Maximising performance

[Andy20]

Hey, well a while ago I made a topic saying that I bought RS for my new PC but it ran at about 10 FPS My comp is fast as anything but the graphics card is pretty poor being an integrated nvidia geforce 7050 card. I don't want to get a new power supply or graphics card for another year yet because it is still in warranty so if the machine packs in before that the warranty would be broken if I changed stuff on it!

When I posted that topic about it running so slow I hadn't updated my drivers, well I have since done that and it now runs between 17 and 20 FPS which is hardly going to challenge most of you but at least it is playable now

My question is... Is there anything at all I could do to squeeze maybe another 5-10 FPS out of it by making a few changes? The problem is, I play with everything on low detail and when I see all the nice pics on here of peoples RS it looks far better than what it looks like for me If I put things on higher detail it slows down a lot so even on lowest detail it still only runs at 20FPS maximum *slaps forehead*

I know my graphics card sucks but the rest of my PC is great for £500. Quad Dual core 2 2.4 GHZ processor with 3gb ram and 500gb hard drive with a 20 inch widescreen monitor. Just a shame that the processor speed and ram doesen't make a difference to RS

[Acorncomputer]

Hi Andy

There is a lot on this forum about increasing frames rates, such as regular disc defragmentation, ensuring that unwanted programs are not running in the background (check if you have a HP printing manager running which seems to muck up RS), run at the resolution that matches your monitor exactly, etc.

The only real solution though is to get the best possible graphics card that you can. Mine copes quite adequately and I get the bonus that I can turn the house heating down when the computer is on.

[andymar54]

Most people I know would buy the best graphics card they can afford and retain the one supplied originally in the PC. Should any other problem arise that requires the computer to be returned to the manufacturer, then the original card can then be swapped back in. The cards I have I have used in the past are only plugged in the relevant graphics slot and can easily be changed back again if needed. Unfortunately I have been using notebooks now for some time where I cant change the graphics, so I have to spend a fortune every couple of years when software like Railsim arrives.

Andy Marshall

[daniellouwrens1]

Hi

Just a mention here, go for the absolute best, don't try to get a slightly better card, I made
the mistake of going from a 256 to 512 7600 and got little gain, I then went to a 512 8600, again
only a little gain.

Go for the absolute best, if you cannot afford it, save up, it will be worth it.

regards

[Retro]

Hi,
If you are running Vista make sure you disable Windows Defender. This is a real Hog on Performance. Also the program Geoff mentioned is HP Digital Imaging Monitor. It comes not just with HP Machines as it is in the Software for all there Printers and Scanners and Camera's. Fragmentation of even 0.04% on the Rail Sim files can cause a drop in framerate on a lesser machine as I know from bitter experience. Perfect Disk 2008 sorts this out and is available on a free trial. Just Google Raxco to find it.
Regards James.

[rich0984]

I found removing procedural flora from gravel, gravel track bed and gravel track bed dark increases fps by 3-4 at Reading station which is definitely a bonus and I don't like the flora sticking out through the track bed anyway so you can't lose. Obviously this won't apply to those with flora switched off though.

[Andy20]

Thanks for the replys Well I think the option to instal a new graphics card might be out of the equasion even if I can replace the old one if it breaks down and I need the warranty to still be intact. The Power Supply on the motherboard is only 250 watts so I can't even really upgrade the card much with that supply If I changed the PSU the warranty would defanitly be broken if the computer broke down after that!

I don't think I have got HP program as I don't have a camera, printer or scanner on this machine. I do have windows defender and I suppose I could close that down, would that put me at risk of being attacked by viruses though? Obviously while I am playing RS I wouldn't be surfing the net anyway so I shouldn't have web pages up that I can get viruses through so maybe I will be ok turning windows defender off.

Thinking again about the graphics card... I think when I checked before, I could get a slightly better card that would just about run on my PSU, it wouldn't be a big difference but I suppose any graphics card that is newer than an Nvidia Geforce 7050 would run better and the one I have now is integrated so that is even worse than having a normal graphics card as far as I understand.

