This is actually a hardware question but it's game-specific. I came across this simulation game several mos. ago and now I find myself playing incredibly often. Trouble is, my computer can't keep up. After adding 2 gigs of DDR (yes, it's that old. same year as the game) and an 8400 GS I realize I am easily capable of building a new rig. I've seen way too many 'tube videos (including several of yours, Logan) and now I want to pull the trigger on the parts. Here is my dilemma; I'm too old for the MMOG's (my fingers don't move that fast any more) and truth be told, I really enjoy the challenge and design element that comes with designing the parks and coasters.
My old Emach has an Athlon 3200+ (2.2 Gghz) and coupled with the Ge-Force will play on "high-quality" settings at over 70 fps with almost all the tweaks at max in sandbox mode for a time.....runs in the 50-60 range at the start of the scenarios. After adding scenery and 6-700 "peeps" it begins to slow. This I understand and expect. I need a newer rig. What I'm not sure about is how much the gpu or cpu is responsible. My hdd is only 128 mgs and still has plenty of room left and I'm sure that's not helping.
After weeks and weeks of forums, videos, and comments from players I'm still unsure of how much rig I actually need to max out this game (only) If I buy a 500$ video card for my old machine will it work? Or can I play this with the A8 3870K and no card at all? Or the i5 3570K and the HD4000 built-in graphics? My understanding is this game only uses 1 core and so why do I need the extra cores? (to play) With a release date in '04 the game can't be that tough to out-muscle, yes? Money is not an issue here but spending $$$$'s on something that would do the job for a hundred bucks is just stupid. However,....
there may come a day when I choose to actually render(?) something I've created and I want to build something that will be upwards-compatible. After watching Logan's inexpensive builds I go to amz to order, wait, watch another video, back to shop, wait, etc.
I'm not asking about any of these specific processors or parts. I'm just looking for an explanation and personal recommendations as to how to smoke this game for the least amount of money with a rig that can be dialed up in a big way later on.
ps I hear this plays better on XP ( mega-parks and such) and am wondering how to salvage my OS.?
Sorry this is so long but I could easily have made it much longer. Perhaps it will come to that if anyone responds. Logan? (love the vids, you're fun to watch)
Anyone ever heard of RCT3?
RCT3 will go flying with the 3870K. I play it all the time. Though when I start putting a lot of stuff into my parks, my FPS start to drop. I don't get why how ever. I've got a pretty good System along side to:
Case: NZXT Lexa S Mid-Tower
PSU: Raidmax Hybrid 2 730Watt PSU
Mobo: Asus M4A77D
CPU: AMD Athlon II x3 450- Unlocked to Phenom II x4 B50 and overclocked to 3.7 Ghz
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake Duorb CPU Cooler
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 6790 1GB GDDR3
RAM: 4GB 2X2 PQI 800 MHz Dual Channel Memory
Fan Controller: NZXT Sentry 2
Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy SE
2x Logisys 120MM Blue LED Case Fans
1x Eagletech PSU Fan (salvaged it)
1X NZXT Fan
Head Set: TekNmotion Pulsewave 2 PC gaming headset
Keyboard: Logitech G510 Gaming Keyboard
Mouse: Cyber Snipa Silencer Gaming Mouse
Monitor: ASUS MS228 21.5 Inch
Thanks skullabyss,
I was pretty sure that any of the new cpu's would handle this. (nice set-up,btw) It sounds as though you're dropping frames in the same way I am, though. I'm trying to understand why, as well. I'm not looking to build a rig only to find out I have the same problem with it. As I said my old emachines will play this well enough at high settings to make it enjoyable. I bought a new sams 27" hd monitor and now I want to be able to use it to it's potential.
