Recommended amount of mods for use in KSP

[Astrionix]

So I'm playing KSP in version 1.6.1 and I was just wondering what the recommended total amount of mods I would be able to use that my game/computer can handle.

Specs:

• i5-4570 3.20GHz CPU
• 930gb ram

[Nookis]

Are you sure it is 930 gigabytes of RAM or is that storage space? 930 GB of RAM isn't possible for a normal computer.

Also, it depends on what type of mods you are installing.  KSP has to load each file when starting up.  Mods that add parts or planets to the game will take up more space and take longer to load than a mod that just adds an information toolbar to the interface, so there is not one set amount.

For an accurate estimate, how much RAM do you have and what mods are you wanting to add?

[Astrionix]

13 minutes ago, Nookis said:

Are you sure it is 930 gigabytes of RAM or is that storage space? 930 GB of RAM isn't possible for a normal computer.

It's really 8gb but with an add-on that adds more to it. On the "This PC" file in File Explorer it says 930gb for some reason.

By the way I'll be using Realism Overhaul including its dependencies, Real Solar System, RSSVE, FASA, Tweakscale, Raidernick's parts mods, and other minor ones.

Edited December 10, 2019 by Astrion

[Geonovast]

The 920 GB is going to be your storage space.

Knowing your actual amount of RAM is pretty necessary.  If you only have 4GB, you'll barely be able to run the stock game.  If you have, say, 32GB or more, you won't really need to even consider RAM.  Whether or not you have a discrete GPU will be helpful as well.

However, all mods are different.  Vastly.  I have mods installed ranging from just a few kilobytes to at least one that's over 600 megabytes.

We can recommend mods based on how you want to play the game, but we can't just say "Oh, that computer there will run 33 mods just fine"

1 minute ago, Astrion said:

It's really 8gb but with an add-on that adds more to it. On the "This PC" file in File Explorer it says 930gb for some reason.

There is a zero percent chance your computer has 930 GB of RAM.  The i5-4570 only supports 32 GB.

Most 1 Terabyte harddrives will report as being about 930 GB of space.

[Nookis]

3 minutes ago, Astrion said:

It's really 8gb but with an add-on that adds more to it.

What speed is your RAM? Its not as important but I want to check it against my computer which also has 8 GB of RAM.  I have just BD, FAR, and Vessel Mover installed but it takes about 10 minutes to load KSP.  I have 8 GB RAM at 1600 mHz.

[Astrionix]

14 minutes ago, Nookis said:

What speed is your RAM? Its not as important but I want to check it against my computer which also has 8 GB of RAM.

My computer says the speed is 1333

21 minutes ago, Geonovast said:

There is a zero percent chance your computer has 930 GB of RAM.  The i5-4570 only supports 32 GB.

Most 1 Terabyte harddrives will report as being about 930 GB of space.

Ok, but I don't really know what this is:

Edited December 10, 2019 by Astrion

[VoidSquid]

3 hours ago, Geonovast said:

The 920 GB is going to be your storage space.

As @Geonovast said, that's the size of each of your hard drive partitions, you can see that in your snapshot as well . KSP itself runs fine with less than 8 GB of RAM, but when you add mods, the amount of RAM increases significantly, e.g. my setup with some 80 mods requires 12 GB RAM, and during game play, that number increases over time.

3 hours ago, Geonovast said:

Knowing your actual amount of RAM is pretty necessary

This.

If you go to PC Settings - System - About, you should see something similar to this:

"Installed RAM" is was you're looking for.

Edited December 10, 2019 by VoidSquid

[Nookis]

 

11 hours ago, Astrion said:

By the way I'll be using Realism Overhaul including its dependencies, Real Solar System, RSSVE, FASA, Tweakscale, Raidernick's parts mods, and other minor ones.

You won’t be able to run those mods.  Most of those mods are RAM-intensive and will be slow to load and run or your computer.  My computer (i7-5500U, GeForce 940M, 8 GB 1600mHz RAM) takes forever to load mods like BD and FAR and sometimes crashes, so RSS/RO won’t be any better.

[VoidSquid]

6 minutes ago, Nookis said:

You won’t be able to run those mods

We still don't know how much RAM the OP's PC has...

[Astrionix]

8 hours ago, VoidSquid said:

"Installed RAM" is was you're looking for.

My computer says there is 8gb

Should I also say what my operating system is?

[VoidSquid]

Doesn't matter that much here, @Astrion if you're using Windows 7, 8, or 10, they're all pretty similar regarding your question.

8 GB isn't that much by today's standards, you will be a able to load some mods, but not too many. Some mods don't require much RAM (in particular simple config mods), others are quite demanding, in particular mods with lots of textures or mods that change game play a lot.

KSPIE itself plus all its dependencies probably demand more RAM than your PC has, you can try it out of course, but I'd expect your PC won't be able to handle them with acceptable performance.

[Geonovast]

23 minutes ago, Astrion said:

My computer says there is 8gb

Should I also say what my operating system is?

You should be able to do a fair number of modding with 8GB as long as you're not doing anything else with your computer when you're playing KSP.

The most RAM usage I've seen my KSP hit is about 20-21 GB, which was pretty heavily modded.

We don't need specifics on your operating system.  We can already see you're on Windows, but for this sort of stuff it's not really going to matter what OS you have.  What matters is the hardware.

 

As for loading speed, that may or may not matter.  How long the game takes to load isn't going to affect the game when you're playing.  You're already going to be at a disadvantage for that if what I'm assuming is true, that you're loading off of a harddrive instead of an SSD.

 

The other thing that may hold you back is if you're using onboard graphics.  It's not a huge thing unless you want to install mods that improve the graphics, but having a separate graphics card always helps.

Does your monitor plug into the back of your computer into the motherboard, like #6 here, or into a port in one of the expansion slots, like #10 here?

 

 

Also I'm moving this to Add-On Discussions.

[Astrionix]

9 hours ago, Geonovast said:

The other thing that may hold you back is if you're using onboard graphics.  It's not a huge thing unless you want to install mods that improve the graphics, but having a separate graphics card always helps.

Does your monitor plug into the back of your computer into the motherboard, like #6 here, or into a port in one of the expansion slots, like #10 here?

It plugs in like #6

[Gargamel]

The very simple answer to your question is thus:

Is the game playable? 

If no, remove some mods.   If Yes, consider adding more.

Every one's game play style is different, what they expect out of the game is different.   I have a potato and run 80 mods relatively fine, but I stay away from the graphics mods. 

The beauty of KSP's modding system is that it's basically plug and play.   Slap a new mod in there, if it works, great!   If not, yank it back out.    

Mod that thing till you can't play it anymore. 

[DStaal]

And note that 'playable' is often subjective: The game will slow down under load, but typically doesn't lock up.  If playing at half speed is fine for you - then it's still playable.