I play TSW2020 on a HP laptop i7 using an Solid StatecDrive but with only a NVidia MX250 graphics card and 16gb ram, i know it is under spec but it works ok, but will this handle TSW2?
Admittedly there are some features new in TSW2 that will add something to the workload but the minimum and recommended spec's for TSW and TSW2 are exactly the same. Based on that if TSW runs to your satisfaction then you should see little difference with TSW2. Having said that some things are easier for a system to cope with than others- pootling along the West Somerset Railway isn't going to tax your system in the same way as flying through a busy main line station for example. In Train Simulator it's noticeable that newer routes pack in more detail and thus become more demanding as developers get better at such things and can be confident that their wares will be displayed on much more capable systems that were common even a few years ago never mind in days of yore when TS first appeared. I wouldn't be surprised if newer routes developed for TSW2 also increased in complexity so your system is likely to be all right for now but may start to get left behind. Of course that's the way with software in general and games in particular. Sooner or later everyone will either feel the need to upgrade or be obliged to as older hardware is no longer supported or just can't hack it.
Thank you JJTimothy for explaining, I bought a new laptop last November but the recommended graphics card for TSW is better spec than the NVidia mx250 installed in my laptop but the game runs quite well. I could buy a new graphics card but I understand that they are very difficult to install so If I go down that route later, I will have to find a dealer who offers an installation process. Thank you for explaining I am more confident about purchasing TSW2 now. I also have an Xbox1 so can play TSW2 on that if it struggles on my laptop!
You're very welcome. Upgrading the GPU in a desktop PC is a doddle. It's on it's own bit of circuit board (the card) which is a standardised shape with standardised connections precisely for this reason. Were it necessary I could probably swap mine out in a few minutes without even needing tools and the same could be said of most components although if the motherboard (the main circuit board that everything runs off) or PSU needed attention I would be in want of a screwdriver. There are exceptions when it comes to compact and all in one systems which use laptop components to fit their form factors (which foreshadows where I'm going with this) but the components in my tower could be changed until the thing was like the hundred year old axe. But that's desktops. Laptops on the other hand... Laptops are different shapes and sizes and generally much less standardised. Those shapes and sizes are also a lot smaller so everything is much more integrated. There have been some attempts to make modular laptops but your GPU is almost certainly a chipset that is soldered directly to the motherboard. If you were really handy with a soldering iron you might be able to replace it but the chances of swapping it for a significantly better one, which would have a different configuration, is vanishingly small. If you have a Thunderbolt connection or can get a Thunderbolt adaptor you could run an external GPU with that. You'd have to buy it again of course but that raises a good point I hadn't thought of. TSW2 and its routes have to run on X-Box1 and PS4 as well as PC and they're not going to get upgraded at all so TSW, TSW2 and add-ons for both are going to have to remain within the consoles capabilities.
