KSP1 Computer Building/Buying Megathread

[Leonov]

So, any tips for a motherboard?

Your endgame is to have 2 R9 290's in crossfire, so you will need a mobo with 2 PCIe 3.0 Lanes, you will notice that the 290 and 290X don't have Crossfire tabs cut on their PCB. They moved the crossfire bridge to the PCIe Lane, pretty neat stuff.

Heres a motherboard that i would recommend.

[DonLorenzo]

Your endgame is to have 2 R9 290's in crossfire, so you will need a mobo with 2 PCIe 3.0 Lanes, you will notice that the 290 and 290X don't have Crossfire tabs cut on their PCB. They moved the crossfire bridge to the PCIe Lane, pretty neat stuff.

Heres a motherboard that i would recommend.

Thanks! That seems sensible enough. Any idea what the 300+ dollar boards add? anything more than a fancy badge?

[Taki117]

Alright, I'm having an issue with a custom built PC.

Specs:

MSI 970A-G43 Mother Board

FX 4130 Black Edition 3.8GHz CPU

http://www.microcenter.com/product/393210/XMS3_16GB_DDR-1333_(PC-10600)_CL9_Dual_Channel_Desktop_Memory_Kit_(Two_8GB_Memory_Modules)

nVidia GTX 480 GPU

300GB Dedicated OS HDD

blu-ray DVD burner

and I can't seem to load any OS onto it. I've completely rebuilt the computer after frying toe motherboard in it (Replaced everything except the HDDs and the GPU) and wanted to put Linux on it to play the 64-bit KSP (Yep, that's the only reason I want linux) After wiping the dedicated OS HDD I couldn't get Linux installed, so I decided to put Windows on it and upgrade to Linux later (Just to have an operational computer) and got the BSOD during installation.

Any Advice?

[mostlydave]

I picked up a gtx 650 for my older gaming PC on Friday, it greatly improved KSPs performance but the hdmi port would not work. I've returned it and I'm looking at a gtx 650 ti 2gb for $150. This looks like a pretty good deal to me but I wanted to make sure I was getting the best bang for my buck! What does everyone think of that card for $150?

[DonLorenzo]

Alright, I'm having an issue with a custom built PC.

Specs:

MSI 970A-G43 Mother Board

FX 4130 Black Edition 3.8GHz CPU

http://www.microcenter.com/product/393210/XMS3_16GB_DDR-1333_(PC-10600)_CL9_Dual_Channel_Desktop_Memory_Kit_(Two_8GB_Memory_Modules)

nVidia GTX 480 GPU

300GB Dedicated OS HDD

blu-ray DVD burner

and I can't seem to load any OS onto it. I've completely rebuilt the computer after frying toe motherboard in it (Replaced everything except the HDDs and the GPU) and wanted to put Linux on it to play the 64-bit KSP (Yep, that's the only reason I want linux) After wiping the dedicated OS HDD I couldn't get Linux installed, so I decided to put Windows on it and upgrade to Linux later (Just to have an operational computer) and got the BSOD during installation.

Any Advice?

What happens when you try and boot it now? Does it start at all or nothing anymore? Do you remember what the BSOD said? If it boots partially, then stops and gives a series of beeps; that's a fault code. You can look up what it means (varies a bit per mainboard/manufacturer) and it might give you a clue.

[Cptman]

Hi again,

So, I think I'll stick to what you told me to buy.

But, I still have a question concerning the motherboard. As I said, I planning to overclock one day or another, so should I choose something like the ASRock Pro 4 or MSI G-43 or Gigabyte Z87P-D3 instead of the Asus H-81 Plus (no overclocking capabilities).

[mostlydave]

I picked up a gtx 650 for my older gaming PC on Friday, it greatly improved KSPs performance but the hdmi port would not work. I've returned it and I'm looking at a gtx 650 ti 2gb for $150. This looks like a pretty good deal to me but I wanted to make sure I was getting the best bang for my buck! What does everyone think of that card for $150?

Anyone have any thoughts?

