Graphics Settings

[koenig]

Hello

Having had TS2013 for a while I am looking to tweak it so it runs as best as it can on my system, there seems to be loads of advance options to change but I don't know which ones would be best, I have the TSX option on and have set the frame limiter to 30. The London to Brighton route does drop to around 16 in places I have noticed.

Can anyone help?

Many thanks

Darran


my system specs

Intel E5500 Dual core 2.8ghz
Ati Radeon 4870 HD 512mb
4GB Ram
Windows Vista

[gptech]

Have a read through http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic. ... c2f8203586
Though written for an older version of the game it's a good starting point.

[ttjph]

Just to add: while you're running TS, have Windows Task Manager running with the Performance tab visible, and set to View -> CPU History -> One Graph, All CPUs; and also find a monitoring program which similarly displays a graph of GPU usage.

If the GPU is at 100% when the framerate drops, you should consider turning down some of the options which mostly affect that (primarily resolution, antialiasing and shadows); otherwise the CPU is the limiting factor, so you should turn down options which help that (shadows, plus view distance and scenery detail I think).

Note that the game is maxed at around 1.6 CPU cores, which would be around 80% total for a dual-core; 40% for a quad-core or 20% for an 8-core CPU. If it's up around this level then it is CPU-limited.

Pretty much all the stuff in the guide linked above about which options to set first is still relevant and true, I think.

Good luck!

[koenig]

Thank you both your for replies, people on here are soo helpful I must say that TS2013 runs soo much better than Railworks or TS2012 on my humble pc. I would be interesting to hear they type of set ups that people have running the sim.

[ttjph]

I would be interesting to hear they type of set ups that people have running the sim.

This may give you some idea of the range of performance:
http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic. ... 1&t=130101
Note that quite a few people - like me! - list their computer specs in their signature (shown under their posts).

[koenig]

Thats really helpful ,thank you . What strikes me is how hungry TS2013 can be when it comes to processing/ GPU power. My set up is quite humble and does run it fairly well though I do wonder how much I would have to spend on a set up to be able to run everything to the max. I see some videos that people bave made it looks so real. So does mine but only in the dark though


E5500 2.8ghz Dual Core
Ati 4870Hd 512mb
On board sound
4gb Ram.
Windows Vista

[gptech]

I do wonder how much I would have to spend on a set up to be able to run everything to the max.

Proably less than you imagine. £300-£500 quid will get you a new motherboard/CPU/RAM bundle, a mid to high end grapics card and Windows 7 64bit. That is of course providing you can fit the bits yourself, or know someone who'll do it for you.

[gavo01]

I do wonder how much I would have to spend on a set up to be able to run everything to the max.

Putting a PC together is actually easier than you think. I'm not the cleverest person around but I've managed to build my last three PC'c myself. You've just got to do plenty of homework on the components you want.

Compatabiltiy is the main issue. Get that sorted and you're halfway there.

£300 will get you a mid range self built system. £500 will get you a reasonable high end self built PC.

Windows 8 is very affordable, for the next five days anyhow, being only £24.99, for the digital download direct from Microsoft.com.

[DavidVI]

Can I bump this...

I've noticed how limiting the fact TS doesn't use all 4 cores fully is.. It seems really core dependent! On London to Brighton, starting at Victoria with an AP activitiy you can have the graphics on the lowest and get 30fps in cab, switch to very high graphics and you only lose 5fps, down to 25fps. I'm guessing its all the AI trains being more dependent on CPU? My GPU isn't even being fully used! On other routes, Isle of Wight for example.. I can get 250-300fps, I guess its not very dense and not many AI trains at all..

Why can't they add better support for CPUs?! performance would suddenly go through the roof!

[gptech]

If only it was as simple as just 'adding' an option.
To utilise more cores you'd need to be running more threads and to do that you have to identify what could run in new thread without impacting on those already running. I don't believe RSC have this capability in house, I don't believe we'll see much more core utilisation without a major re-write of the guts of the game which I can't see happening as a free upgrade.