My current computer is a bit slow. Takes about 10 minutes to load Banished unmodded and approximately 1-1.5 hours to load modded. That is not counting generating a new map or loading and existing map.
Current Computer
- Dell All-In-One Touch Screen
- AMD A6-7310 APU 2Hz
- AMD Radeon R4 Graphics
- 4Gb Ram (3.44 Unable)
- 1TB Hard Drive
- Keyboard & Mouse
- Windows OS
- Tray Load Optical DVD Drive (Reads/Writes to DVD/CD)
Replacement Computer
- Dell XPS 8940 Tower
- 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10700 Processor 2.9GHz
- NVIDIA® GeForce GTX™ 1660 Ti, 6GB
- 64Gb Ram
- 2TB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
- 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive
- Bluetooth 5.1
- Keyboard & Mouse
- Windows OS
- Tray Load Optical DVD Drive (Reads/Writes to DVD/CD)
I haven't been a fan of Dell and their prices these days, they are way out of line.
This system is more than enough, it's actually way overkill for just Banished.
You a gamer other than banished?
64gb ram is overkill for most anything. 16gb is fine for most
The 1660 TI is more than capable in 1080p and will also reasonably manage 1440p
I have a i-7-9700k which often compared to the 10700 and my vanilla banished opens in like 8 seconds and takes about 21 seconds for a large map to generate and start.
Yes, with a system like this make sure Banished is on the SSD and an unloaded version will only take a few seconds to load- a modded version with several Gbs of extras will only take a minute or two to load.
My laptop has 16GB RAM and has a SSD of 250GB ( Windows C drive on which the operating systems are stored)
My current game is on a large map (Kid wildlifestarts), has 3.18GB in the Windata file and takes less than 90 seconds to open, load and start the game.
The only issues I have having filled 80 percent of the map and 700 people is I find that 5xx speed is as fast as the game will go and when I move from one side of the map to another it is best to pause the game for a smooth transition.
You will have to let us know how things go using a higher RAM
While I agree that 64 Gig of RAM is probably overkill, I very much disagree with the idea that 16 Gig is fine. There are a few games that like to load all their assets into RAM as the game starts, if you have a lot of mods, RAM will fill up very quickly and your computer will start using virtual memory.
Cities: Skylines is a perfect example of this. Note that it does not matter how much onboard memory your graphics card has in this situation, the game wants to pre-load assets into RAM.
32 Gig of RAM is a good level if you have a reasonably high number of mods - if you have an insane level of mods then 64 Gig is probably more appropriate.
As for Banished, I recently upgraded my computer from 16 Gig of RAM to 32. Unfortunately my motherboard has a problem with one of the RAM slots (it's rather temperamental) so only three of the four slots work properly and thus I am stuck with only 24 Gig. However, I noticed a definite improvement in how fast Banished loaded (and I have a lot of mods added to the game) compared to having 16 Gig.
Banished with Megamod, the largest all-in-one pack hits 3.8gb.... I doubt the game would even load if you had 8gb worth of mods or more.
With that said, if a person is a multi-tasker, they may be using ram elsewhere... browser, video playing, etc...
I am a muti-tasker with 32gb ram. I currently have 3 separate browser windows open, a video playing, Banished Megamod open along with qtox window, Outlook, and download manager. Still only at 12gb. I called up about 6 more videos and still only at 13gb.
So, yes 16gb is just fine for the most part. Saying otherwise because of one game being an asset hog doesn't make sense. Plenty of people play City Skylines just fine with only 8gb.
yeah put just 32G ram, thats what i have and im super happy with it. And with that money saved, buy absolutely a SSD.
Quote from: Kristahfer on March 28, 2021, 11:55:21 AM
My current computer is a bit slow. Takes about 10 minutes to load Banished unmodded and approximately 1-1.5 hours to load modded.
I've got a HP All-in-One Desktop with 8gb of memory (plus 8gb of swap space), 4 CPUs and 1 terabyte hard drive running Linux Mint, on Banished with no mods it pretty much starts immediately and with 4.2gb of mods I would guess its about 10 minutes to load up my latest village
Quote from: theonlywanderer on March 28, 2021, 07:24:58 PM
Banished with Megamod, the largest all-in-one pack hits 3.8gb.... I doubt the game would even load if you had 8gb worth of mods or more.
Plenty of people play City Skylines just fine with only 8gb.
Funny you should mention 8gb for Banished, my data folder for Banished is 8.84 Gig and it runs fine.
In regards to Cities: Skylines, obviously plenty of people only have a few mods installed for it then.
If you have a lot of assets/mods installed you will not play any game of Skylines very long with just 8gb of RAM. Once the population expands the game will constantly lag.
Most of the commentary I have seen, people have the 25 or even the 81 squares unlocked mod and up to 5000 thousand assets installed - yes five thousand. Some of them have more, even up to eight thousand.
This is why the loading screen mod was developed for Skylines.
I typically run with anywhere from 6000 to 7000 assets/mods installed
The whole point of this is that your computer setup is different to mine, your computer usage is different to mine, your game usage is different to mine, your experience is different to mine and also different to Kristahfer - which is exactly why Kristahfer asked for opinions about a proposed replacement computer in the first place.
@TheOtherMicheal I get it, but there was no indication they were some extremely high end level gamer, especially since they are asking for computer advice on a Banished forum. A gamer at the level you are will clearly not need advice of any kind, right? So giving out advice based on extreme gaming requirements in this scenario is a bit much, that's all I'm saying.