[Leonov]

Thanks! That seems sensible enough. Any idea what the 300+ dollar boards add? anything more than a fancy badge?

When you get into that price range you get into things like an ROG motherboard, they are tippy top of the line brimming with all sorts of features you may never use outside of extreme overclocking and things of the nature.

I have a Crosshair V Formula Z and i love it, the build quality is second to none. For most people they are overkill for anything, and others its a show of how much they can put into a piece of equipment.

[Leonov]

Hi again,

So, I think I'll stick to what you told me to buy.

But, I still have a question concerning the motherboard. As I said, I planning to overclock one day or another, so should I choose something like the ASRock Pro 4 or MSI G-43 or Gigabyte Z87P-D3 instead of the Asus H-81 Plus (no overclocking capabilities).

Get a Z87 chipset motherboard and be done with it, ASUS makes some killer ones that will have enough features to cover what you need.

Anyone have any thoughts?

For the same price you can get a 750Ti, it is the new "I want to play games on my GPU, not break the bank.

A lot better than the 650Ti, uses so little power that it is fully powered by the PCIe slot on your motherboard. They overclock like a dream.

Edited March 4, 2014 by Leonov

[Taki117]

What happens when you try and boot it now? Does it start at all or nothing anymore? Do you remember what the BSOD said? If it boots partially, then stops and gives a series of beeps; that's a fault code. You can look up what it means (varies a bit per mainboard/manufacturer) and it might give you a clue.

After swapping HDDs for one that I thought would work it says BOOTMGR Missing press CTRL+ALT+DEL to Restart.

[DonLorenzo]

After swapping HDDs for one that I thought would work it says BOOTMGR Missing press CTRL+ALT+DEL to Restart.

The Boot Manager (BOOTMGR) is what tells the starting computer what OS is installed on the HDD and where to look for its files. If that's missing or corrupted the HDD will no longer be bootable. Not to worry though, this is something that a fresh OS install should fix. Now if there's already an OS on the drive and you're dead set on keeping that install, there are tools out there on the internet to fix or otherwise mess with the boot manager, but I've always found it the easier solution to just re-install.

If this is showing even while you're trying to install the new OS, try going into the BIOS and messing with the boot priority settings, making sure that the HDD is dead last on the list, or even removing it completely (be sure to add it back when the windows installer is going to try and boot from it though) so that the pc has no choice but to boot from your installation media.

[DonLorenzo]

When you get into that price range you get into things like an ROG motherboard, they are tippy top of the line brimming with all sorts of features you may never use outside of extreme overclocking and things of the nature.

I have a Crosshair V Formula Z and i love it, the build quality is second to none. For most people they are overkill for anything, and others its a show of how much they can put into a piece of equipment.

I just had a look at the ROG page from ASUS and by god do they know how to sell marginal features They make it all look so amazing and they did make the board look really really slick. I'm not much of an overclocker though, and as far as aesthetics go... well I'm the guy that doesn't mind spending on big gpus and the like but i'll stick it all in a 50 dollar case that will cut or shock you if you look at it wrong. So there's that

I'm probably going to stick with a more sensible choice

Thanks for your info!

[DonLorenzo]

Oh and not sure if this is going to work more than once but.... I made a shopping cart at an online store, didn't buy it and left the site. Two days later I get an e-mail from a sales rep with some extra discount. People do that kind of stuff these days, so it can't hurt to let your order stew for a few days maybe

[DonLorenzo]

And just to continue my self posting spree (sorry!) a new question:

What's the deal with RAM clocks these days? For my pending build I've selected 1600MHz out of the blue, but is that good? What's the sweet spot, does it matter at all? Also, is it noticeably faster to get more DIMMs rather than fewer? (ie. is 4x2 better than 2x4 better than 1x8?).

Thanks to anyone that can clarify this a bit

[Leonov]

And just to continue my self posting spree (sorry!) a new question:

What's the deal with RAM clocks these days? For my pending build I've selected 1600MHz out of the blue, but is that good? What's the sweet spot, does it matter at all? Also, is it noticeably faster to get more DIMMs rather than fewer? (ie. is 4x2 better than 2x4 better than 1x8?).