[ightenhill]

Just swap the power supplys in and out as well if you need to return it.. Its as easy as fitting a graphics card.. Unless your running one of those big brand computers who fit unchangable power supplies..

This warranty condition about upgrading parts is a bit below the belt... They are in effect putting a condition on you buying the machine that you dont open it in an industry whose technology changes every month.. The whole point is your supposed to be able to upgrade a PC easily..

[RiscaStation]

Hi Andy

There is a lot on this forum about increasing frames rates, such as regular disc defragmentation, ensuring that unwanted programs are not running in the background (check if you have a HP printing manager running which seems to muck up RS), run at the resolution that matches your monitor exactly, etc.

The only real solution though is to get the best possible graphics card that you can. Mine copes quite adequately and I get the bonus that I can turn the house heating down when the computer is on.

Hi

Your street lights are not flickering yet then lol.

Regards
Mike

[Retro]

Hi Andy

There is a lot on this forum about increasing frames rates, such as regular disc defragmentation, ensuring that unwanted programs are not running in the background (check if you have a HP printing manager running which seems to muck up RS), run at the resolution that matches your monitor exactly, etc.

The only real solution though is to get the best possible graphics card that you can. Mine copes quite adequately and I get the bonus that I can turn the house heating down when the computer is on.

Hi

Your street lights are not flickering yet then lol.

Regards
Mike

My new card runs pretty hot. I have got the NVidia Vista gadget which monitors PCB and Chip Temperatures. It seems to get hotter when I am using the Route Editor strangely and certainly a lot hotter with KRS than any other game I have including FSX and Bioshock. My house lights do strange things sometimes but that is down to the Grid in this area. Can you fry an egg on it Geoff like they used to do in the old days of steam on the shovel ?
Regards James.

[Acorncomputer]

Hi James & Mike

I originally placed the computer box (it is a shoebox size as I do not like the towers much) on a shelf below my desk but the air flow was probably not as good as it should be. The machine did get very hot and I noticed that sometimes I got a regular mini frame freeze every five seconds or so that I could not explain. I moved the box out on top of the desk and the mini frame freezing stopped and the heat being generated seems less.

The message here is that if your computer does have a highish power graphics card, then give it plenty of opportunity to let the cooling fans or sinks to do their job in a free flow or air.

My electricity supplier has now taken me off the domestic rate and put me on an industrial rate so the cost of running the computer is now a lot less than it was.

[RichyV]

Certainly, with the GFX cards that are available today, even the mid-priced stuff, airflow inside and around the case is critical & should be maximised as much as is possible...

[Andy20]

Just swap the power supplys in and out as well if you need to return it.. Its as easy as fitting a graphics card.. Unless your running one of those big brand computers who fit unchangable power supplies..

This warranty condition about upgrading parts is a bit below the belt... They are in effect putting a condition on you buying the machine that you dont open it in an industry whose technology changes every month.. The whole point is your supposed to be able to upgrade a PC easily..

When you say big brand computer... Mine is a Packard Bell from PC World and you probably can't get more mainstream or big brand than that I hope the PSU is changable in this because 250 watts SUCKS!

[mikesimpson]

Hi Andy,

If your computer supplier gave you a Quad Core CPU, 3 gigs of ram and a 500 gig hard drive, then coupled that with a 250 watt PSU and a useless video card, they should be taken out and shot.

Bite the bullet - Throw the PSU in the rubbish bin and fit a 750 watt one and add a new Nvidia video card, I have an 8800GTX with 768 megs of Ram on it and it works fine, they now have an even better set of cards in the 9... series. Don't worry about the warranty, if they can not build a decent computer in the first place, what makes you think they will fix it if it does go wrong?

[Easilyconfused]

Mike makes a good point that is often emphasised to people when we talk to them at the UKTS shows - you have to have a balanced system to get the best out of any rail simulation product.

I would agree that going to 700 watts or more is the way to go. I would always (as a happy customer) recommend Quiet PC : http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/powersupplies since they have always done the business for me and I do value being able to hear myself think.