I was talking about balance most of the faults on the forums are to do with the cpu/RAM/mobo/gpu being unbalanced.
I only found about 2% "faults" directly attributable to RSC (10% to Windows).
On my slower rig (no TSX) it runs at 3GHz with a 560TI and that IMHO is well balanced no throttling of the cpu or gpu.
Regards
pH

I have no idea what that elitist post means.

[peterhayes]

That my friend is geekspeak at its best!
Computing Science 101
pH

[PapaXpress]

Buzz
A Cray wouldn't work - fps would be non-existent - wrong architecture!!
I was talking about balance most of the faults on the forums are to do with the cpu/RAM/mobo/gpu being unbalanced.
I only found about 2% "faults" directly attributable to RSC (10% to Windows).
On my slower rig (no TSX) it runs at 3GHz with a 560TI and that IMHO is well balanced no throttling of the cpu or gpu.
Regards
pH

I have no idea what that elitist post means.

It means Chris would love to have one for his folding@home stuff. A Cray is one of the best number crunchers around, but they can't do much else.

[Chacal]

No keyboard, no mouse, no graphics card, no screen. Not ideal for playing RW.
Also the Cray-1 was so complicated, it required a dedicated mini-computer just to boot it.

But the AI would be awesome!

[arizonachris]

It means Chris would love to have one for his folding@home stuff. A Cray is one of the best number crunchers around, but they can't do much else.

You got that right, Papa! I'd be smokin! Now to go out and look at garage sales.

[glenn68]

Went down to Best buy and picked up a XFX R6670 video card at 100 bucks and now I have everything maxed out and great performance. Hell I can use the Donner pass route now without any performance issues. I stayed with ATI chip set since my computer is AMD.

[OldProf]

Problem resolved: note that I'm not saying "solved", just that I'm content with what I've discovered.

First, I realized why a computer that delivered very good TS performance last October looked so disappointing now: while I was away, TS2013 came into existence!

Second: after reading all the messages in this thread (Remember Harry Belafonte's refrain? "It was clear as mud, but it covered the ground, and the confusion made my head go round!"), I decided to try something simple and free of charge: turning off TSX. Take a look at the result:



This may not be the ideal result, but it's giving me good FRAP rates and that's really what I wanted. Thanks to everyone who contributed, even those who unraveled the thread a bit.