Thanks to anyone that can clarify this a bit

To generalize things, 1600 is what you want, its kinda important but its all about CAS latency of the RAM. You wan't a CAS of 9 for good performance DDR3 RAM in your system.

Intel systems don't benefit as much from having Higher speed ram, but the CAS latency is the important factor.

As for How many DIMMS, there are two schools of thought, Dual channel is very important so if your end goal is 8GBs of ram some people will grab 2 Sticks of 4GB. The other school of thought would rather Grab one stick of 8GB.

In my experience, some motherboards do not like just having one stick of Ram out of 4 available, i cant explain why they just do. To mitigate that problem i grabbed 4@4GB of ram for my rig, that puts me at 16GB of ram and all fours of my slots filled.

[DonLorenzo]

4x4 sounds good, I'll go with that probably. Thanks!

[Camacha]

RAM speeds barely make a difference on Intel boards, so do not spend any significant amount of extra money on that. Also be sure to buy in pairs of two or a multiple of two - this will allow you to run in dual channel mode. With a single stick of 8 GB RAM this will not work. It's not a huge gain, but one that is easily had.

[Taki117]

The Boot Manager (BOOTMGR) is what tells the starting computer what OS is installed on the HDD and where to look for its files. If that's missing or corrupted the HDD will no longer be bootable. Not to worry though, this is something that a fresh OS install should fix. Now if there's already an OS on the drive and you're dead set on keeping that install, there are tools out there on the internet to fix or otherwise mess with the boot manager, but I've always found it the easier solution to just re-install.

If this is showing even while you're trying to install the new OS, try going into the BIOS and messing with the boot priority settings, making sure that the HDD is dead last on the list, or even removing it completely (be sure to add it back when the windows installer is going to try and boot from it though) so that the pc has no choice but to boot from your installation media.

Here's what I'm running into I've tried that, I've formatted the same two HDDs more times than I care to count. I've tried installing windows vista, 7, 8.1, and Linux, I've tried every trick I can think of to get anything loaded onto this damn computer. Something always screws (Not the word I want to use) it up and I'm back to square one. It be different if it was the same something every time but it's not. I fix one problem and another pops up, sand sometimes It's a problem I've already fixed. (Like the latest one of not being able to find the CD/DVD driver, which near as I can tell doesn't exist for my drive) I'm just shy of taking a sledge hammer to the thing and calling it a day.

[Camacha]

You say you replaced everything by now, except the GPU? Does that include the PSU?

Also, there is a chance that you got some partly broken parts. That means you might have to do some eliminating, like checking the RAM for errors (by running MemTest overnight). Without some investigating, it could be anything.

[Taki117]

You say you replaced everything by now, except the GPU? Does that include the PSU?

Also, there is a chance that you got some partly broken parts. That means you might have to do some eliminating, like checking the RAM for errors (by running MemTest overnight). Without some investigating, it could be anything.

Yes, I've replaced the PSU with one that has more power than I need. It's also not the RAM. Fried of mine works at a computer repair shop and he tested it for me, I also got another 2x8GB to avoid issues with Dual Channel. I'm thinking it's the HDD because not only is that one of 2 things I haven't replaced, and the only thing I don't have a spare for.

[Camacha]

Yes, I've replaced the PSU with one that has more power than I need. It's also not the RAM. Fried of mine works at a computer repair shop and he tested it for me, I also got another 2x8GB to avoid issues with Dual Channel. I'm thinking it's the HDD because not only is that one of 2 things I haven't replaced, and the only thing I don't have a spare for.

Yeah, wonky behaviour could very well come from your HDD. Of course, you could have gotten a faulty new motherboard or another component that is not quite right. Methodically eliminating each one is the name of the game, but the HDD's would be a good place to start. They are one of the least reliable components, strangely enough.

