Hello Tom's
I'm looking for help in designining a new system. About 6 months ago I purchased a copy of Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 (Platinum) and have become somewhat obsessed. I enjoy the challenge and the design element immensely. My old emachine (T6410) will not allow me to play without tons of lag in the larger parks. I installed 2 gigs of RAM as well as an nvidea 8400 GS which made a huge difference but I still get lousy frame rates at some point. I have a Samsung 27" LED that lets me know there is more to be had. After being inside my computer I realise I am easily capable of building a new rig myself.
After spending months on game sites and tech sites I have come away more confused than I started so I have decided to ask for help.
I beleive I am lacking in proccessor speed, yes? (Athlon 3200+@2.2 Ghz)
The 8400 GS seems capable of much more than I'm getting in terms of FPS.
I have heard that XP can handle the larger parks better than win7? Is this a fallacy? (I would like to build very large parks and will need an OS for the new build) I have an old copy of XP that I could use.
I'm confused about how much CPU I need and whether or not to go quad-core or something like the i3 dual-core.
My intention is to play this game at maximum settings. I might also like to try designing custom scenery and create movies with some other programs. If you've seen any of the vid's on the "tube" you might know what I'm talking about.
My plan is to build an easily upgradable system and to use my GPU at present. I have what might be considered an unlimited budget but don't want to spend money on things that won't improve the game play on this specific game, right now. (this obsession may not last
I also have a large case from a donated rig that I'm considering using ("powered by Asus" on the front. That's all I know.) It should handle any size mobo with room to spare.
I've come away from all the research not knowing what I need to power this game at it's top levels. I don't understand what it needs to run efficiently. If all I need is a new GPU I could save a bunch of money.?
I am thinking along the lines of the 3570k but perhaps that is overkill for this title. or not? I am not adverse to an AMD system if it will work better than Intel as long as it's upgradable in the future. (my computer is an '04-'05 so that tells you something There are lots of build articles out there that seem to be selling specific parts or companies more than anything so I thought I might get an impartial opinion here.
I'm not quite sure how to word this question after all that. Can anyone recommend a setup that will play RCT3 with all settings max'd, do some 3D design work, as well as all the basic stuff.
Monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers are not necessary. My case is old but usable I think.?
Money is not an issue but less than 1000$ is what I imagined, since I plan to use my GPU to start with. (unless a new one is all I need for my old machine to play well?)
Thank you for your comments in advance. If I have completely blown this by talking too much or too long, please forgive me. I've not asked everything I wanted to still. (HDD vs SSD, more questions about the OS, etc.)
I'm looking for help in designining a new system. About 6 months ago I purchased a copy of Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 (Platinum) and have become somewhat obsessed. I enjoy the challenge and the design element immensely. My old emachine (T6410) will not allow me to play without tons of lag in the larger parks. I installed 2 gigs of RAM as well as an nvidea 8400 GS which made a huge difference but I still get lousy frame rates at some point. I have a Samsung 27" LED that lets me know there is more to be had. After being inside my computer I realise I am easily capable of building a new rig myself.
After spending months on game sites and tech sites I have come away more confused than I started so I have decided to ask for help.
I beleive I am lacking in proccessor speed, yes? (Athlon 3200+@2.2 Ghz)
The 8400 GS seems capable of much more than I'm getting in terms of FPS.
I have heard that XP can handle the larger parks better than win7? Is this a fallacy? (I would like to build very large parks and will need an OS for the new build) I have an old copy of XP that I could use.
I'm confused about how much CPU I need and whether or not to go quad-core or something like the i3 dual-core.
My intention is to play this game at maximum settings. I might also like to try designing custom scenery and create movies with some other programs. If you've seen any of the vid's on the "tube" you might know what I'm talking about.
My plan is to build an easily upgradable system and to use my GPU at present. I have what might be considered an unlimited budget but don't want to spend money on things that won't improve the game play on this specific game, right now. (this obsession may not last
I also have a large case from a donated rig that I'm considering using ("powered by Asus" on the front. That's all I know.) It should handle any size mobo with room to spare.
I've come away from all the research not knowing what I need to power this game at it's top levels. I don't understand what it needs to run efficiently. If all I need is a new GPU I could save a bunch of money.?
I am thinking along the lines of the 3570k but perhaps that is overkill for this title. or not? I am not adverse to an AMD system if it will work better than Intel as long as it's upgradable in the future. (my computer is an '04-'05 so that tells you something
There are lots of build articles out there that seem to be selling specific parts or companies more than anything so I thought I might get an impartial opinion here.I'm not quite sure how to word this question after all that. Can anyone recommend a setup that will play RCT3 with all settings max'd, do some 3D design work, as well as all the basic stuff.
Monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers are not necessary. My case is old but usable I think.?
Money is not an issue but less than 1000$ is what I imagined, since I plan to use my GPU to start with. (unless a new one is all I need for my old machine to play well?)
Thank you for your comments in advance. If I have completely blown this by talking too much or too long, please forgive me. I've not asked everything I wanted to still. (HDD vs SSD, more questions about the OS, etc.)
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