KSP1 Computer Building/Buying Megathread

[Leonov]

-snip-

Build looks good, IF you can spend a little more in the GPU department you could get a GTX 660. Also might want to get an aftermarket CPU Cooler.

As far as AMD vs. Intel. What are you going to do with this machine? If its strictly gaming only I would swing towards Intel, but if your going to be doing a lot of multitasking the FX chips are pretty darn good at it. Give some thought about what you are going to do with this machine.

[Nori]

Hmm I didn't look too closely at the GPU, but given what Leonov said I took another look.

If you can swing it you should look at this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130909

It is the GTX650 Ti BOOST. Basically it uses a newer chip on it and is thus quite a bit faster from what I've seen. It is a bit more expensive though, but will last longer (before showing it's age that is).

[MrKicker]

Hmm I didn't look too closely at the GPU, but given what Leonov said I took another look.

If you can swing it you should look at this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130909

It is the GTX650 Ti BOOST. Basically it uses a newer chip on it and is thus quite a bit faster from what I've seen. It is a bit more expensive though, but will last longer (before showing it's age that is).

That looks like a good card, but I'm allready over budget. However this may be a future upgrade.

I want to know if that i3 I listed is better then the amd I have in the list. If its not to far off, I stil might get is cus that opens the doors to the better intel's down the road. But if it just isent worth it, I can make do using amd cpu's.

[Leonov]

-snip-

It boils down to what you are doing with your rig.

Upgradibility is good on both sockets.

If i wanted to save some cash and get as much out of my build as i could, i would go AMD.

I trimmed this list a little, better parts at a lower price.

[MrKicker]

It boils down to what you are doing with your rig.

Upgradibility is good on both sockets.

If i wanted to save some cash and get as much out of my build as i could, i would go AMD.

I trimmed this list a little, better parts at a lower price.

Thanks, I think I might use this. However I still cant decide weather to go wtih the i3 or not. I'm a ksp fan, and intell offers more per core preformance, and since ksp only uses 1 core, I might witht the i3.

[Leonov]

Here are the builds side by side.

Here is the Intel Build.

Here is the AMD Build.

AMD is good at Multitasking and Productivity.

Intel is good at per core performance.

The AMD is fast as sin and can go a lot farther if overclocked.

The intel has a locked multiplier, no overclocking.

The prices are nearly the same so its now all personal preference and what you are going to be doing with the computer.

[MrKicker]

Here are the builds side by side.

Here is the Intel Build.

Here is the AMD Build.

AMD is good at Multitasking and Productivity.

Intel is good at per core performance.

The AMD is fast as sin and can go a lot farther if overclocked.

The intel has a locked multiplier, no overclocking.

The prices are nearly the same so its now all personal preference and what you are going to be doing with the computer.

Thanks, Ive decided to go with the i3, multitasking isent a huge issue. And I doubt I will be overclocking since ive heard it makes your computer unstabel.

Thanks for the help guys!

[Leonov]

Overclocking is relatively straight foreword if you do some homework on it. If I find some well written articles on how to and such ill put it in the OP.

[moxzot]

Just thought I should post my build here http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1wYZ8

The mouse and psu can be changed mainly the mouse cause i know people dont really like cheap things but its actually a pretty decent mouse and it feels nice in the hand

Edited August 31, 2013 by moxzot

[Tataffe]

For those of you using the AMD Catalyst 13.8 Beta: Be advised that AMD has released a new version, 13.8 Beta 2, on August 19th. I recognized this today while overclocking my HD 6950 2GB.

Installing the new Beta enhanced my 3D Mark 11 overall score by 6,8%, and my graphics score by 9,7%.

[Sol_Rokks_Teddy]

Hello, I am looking to upgrade my motherboard and cpu. Right now i have an AMD A8-5500 APU with Radeon HD Graphics 3.20 GHz processor (does that info include the motherboard? If not then i don't know where to find it). I am new to this computer building stuff, but i would like to get something in the $200-$300 (can) range if possible.

Part of my goal is to build a second computer, I have everything else i need except a motherboard, cpu, and hard drive. After i upgrade i will have the motherboard and cpu. I would like it to have as a high storage capacity as possible, but i have read that there are problems with hard drives over 2 tb. I also have no idea what exactly makes a hard drive "good' or "bad", so can you maybe tell me what kind of price i can get a decent quality one for?

Any advice on these things would be greatly appreciated!

[Leonov]

Hard drives over 1TB just have to partioned on a different setting, the process is still the same in the same place.

I would say go with these parts for that budget. If you can nudge it up a little more (~20USD) you can swing an A10-6800K.(Assuming you want to stay with the APU)

Hard drives depend on some factors but I always recomend Seagate or Western Digital.