[Taki117]

Yeah, wonky behaviour could very well come from your HDD. Of course, you could have gotten a faulty new motherboard or another component that is not quite right. Methodically eliminating each one is the name of the game, but the HDD's would be a good place to start. They are one of the least reliable components, strangely enough.

Yet more issues... I have a USB with my Linux Distro on it (Zorin OS for anyone that cares) and a new 160GB SSD. I'm trying to install said OS onto said SSD through my laptop, but my laptop is not recognizing the USB (Which has already undergone the process to ensure it is bootable) despite me changing the BIOS to boot from the USB first (Followed by other removable media)

[Taki117]

Yeah, wonky behaviour could very well come from your HDD. Of course, you could have gotten a faulty new motherboard or another component that is not quite right. Methodically eliminating each one is the name of the game, but the HDD's would be a good place to start. They are one of the least reliable components, strangely enough.

Yet more issues... I have a USB with my Linux Distro on it (Zorin OS for anyone that cares) and a new 160GB SSD. I'm trying to install said OS onto said SSD through my laptop, but my laptop is not recognizing the USB (Which has already undergone the process to ensure it is bootable) despite me changing the BIOS to boot from the USB first (Followed by other removable media)

[MaxxQ]

I posted the same thing in another thread, but figured I'd go ahead and copypasta here as well, with a couple of additions:

Mobo: Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3

CPU: AMD FX 8350 Black Edition eight-core @4Ghz (stock - I don't do overclocking)

RAM: Patriot Viper 16Gb DDR3 1866 (2x8Gb - still have 2 free slots)

Video: EVGA GeForce GTX780ti (also stock)

HDD: 2x Seagate 2Tb

PSU: 750w PC Power & Cooling SLI-ready

Win7Pro 64

27" Asus monitor at 1920 x 1080 x 60Hz

All contained in a 3 year-old Cooler Master Cosmos case. Nothing fancy in the cooling department. CPU is using the stock cooler, two 140mm fans up top drawing out, a single 120mm fan in the back also drawing out, a single 120mm on the bottom drawing in through a filter, and a 120mm directly above the HDDs drawing air between them from the bottom-mounted fan to keep them cool (the Cooler Master case mounts them on their sides). CPU temp is 11C idle, and hasn't yet broken 40C during any kind of normal load that I would put on it (rendering, gaming, etc. usually hovers between 35-38C)

Also have a 1500w UPS.

Just upgraded last weekend (mobo, RAM, CPU, and videocard - a tad over $1000 from Tiger Direct... yes, I compared prices from NewEgg and TD was cheaper, but not by much), because I needed moar power for Blender rendering. The last 3 minute animation/video I rendered took two months (started December 16, ended February 16) of running 24/7 to render out. Using the Nvidia CUDA features with Blender as opposed to CPU rendering (on an AMD quad-core - Phenom II BE) with my old AMD HD7970 reduced rendering times by roughly 20% (tested with a scene from the animation where the single frame took about 40 minutes to render on my old rig - the new single frame render took 32m 27s). I still need to run a test render using CPU rendering just to see if the four additional cores work any better.

In case anyone's curious, go here to see the animation(s) I've done: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/52429-What-kind-of-Hardware-do-you-use-to-run-KSP?p=1007310&viewfull=1#post1007310

I never played KSP on the old rig, so have no basis for comparison, and I'm a new KSP player (just bought it a week ago), so have yet to break 100 parts on a rocket (playing career mode and taking things slow, since I'm still figuring things out). I've also only got a few mods on it, mostly graphics and parts.

[Camacha]

Yet more issues... I have a USB with my Linux Distro on it (Zorin OS for anyone that cares) and a new 160GB SSD. I'm trying to install said OS onto said SSD through my laptop, but my laptop is not recognizing the USB (Which has already undergone the process to ensure it is bootable) despite me changing the BIOS to boot from the USB first (Followed by other removable media)

Is your USB stick USB 3? Some BIOS/UEFI's have some trouble dealing with that. What CPU/chipset is in it?

I would suggest removing as many other bootbale devices as possible to help things along a bit.