Please, please somebody help me with my situation

[klesh]

12 minutes ago, MumOfKSPdevotee said:

https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/hp-19-5-all-in-one-desktop-pc-c416a-hp20c416a#features

 

Hi Mum,

I don't like it.  Not only can you not buy more RAM to put in it from the website, but the computer itself has a max RAM of 4GB, meaning you can't even get some RAM elsewhere and slap it in there later (which is a perfectly viable way of expanding the beefiness of a machine post-purchase).

Also it looks like the graphics processor is one of those integrated ones, ie not ideal for games.  I think we can do better.

 

Zip payment, okay, we can all look around for a good machine with that as a mandatory payment option.  Standby.

 

Edit:  https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/lenovo-ideacentre-310s-a6-tower-pc-desktop-310s-08asr-slic310sa6#features

Save up another $97?

Edited March 1, 2019 by klesh

[FleshJeb]

@klesh Needs a monitor.

On 2/27/2019 at 9:00 PM, MumOfKSPdevotee said:

you are all my children, therefore as your mother

A substantial fraction of us are older than you. 

[MumOfKSPdevotee]

Yep, I actually have $1700 available with Zip, so I’m more than happy to go up to say, $700 or even $800.

You know what, klesh? I was toying with the idea of asking if someone could find a suitable computer that can be bought through Zip and all I’d have to do is buy it. But I thought that was a bit presumptuous of me. I fully put my trust in you guys.

Thank you again and I’m standing by!

2 minutes ago, FleshJeb said:

@klesh Needs a monitor.

A substantial fraction of us are older than you. 

Age is just a number.

[klesh]

11 minutes ago, MumOfKSPdevotee said:

Yep, I actually have $1700 available with Zip, so I’m more than happy to go up to say, $700 or even $800.

You know what, klesh? I was toying with the idea of asking if someone could find a suitable computer that can be bought through Zip and all I’d have to do is buy it. But I thought that was a bit presumptuous of me. I fully put my trust in you guys.

Thank you again and I’m standing by!

Age is just a number.

 

40 here. 

Okay, I gave it a look on that particular site.  I pressed my luck a little with this and your son might have to mow the lawn and do the dishes for eternity to work off the extra load, but I'd go for something like this (I am not a total computer nerd, but I know enough to be dangerous).

https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/hp-pavilion-core-i5-desktop-tower-pc-590-p0067a-hppv590ci5

+

https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/philips-20-7-led-monitor-216v6lhsb2-in3157864a

 

$986 total, which leaves you a clean 7 hundy for those heels and chocolates and wine.

What do the other cats in here think about those two choices?

Edited March 1, 2019 by klesh

[Zeroroller]

Very cool that you want to get him a PC, I just sent you a message! Have a great day.

[MumOfKSPdevotee]

That sounds perfect! Thank you for accomplishing in five minutes what would’ve taken me the better part of 2019. Barring any rational and compelling argument from anyone else here, I’m gonna go ahead and order it. 

Just one question: will 8GB be enough? Come to think of it, he won’t need that much RAM since the majority of his waking hours will be spent mowing the lawns and doing the dishes, right?

Oh, I am so grateful. You’ve no idea how much weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Anyways, I’ll wait a bit to see if there’s any naysayers. Other than that, it should be all systems go! I am so excited at the thought of his face when he finally gets the PC he’s been dropping hints for at each birthday and Christmas for the past two years.

[FleshJeb]

9 minutes ago, MumOfKSPdevotee said:

Age is just a number. 

Yeah, yeah, I've heard that one before. Lived it for a couple of decades before I realized it was bunk.

13 minutes ago, klesh said:

What do the other cats in here think about those two choices?

I haven't built a computer in years, but I'm not a fan of anything on that website.

Dollar-for-dollar, these are better deals:

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/44802/pccg-focus-1050-gaming-system $999, no monitor.

https://www.ple.com.au/Products/633728/PLE-Element-AMD-Custom-Gaming-PC $892, no monitor.

In general, I think the price point for a system with some longevity is a bit higher than what we've been looking at. A custom build would undoubtedly be cheaper.

[klesh]

4 minutes ago, FleshJeb said:

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/44802/pccg-focus-1050-gaming-system $999, no monitor.

