Laptops and RW - help needed

[Dan]

I am looking to get a new laptop. I am something of a technophobe and when I see references to RAM and Processors in the shops my eyes tend to glaze over. So my basic question is this:

What should I be looking for as 'minimum' spec to get RW to run well on a laptop in terms of processors - what is the best measure of a good processor? I have no idea about the relative benefits of dual core, triple core, pentium etc etc.

What kind of RAM should I be looking at?

Is RAM more important than say processor speed?

All advice gratefully received.

[Toripony]

Let's see if I can give you a "non-spec" answer to your plight.

In my opinion....... There are only a few laptops that will run Railworks satisfactorily. That makes your query a lot simpler; there are only 3 or 4 or 5 brands to look at. Within those brands, you will ONLY want to look at laptops that are specifically designed for gaming. These are the only ones that will have the graphics capabilities needed to make RW really run nice. Once you are in that category of each vendor, you will only have 1-4 models from each and then it simply comes down to money. How much do you want to spend?

To make a complete assumption here (based on my 18 years of recommending pc purchases to consumers and corporate clients)......... the average gamer will be satisfied with the average performance of the average gaming laptop..... I mean the "middle-of-the-road" model. Check yourself... what are your usual expectations in your other computer usage.... do you demand perfection? Do you spend hours trying to get your home/work computer to run perfectly? Or, do you mind if you see most of the graphics in medium quality mode, at medium speed, with tiny hiccups and millisecond stutters every 10-15 seconds (really, that is "average" for RW, and perfectly acceptable by many) but doesn't have any effect on your productivity or satisfaction? Last thought... how much time are you going to spend with it? An hour a day? Don't spend a fortune. Three hours/day? Your eyes will thank you to spend a little extra.

The gaming laptop is an emerging product category; it is very competitive and each vendor is constantly updating the technology they put into it. That is both good and bad.... the newest, "bleeding edge" technology can give you nightmares as an owner. Since you've by now narrowed your choices down to a handful of units, go to the public opinion websites/forums and read up on each of those models. What are the other owners saying and how long have they had their systems? What problems did they have and are those problems ones that would drive you bonkers (every computer has some kind of problem! lol)? Go with the model that seems the most "stable" and makes the most users happy.

As long as you stay in this category of honest-to-goodness gaming laptops, you don't need to worry about the exact parts in the guts; the manufacturers are worrying about that for you. Last choice.... how much $$$ is the right amount of $$$. There are good gaming laptops available for $1,000. You might find a fair one for $600 and up. And there are great ones that run $1500 to $1900. I love mine and it cost a lot, but then I spend 8 hours a day developing on it. Don't overspend.

There is a thread going on another site on this very topic that will give you some brand names to begin with. Try the links in this thread.... http://www.trainsim.com/vbts/showthread ... ise-please

Also, Dell makes a line of gaming laptops. I've always recommended Dell over others until the last couple of years. While the dependability is still good, their systems were showing lower quality while their prices are going higher the last time I compared them last summer.

Tori

[Dan]

Thanks for the info. My biggest constraint is money. I reckon my limit is about $800 - $1000 - unless I save for a few more months.

I can tolerate stuttering, and not being able to max out my sliders, because I know that this is all I can really afford so I've got to accept that the performance is not going to be the greatest.

Basically, gaming is a 'hobby' to relax and the laptop would be used for work the majority of the time - but really only office, email. So I do spend a lot of time in a day on the laptop.

Thanks for that link - interesting information. I may have to accept that for my budget I am not going to be able to get a laptop that can let me play things like RW and GTA IV.

The other problem as I mentioned is my technopobia - in the sense that I have no idea about what is a 'good' processor, or amount of ram or even a good video card - I see names, I see figures and I am afraid to say that I really don't understand it at all.

[micaelcorleone]

I would recommend at least about 4000 MB Ram and a Nvidia graphic card with at least 512 MB.
I also recommend a 4 core processor, but I think that's standard today anyway.

[Toripony]

For that range, I would definitely consider the XPS: http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-15/fs

I recommend these only because I know it will run RW "very well". I developed on the XPS 13" for nearly a year. With most of my graphics settings on medium, it was quite impressive. With an external monitor (that I picked up on ebay for $100) it was as good as many desktops (you'll probably need a quality ~$50 cooler pad for it). High settings were acceptable in low-density scenery (Caldwell, for example on my route; Bar-Sanbar ran great except in Barstow yards until I deleted half of those tracks). I just reviewed the specs on the $949 model and it looks fine just as it comes with no technicalities or adjustments necessary.
I cannot offer other options only because I do not know what is available now. I don't want to come off as an expert because I don't shop for pc's like I used to; I've lost most of my insight into the marketplace. I don't own any stock in Dell, it's just that I've owned around 600 Dells (my company owned 5,000+) in my work life and was always more than satisfied despite any technicalities or seemed shortcomings. The best news is that picking a laptop today is far far less risky than it was 10 years ago. PM me if you want.

Tori