KSP Unofficial Official Computer Building Megathread. (All Questions Acceptable.)

[Galacticruler]

http://pcpartpicker.com/forums/topic...d-budget-build

[Leonov]

http://pcpartpicker.com/forums/topic...d-budget-build

What do you plan to do with this?
Im assuming your budget is around $600?

Other than that,
The 7770 is an alright card for the money.
If you can get an FX series CPU i would suggest a FX-6300, the phenoms are a tad dated.
Two sticks of 4GB@1600 will outperform a single stick of 8GB@1333.
The comments on that are very good.

[Camacha]

What do you plan to do with this?
Two sticks of 4GB@1600 will outperform a single stick of 8GB@1333.
The comments on that are very good.

Do consider that upgrading at a later date is somewhat limited, when choosing 2 x 4 GB instead of 1 x 8. The gain in speed is quite minor, while the (im)possibility of upgrading might cause some problems along the road.

[Leonov]

You make a good point there.
It usually comes down to situationals.
If you buy a board that supports dual channel memory, Why not utilise it?
Most users wont need* to get over 8GB of Ram.

*There is always the intangible "Moar ram = good" thought process.

[Technical Ben]

Do consider that upgrading at a later date is somewhat limited, when choosing 2 x 4 GB instead of 1 x 8. The gain in speed is quite minor, while the (im)possibility of upgrading might cause some problems along the road.

Wait, your board only has 2 slots? Hmmmm...

[Camacha]

*There is always the intangible "Moar ram = good" thought process.

Too little RAM is a major problem, too much is a waste of money Despite all kind of fancy Windows trickery that is supposed to enhance performance with more RAM, I haven't seen many reviews/benchmarks that actually comfirm any significant gain. What was true before is still true now; RAM that is not in actual use is money wasted. For even quite heavy users/gamers 8 GB is generally enough, some folks that like to edit video's, VM's or run some other specific application might have a use for 16 GB or even more.

However, making use of dual channel (or not) could be a decisive factor. Also, currently DDR3 RAM is getting more expensive, so one could stock up for the future and smack in those 16 GB's anyway. There are quite some considerations and there is no single truth. Take in advice from people, look at your situation, look at your wallet and buy with your mind (and not your heart).

Wait, your board only has 2 slots? Hmmmm...

Cheaper or smaller boards tend to have a limited amount of slots. But it really does not matter that much, fact is that filling up two slots limits the possibilities after that. A lot would say that does not matter, some might say it does.

[Leonov]

Cheaper or smaller boards tend to have a limited amount of slots. But it really does not matter that much, fact is that filling up two slots limits the possibilities after that. A lot would say that does not matter, some might say it does.

Indeed, Ram is very subjective discussion with verying opinions on what is right or wrong.
Plenty of factors should go into your purchases. Such as what you want to do and what you currently do. Sure editing anytihng on a computer an be ram intensive, but most end users dont.

[Galacticruler]

Thank you all for the input.
the only problem is that this will take years to afford...even for a low budget PC.

[Camacha]

Thank you all for the input.
the only problem is that this will take years to afford...even for a low budget PC.

The good part is that computers are getting more and more affordable and actually already are.

Let me take a different approach: what do you want to do with it? If money is tight, a PC can be built for a specific situation. It will not get you all round high FPS, but some usable performance in areas that matter to you is very achievable. To be honest, spending a lot of money for crazy performance is only interesting if money truly is no object or if you are a bit of a nitwit not knowing what you want

[Leonov]

The good part is that computers are getting more and more affordable and actually already are. -snip-

+1 on this advice.
Do some thinking, take a real look at what you use you computer for. Affording a computer is sometihng that shouldnt be discussed here.