You know, you really need to get off your high horse long enough to consult a dictionary and learn the meaning of the words "opinion" and "example"
I used Cities: Skylines as an "example" of a game that once modded, demands a lot from RAM
I gave this information as part of my "opinion" as to why 64gb of RAM was overkill but 32gb of RAM is a reasonable middle ground particularly if a person wants some level of future-proofing their computer
@TheOtherMicheal Hmmm... maybe you should do the same seeing as you decided to disagree with my advice first and give reasons for it, I just returned the favor.
I didn't critique your advice, I disagreed with it and gave my reasons for doing so.
But the two of us arguing over this is not helpful to Kristahfer, I suggest we drop it and move on
@TheOtherMicheal Sure... I fixed my previous comment to your preferred verbiage. Odd how it still fits considering it's exactly the same.
I really can't recommend Dell. The computers they sell to the business market are really solid workhorses, but the consumer models don't have the same quality at all. So, I mean if you could buy a Dell through your employer, then sure. Otherwise, don't do it.
Asus makes good gaming computers, either laptop or desktop. Even if you play other games, I think 32gb of RAM is fine. Maybe just make sure it has empty slots to add more if you need to in a few years. The other thing I'd say, that I didn't think about when I bought my new computer two years ago, was that I would miss having a Blu Ray drive. I have some old games on CD, and I can't play them unless I buy them from GOG. I don't love buying things I already own, so they're just sitting there. I need to go get an external drive, but honestly I'd much rather have one inside the machine than outside of it.
I will also say, use the money you save by only getting 32 gb of RAM to get liquid cooling. One primary reason for performance drops is heat, so keeping the CPU cool makes a big difference.
Some good solid suggestions
@Goblin Girl - I wish I'd though of liquid cooling when I got this computer, summertime here can be a bit extreme!
I too don't have much regard for Dell home computers. One of the places I worked used Dell desktops and every time we had a service problem, we couldn't get our regular computer shop to repair them, we had to go through the Dell service centre for whatever reason. Some time later on of my relatives got a Dell for home use and as soon as she had problems with it, her local computer shop told her that she'd have to send it to Dell to have it fixed.
That was a while ago now so I don't know if the same situation applies today, but having your repair options restricted like that is not particularly user friendly.
I'm retired now, but my organization had over 500 Dell desktops and about 100 laptops. They were workhorses and if *anything at all* went wrong, Dell paid to send a technician to repair or replace the machine within 24 hours. But, all of those machines were on a five year replacement cycle, so Dell was making a heck of a lot of money off us. They gave us top of the line service, because they wanted to keep on making that money. They'd even sell business model machines to staff using the organization's discount. Anyone who has access to that program would be wise to take advantage of it...of course they're not gaming machines so while they'd probably be fine for Banished, if you play AAA games, go elsewhere.
I can not thank you all enough. Your responses and advice is exactly what I was looking for.
Currently I have 478 mods in my WinData folder of which 225 are enabled. I realize that is what the slow down is. I love mods, and really like the wonderful array of choices I have available. Since I can not in any way shape of form even come close to the art work that you all post, nor really create a functional group of villages on a medium map, my game style is rudimentary at best. I enjoy seeing what will work together.
I choose the Dell because I am able to get that one at a discounted cost.
Further evaluation is now in store using the responses and advice received.
Thanks To All Of You,
Kristahfer
I have a Dell Alienware with 64mb of ram and you'll love it. Run Banished with RK & the Megamod, plus many other mods, and it loads in less than two minutes. Good choice
Quote from: purringcat on April 06, 2021, 08:05:52 AM
I have a Dell Alienware with 64mb of ram and you'll love it. Run Banished with RK & the Megamod, plus many other mods, and it loads in less than two minutes. Good choice
Is your Alienware a desktop or laptop? I owned one years ago, and while it was a powerful machine for the time, it wasn't well made. I had lots of problems that required service. I'm glad to hear their machines are more reliable now.
Liquid cooling is only needed if you overclock. A good air cooler will handle stock I9 just fine.
Quote from: theonlywanderer on April 06, 2021, 11:19:14 AM
Liquid cooling is only needed if you overclock. A good air cooler will handle stock I9 just fine.
I might not understand what that means. I know my machine runs hot after hours of gaming, and I assume the liquid cooling is keeping the CPU chip cooler than if I didn't have it.
Overclocking involves increasing the CPU's clock rate, running it at a higher speed than it was designed to run. It can get pretty involved and the more you overclock the hotter a CPU gets.
There are plenty of Air Coolers that will handle a stock I9 just fine even while gaming so an I7 is no problem for air cooling.
Liquid cooling can be a step up for higher level gamers playing titles that really stress a computer and they play for long periods of time.
The average gamer out there doesn't even use an I9, it's overkill, you will find more I5 and I7 gaming rigs. I9's tend to be used by enthusiasts.
My main consideration within this thread is that a high end enthusiast level gamer would have no need to ask for PC advice within a Banished forum. Therefore, the advice needs to remain within that context. Clearly Kristahfer is just looking for a middle of the line gaming rig, not some expensive high end enthusiast level gaming rig.
I tend to agree. There's plenty of computer cases you can buy that have better airflow and/or additional fans to deal with heat build-up and are very capable at dealing with the needs of the average gamer.
Unless you live in a region that experiences high summer temperature like I do (temps between 45 to 50 degrees Celsius - 113 to 122 Fahrenheit), liquid cooling is a good alternative for the average gamer but not necessarily a "must have" item considering the extra expense.
I would like to have liquid cooling but the case I have has served me well for the last half a decade so I don't actually need liquid cooling (it's a want item because then I wouldn't have to hear the high pitch whine of the fans when they kick into high gear during hot days!)