Oh yes, definitely nicer.  Indeed I only looked around on that first site.

7 minutes ago, FleshJeb said:

https://www.ple.com.au/Products/633728/PLE-Element-AMD-Custom-Gaming-PC $892, no monitor.

This one lets you upgrade to 16gb of RAM for +$70 which bumps the total to $962, possibly better than the Focus 1050?

[Snark]

Just to add to the chorus,

1 hour ago, MumOfKSPdevotee said:

 It has windows 10 and 1 TB as Snark advised but it has only 4GB of RAM. There was no feature (that Snark described and that I saw on other sites) that lets you add on optional extras such as extra RAM.

...I would strongly advise not getting a computer that has only 4GB of RAM if it's intended for KSP.  It'll run on that, yes... but it's kinda borderline.  Depending on what you're doing in-game, it may start lagging and having performance problems.  And as soon as your son starts installing any mods on top of that... it'll get pretty claustrophobic pretty fast.

I'd recommend a bare minimum of 8 GB for a KSP machine.  Not sure how tight the budget is, but if you can swing 16GB -- or, at least, make sure the machine is upgradeable to 16GB in the future-- that's even better and is totally ample.  (And will somewhat "future-proof" the machine, to make it usable for longer, since programs get bigger and more RAM-hungry over time.)

Anyway, just tossing in my two cents, will now turn you back over to the folks who actually have direct practical advice over what, where, and how much. 

[MumOfKSPdevotee]

Cheers Snark!

 I definitely know not to settle for 4 GB.

A couple of the guys have provided links to different PCs. I’ve had a look at them and of course they all look good to me. So I’ll keep taking in any advice, suggestions etc. and in the meantime I’m learning quite a bit about a subject that was absolutely foreign to me. And that’s never a bad thing.

[FleshJeb]

51 minutes ago, klesh said:

This one lets you upgrade to 16gb of RAM for +$70 which bumps the total to $962, possibly better than the Focus 1050?

Sorry, out of likes.

Looks like the processor on the Focus is substantially better. However, I like the way you're thinking. I'm playing on 6GB of RAM right now, and it caps out on stock + MH (I should probably uninstall MH).

OK, so you CAN  get the same processor: This is how I have it currently rigged out for $1089, sans monitor: https://bit.ly/2TaUlvy Again, I'm way out of date on current components.

That PLE website is well done, and communicates information clearly. When I'm looking at a new online store, I check the warranty and return page. Theirs is rock-solid. I'd do business with these guys.

I definitely hope some more current folks chime in on specifics. Hey @Jatwaa, buddy. Have you got time to help spec a computer for this lady? I'm going too expensive with this, because I don't know the exact break points for cost-efficiency anymore.

[Zeroroller]

9 minutes ago, FleshJeb said:

Sorry, out of likes.

Looks like the processor on the Focus is substantially better. However, I like the way you're thinking. I'm playing on 6GB of RAM right now, and it caps out on stock + MH (I should probably uninstall MH).

OK, so you CAN  get the same processor: This is how I have it currently rigged out for $1089, sans monitor: https://bit.ly/2TaUlvy Again, I'm way out of date on current components.

That PLE website is well done, and communicates information clearly. When I'm looking at a new online store, I check the warranty and return page. Theirs is rock-solid. I'd do business with these guys.

I definitely hope some more current folks chime in on specifics. Hey @Jatwaa, buddy. Have you got time to help spec a computer for this lady? I'm going too expensive with this, because I don't know the exact break points for cost-efficiency anymore.

If I can help: I've been able to play on 8 GB without to much issue, while my main drive is an SSD. I will look through that link and see if i can maximize the price/performance ratio a bit as most of my saved builds are on US sites.

[Jatwaa]

Hmmm, doesn't take that much to run KSP, mostly make sure you dump RAM at it because on PC it means possibility for mods. 16GB would be golden. Newegg is in AU and I think Amazon. If you feel comfortable building one (or he does or there is a friend who can) I would say get the components. But many of the current stock systems on Newegg, TigerDirect, and even Amazon should be able to run KSP. Be it, Intel i5/i7 or Ryzen (I am an AMD fanboy personally) 

I run an AMD 8350e but a Ryzen 3 or 5 would be better for future upgrades.