Am I in the right forum area for this kind of question? Should I move this to the "hardware section" to attract more attention? I really would like to find someone who can explain the nuts and bolts of whats happening and why! I'm trying to order parts this week since I am off work. Thank you very much for your response. It's nice to have someone answer for a change;)
It should be good. I've been doing some research about the slowing down bit. I saw some people have the same problem and someone said with all the textures, it creates a load for the HDD. I'm not sure if that is true. I'll have to double check
my hdd is quite small (160 GB). This was big when it first arrived in '05. I could add another if this would solve the problem. However, I think it goes deeper than just that. You're right, though, everyone talks about the lag in the larger parks. What do you know about whether or not this only uses a single core. If the quad cores need to be downrated ie: 25% available in terms of CPU Ghz then my Athlon runs faster than an OC'd anything, yes? (4.5 Ghz % 4 cores = 1.125 Ghz) I think this reasoning is a bit fuzzy, though. That's part of why I'm asking the question. This game allows you to "become" a peep and walk through something you've created on your own, not something the designers have come up with. The scenery changes based on how I've decorated my park, not something pre-programmed in. It seems to me the designers had only a small idea of how creative some people would become. And how big they might want to build. I mean let's face it, I could fill up the sandbox several times on different levels and have a park stacked on top of a park stacked on top of a park, etc. Not to mention the almost unlimited underground access. And that's without cheats! So I'm torn about what to buy for a new rig. Logan did an inexpensive build with the i3 2120(?) which is only 2 cores but uses the 1155 socket and with a GOOD Mobo should be ready for new hardware if I choose. I just don't know if the other CPU's are what I need right now. I don't think I need more than 4 gigs of RAM but at today's prices 16 is easy. I have plenty of money, just don't know how best to spend it.
Thanks again, skullabyss. Hope to talk more soon. (If I'm boring you, I'm sorry. I'm really hoping someone else will chime in, too)
Well, if you REALLY want a machine just to play this game in the most fluid manner possible without spedning a good bit of money, why not just get the 3DS port of the game coming out later this month? But if you'd rather go for PC, the 3870k should be fine. The lag mentioned earlier is most likely just poor programming. If I can find my copy laying around, I will try it out on my system to see what happens. (3930k, GTX 480, 4 x 4GB)
Thanks for chiming in. So, the 3870k would be fine. would the i7 2600k be better? or the i7 990x ? It's not about the money. I want to know why this game runs as it does and which processor would handle it best. I expect the i3 2120 would work as well as any of the others for this game.? Every one seems to agree that the the i5 2500k is one of the top performance /cost CPU's out there. that or the 3570k was my original plan. I'm trying to figure out if I need to crossfire two cards or if I even need a graphics card to play this with a new CPU and rig. No one seems to know for sure. All the answers are quantified (should be, could be, might be, etc.) If you were to throw it on your rig you'd have to play it for a while.....right now I've 1800 peeps in the last scenario and it's running around 25 -30 fps. (I can tell I'm losing it, though ;) I would just like to have more... I appreciate your input, Myuzaki. Thank you for the time. You were joking about the portable, right? :)
The reason everyone likes the 2500k is because you can overclock the dickens out of it. 4.0Ghz easy on box cooling. As far as onboard graphics in the Intel flavor the ivy bridge cpu is the best. If your running a graphics card and not using the onboard option the 2500k cant be beat for the price.
Thanks to all of you who've responded. I'm really trying to find out if this game is GPU or CPU intensive. Right now I've got a park (Saxon Farms - last scenario in the Wild) that has over 3200 peeps, 10-12 coasters 30 +/- flat rides and 50-60 animals. It's playable at 10 fps, but barely. I've still got 1/3 of the park left to decorate. I find this extremely frustrating;) I want to know if you guys think my proccessor is the problem or if I could just re-up my 8400 to something better. The resolution in the game controls only goes so high. My rig is old but still exceeds the recommendations for the game so why is this happening!? I'm sure most of you young guys are playing stuff online that involves destroying things and I get that. (watched a demo of Guild Wars 2 - not bad but the dialog is really lacking and the gameplay seemed repetitive to me) I'm also assuming you have knowledge of computers that exceeds mine although I am a very fast learner.
My present computer is fine for what I normally use it for. I have good speed on my DSL connection and enjoy watching the videos by Logan on youtube. That is why I signed up to talk here. If I build something new, my budget is as much as I need it to be. However, there is no point in spending money on stuff just because I can.(been there, done that, believe me) If anyone has played this game and knows what's going on I'd be grateful for the info. Thanks and btw, I'm enjoying the conversations, such as they are.