Atomic Systems

Hello,

This is an idea that has just dawned on me, this topic may help beginners find the best settings (eg. AA, AF etc.) suited to their PC's may it be a low spec or high spec.

My PC is: 6yo HP Desktop
1.8Ghz AMD Sempron
3GB RAM
80GB HDD (Partitioned in two)
Nvidia GeForce 210 512MB RAM

My MSTS Settings are maxed with the exception of Specular Lighting (don't notice what it does).
AA is 8x
AF is 16x
I get an average of 15FPS but it is jumpy sometimes, can anybody recommend what would suit my PC best?

Thanks, James.

P.S. Mods can make this a sticky if they wish.

Hi,

I think that this topic comes up from time to time when significant changes of harware components are around. However, looking at your PC spec I would say that the Sempron is a bit underpowered for anything requiring more than a few FPS, and you would notice an immediate improvement if you tried an Athlon XP or maybe one of the newer faster ones, but this particular generation of processors gets hot quickly, so make sure you have got a good heatsink on it if you change. You can still get graphics cards to suit your bus, but these are receding into times gone by, too. It all depends what you really want. If you are just making models, your PC is probably OK provoding the graphics can give a good resolution. If you want to run activities on MSTS with substantial AI,or say FSX deluxe, then you are pushing your processor rather hard, even though you have 3Gb RAM. The speed of your memory bus is also quite significant, and DDR3 1333Mhz is going to substantially outperform DDR400, but it also gets hotter. Where you have heat to disperse, you need ventilation. You may need to add a fan. Then you have a noise problem, you may also have a PSU power problem.
If you are going to upgrade, it's worth taking a very balanced view of what you are going to get for your outlay.

Hope this is of use,

Regards

Frame rates are comparable only if the same (preferably default) consist on the same (preferably default) route are used to compare PC hardware and the screen resolution used.

Hi "SDtrains",

Yes I have realised that my processor is the bottle-neck in my PC currently, everything else is good like the RAM and GPU. Buying a new processor is not really a wise option nor a cheap one because I'm only 15 and my mother would kill me LOL! However I have been Googling for a few solutions and some really useful information has came up:
My processor, an AMD Sempron 3400+ is UNDERCLOCKED to 1.8Ghz! :O The factory clock is actually 2.0Ghz! I'm currently trying to find a way to set it back to that clock and then possibly overclock it by a few Mhz as from my research many people bought these CPU's cheap and unleashed their full potential.

I don't know what your views are on overclocking but should I give it a try?

James.

Overclocking is all about risk. Your CPU gets hotter the faster it runs, so you have to be careful not to go too far otherwise you can end up cooking your CPU!

I overclocked my Intel Dual Core chip from 2.66GHz to 3.10GHz and its ran at a higher temperature. I installed more fans to compensate and its always been ok. I'd suggest if you are going to do so, then have a browse on the internet on the risk vs benefits.

Hi James,
It all depends on your motherboard and BIOS chip as to whether you are able to increase the clock speed. It would also help if the processor has an unlocked multiplier. If you are able to increase the clock speed, it usually means that everything else (Memory, Graphics Card Bus, etc) runs that much faster, and hotter, as Anton had said, which adds the risk of instability.
If an unlocked multiplier is available on the CPU, then only that will run faster and hotter!

Cheers,
Ged

Well, let's see.
Specular Lighting will make a metal surface look more like metal and may even give off a shine or twinkle if the sun hits it right.
Specular Lighting will give water a more realistic appearance and, it too, may even shine or twinkle at the right angle.
Specular Lighting could cause a windshield or any glass to give you that blinding flash you get when the sun hits it right.
Specular Lighting will give a truer glean to any object instead of a dull flat finished look.

If you play RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 and toggle the Specular Lighting on and off, you'll find it very noticeable.

How's that?

Hi,
Thanks for the info and help but I cant overclock now because my motherboard is oem. I could go down the software route but I couldnt be bothered. I have turned off AA and AF in the meantime.

James.

Hi James, curious as to what mother board being oem has to do with altering Bios settings? do you mean you can't get into it or it's under warranty so not allowed to?

My motherboard like most oem boards have the clock speed and multipliers shaded out in the bios. its the manufacturers way of preventing damage by the user.

In conclusion to this topic I have found that my problem does not lie completely with my CPU, no matter how much tweaking to the settings and even maxing them out or making them as low as possible I still get 7FPS in the London Area of Dorset Coast. This can only mean that the route is just as intensive on my PC no matter what, other routes are ok, it's just natural. I'm currently happy upon learning this and I'm ok with my PC in it's current state, I don't really care about FPS to be honest just as long as it looks good and detailed. However I will save up and go Dual Core or even Quad Core by Xmas.

Thanks for your help, James.

Hi James,
I see no mention here of what else you are running when MSTS is active.
When you run MSTS have your internet disabled and you browser off.
Using the option on your anti-virus to switch it off while you are off line also helps.
Also look at Task manager for any Processes running that you do not need.

Search for a program called 'End it all' which can be set to switch off what you do not want till you re boot.

Good luck
Doug

I will look into that and report my findings thanks.

By the way... Anybody have any BR Timetables?

James.

Which region and period are you after timetables for?

Anything from 1970 to 1990. WCML Suburban, ECML Suburban, Great Eastern, South East, Dorset Coast. For acts.