A Ryzen 5 would run around $150 USD, drop another 130 or so on 16GB RAM and a 256 SSD can be had for about 50~60. Will need a Motherboard too, estimate about 100. These are just spitball. Video cards...maybe a NVid 1060 or NVid 1050 would be good. Some would run a NVid 1030. I still use my 970GTX, I am cheap. BUT! this would be if you wanted to build. If you build, you would need an OS and all. The estimates for a build with cutting corners still leaves you without support. 

All together to build a cheap decent PC would be about 700 if you cut corners or Check for similar specs on Newegg and other sites. 

Two that catch my eye in the said price range are

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883289009

If you want to save a bit, but you would also be using an APU (less cost, shared resources, good for starters, may have problems with FPS later) 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAE4N7MS5099

If you all have more time, check out the other sites as well. Someone Intel savvy check the Intel world of things. 

[Zeroroller]

5 hours ago, Jatwaa said:

Hmmm, doesn't take that much to run KSP, mostly make sure you dump RAM at it because on PC it means possibility for mods. 16GB would be golden. Newegg is in AU and I think Amazon. If you feel comfortable building one (or he does or there is a friend who can) I would say get the components. But many of the current stock systems on Newegg, TigerDirect, and even Amazon should be able to run KSP. Be it, Intel i5/i7 or Ryzen (I am an AMD fanboy personally) 

I run an AMD 8350e but a Ryzen 3 or 5 would be better for future upgrades.

A Ryzen 5 would run around $150 USD, drop another 130 or so on 16GB RAM and a 256 SSD can be had for about 50~60. Will need a Motherboard too, estimate about 100. These are just spitball. Video cards...maybe a NVid 1060 or NVid 1050 would be good. Some would run a NVid 1030. I still use my 970GTX, I am cheap. BUT! this would be if you wanted to build. If you build, you would need an OS and all. The estimates for a build with cutting corners still leaves you without support. 

All together to build a cheap decent PC would be about 700 if you cut corners or Check for similar specs on Newegg and other sites. 

Two that catch my eye in the said price range are

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883289009

If you want to save a bit, but you would also be using an APU (less cost, shared resources, good for starters, may have problems with FPS later) 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAE4N7MS5099

If you all have more time, check out the other sites as well. Someone Intel savvy check the Intel world of things. 

It is funny you link the APU as I'm just ordered a Mini ITX AM4 board from newegg yesteday. I"m building a Ryzen 3 2200g system in a small suitcase for mobility to test how far I can press the APU. From the test videos I've seen it can do some unexpected heavy lifting on a low budget and allows you to save money to upgrade down the line.

[James Kerman]

As a customer of their Western Australian stores, I highly recommend PLE, if they accept your payment method.  They will build your machine to spec in store (usually 3 days) and will repair/replace warranty items far faster than going through a large chain reseller.

[Kerbinchaser]

Well, I can't speak for PCs, but I am actually surprised at how well my Mac runs KSP. I can decently run a heavily modded game at 50-60 fps.

Macs are of course more expensive, but my point is that KSP is a pretty decent game that can run on most hardware. Also, as @Dark Lion said, I have respect for you. Knowing that your son loves the game this much. My father bought me KSP because a flight simulator that I loved dearly was going obsolete. That alone was an amazing gift, but purchasing your son an entire gaming rig? Wow. +1 for you. 

-Lo

Edited March 3, 2019 by Lo Var Lachland

[RocketSimplicity]

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/user/RocketSimplicity/saved/BkDyXL

This is a great budget Gaming PC which is perfect for KSP

Ryzen Multicore? Check.

Good graphics card for 1080p? Check

Dual Channel Ram? Check.

Pre-built PCs with the same specs are usually rather expensive, but if you have the right guides on the internet, buying the parts for a computer and assembling them yourself in usually a lot cheaper. Plus, it's fun and you learn a lot about electronics. Either that, or check out TechFast Australia on eBay. They have some good cheap pre-built PCs.

Regards from a fellow Australian,

RS

Edited March 5, 2019 by RocketSimplicity