my pc upgrade query

[rosschris10]

hi all

my old pc went "bang" and my father gave me his old pc as he used his i pad more now for we browsing the pc itself is about 7 years old i run TS2013 on low setting with scenery at 10 so i get the station cannopys

most Routes run fine however it does stutter now and again and the london to brighton route is a big no no even on low settings

the pc specs are below

OS_ Windows Vista
Manufacturer Acer
Model ASE571/AST671
Processor: Intel(R)Pentium(R) D CPU 2.80GHz 2.80GHz
Memory (RAM) 894MB
System Type: 32-bit operating system

Graphics Card:

Name: ATI Radeon Xpress 1250
Manufacturer: ATI Technoligies Inc
Chip Type: ATI Radeon Xpress 1200 series (0x7941)
DAC Type Internal DAC(400mhz)
Approx Total Memory 317MB

i know this is prob really really low

my question is would this be easy to upgrade this system to a much faster one that i can run railworks on at full spec or is it better of using this as a back up pc and buying a whole new system

[sargnickfury]

That's old enough that upgrading isn't much of an option you could upgrade cpu to a Q9650 etc that's about the best you'll find for a 775 socket....but really your spending more money then your getting performance. a i3 3220 would cost half as much and be better performance.

You could keep mouse keyboard monitor etc and just get a new box basically....not even sure if that acer case will except any mobo or if it's proprietary, and I can also bet the power supply will not do well with modern gpu.

If you're on an absolute budget, I would look for a used upgraded cpu close to Q9650 and a decent graphics card....but my honest opinion especially if you want to run TS2013 on full, is get a new computer somewhere you can choose components. Get at i5 3ghz range cpu, and Gtx 550 or 650 Ti gpu, Windows 7 64 bit, and at least 8gb ram.....Someone in UK might have a better suggestion on where to look.

[ttjph]

As a fellow Socket 775 owner I just had a quick look...

You could pick up a Core 2 Duo E8500 on Ebay for no more than £35, assuming you're happy to fit it yourself - and that should more-or-less double the CPU performance. (I'm quite tempted myself now!)

Another £50 or so should get you a GTX 260, which again will be a major step up from what you've currently got - although this depends on a) having a hefty enough power supply (say 500W+), b) it being compatible with your motherboard and c) it fitting in your case. You'd then have a system slightly better than mine, which runs pretty well.

However, if you're talking about running RW "full spec" then a new computer is probably the only way.

[rosschris10]

ok so thats 2 that say a new computer so you guys know what your talking about so looks like its a knew computer box the monitor mouth keyboard i have a fine the monitor is 22" widescreen so thats good enough

so sorry with the questions and sounding dumb.

what should i be looking at adding if i am on one these sites building my own ie opereating system,RAM,graphics card,processor etc etc

[ttjph]

There are several other threads discussing this, at least one currently on the front page of "[TS2013] General Discussion" - have a read through those first, and if you have further questions perhaps it's best to post in one of the them.

Not trying to put you off; it just often works better if the discussion is kept in one place.