[Sol_Rokks_Teddy]

I did i bit more research (google) and i would rather get a motherboard/cpu combo and not actually mess with the cpu (assuming a combo comes with a cpu cooler). The original price range was for that, since i just wasn't sure what to expect for a hard drive.

Can you recommend a motherboard/cpu combo for $200-300?

Also, that looks like a good hard drive, I guess i will get that one?

Edit: I did even MORE research (not just google, but youtube too!), and realized my statement is faulty.

So to clarify, I am looking to upgrade my cpu and motherboard for $200-300, and buy a 2tb hard drive in the $100 range (but i may just go with the hard drive already suggested).

Current processor; AMD A8-5500 APU with Radeon HD Graphics 3.20 GHz

Edited September 6, 2013 by Sol_Rokks_Teddy

[minerman30]

I did i bit more research (google) and i would rather get a motherboard/cpu combo and not actually mess with the cpu (assuming a combo comes with a cpu cooler). The original price range was for that, since i just wasn't sure what to expect for a hard drive.

Can you recommend a motherboard/cpu combo for $200-300?

Also, that looks like a good hard drive, I guess i will get that one?

Edit: I did even MORE research (not just google, but youtube too!), and realized my statement is faulty.

So to clarify, I am looking to upgrade my cpu and motherboard for $200-300, and buy a 2tb hard drive in the $100 range (but i may just go with the hard drive already suggested).

Current processor; AMD A8-5500 APU with Radeon HD Graphics 3.20 GHz

I would recommend the motherboard/proccessor I put in my new rig, the Intel Core i5 3.4GH Proccessor, and the MSI Z87 G45 Gaming Motherboard.

They are compatible (LGA 1150) and so far have been very reliable and easy to use.

Proccessor: http://www.microcenter.com/product/413251/Core_i5_4670K_34GHz_Socket_LGA_1150_Boxed_Processor

Motherboard: http://www.microcenter.com/product/414819/Z87-G45_Gaming_Socket_LGA_1150_ATX_Intel_Motherboard

You can get them bundled on Micro Center for about $310, which I know is over your limit but the extra $10 is worth it.

[briansun1]

my gaming build

specs:

Seagate 1tb hard drive

ASUS Maximus V Gene

Intel Ivy Bridge 3570K

Kingston HyperX 3K SSD

SAMSUNG 8GB 240-pin DDR3 1600

SILVERSTONE Strider Plus 500W 80PLUS BRONZE

Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T

XFX Radeon HD 7870 GHz DOUBLE DISSIPATION EDITION

[Leonov]

I have been thinking of getting the Corsair 600T. How do you like it?

[briansun1]

really nice full tower space with mid tower hight. and the white really sets it apart from all them black cases. the tool free design is pretty good in this case.(ie its not flimsy) the hdd drive cages are modular(2x3) and cable routing is good.

oh and it comes with window and mesh screen

(hdd cage location is also modular)

Edited September 11, 2013 by briansun1

[briansun1]

oh and this is a computer build help thread thing right? so

When trying to recommend a build to you, there's some information that's extremely helpful for us to know. If you could answer these few short questions, we'd be happy to help!

• What are you planning to do with this compuer? Please be as specfic as possible.

• What is your budget?
  1. Does this include a copy of Windows?
  2. Does this include peripheals (a keyboard, monitor, mouse, speakers, etc.)?

  [*]Are you from the United States or a different country? Are you ordering from your own country or from across borders?

  1. Wherever you may be from, does the store that you are planning to order from have a website? It's okay if it isn't in English, we can manage.
  2. If you are from the United States, do you live nearby a Microcenter?

• Do you have any specific requests with the build?
  1. Do you plan on overclocking? If yes, do you have a specific goal in mind?
  2. Would you prefer the build to be particularly small?
  3. Would you prefer the build to be particularly quiet?
  4. In general, do you prefer this to be a computer that you can spend money on now and let it rest, or a box built for continuous upgrading?
  5. Do you ever plan on utilizing NVIDIA's SLI or AMD's CrossfireX technologies? These features, with a compatible motherboard, allow a user to link multiple identical graphic cards together for added performance. In real world terms, this lets you buy a second identical graphics card down the line as a relatively cheap and easy way to gain a fairly large boost in performance. However, this requires buying a SLI/CFX compatible motherboard and PSU now, which may result in slightly higher initial cost.

(OPTIONAL) Have you already looked at or considered any parts (it's okay if you haven't)? If so, please list your top 1-2 choices for each category. If you've only picked out a few of the below, just list those.

• CPU
• Motherboard
• RAM
• Graphics Card
• Power Supply
• Case
• Hard Drive
• Solid State Drive (optional)
• Mouse (if necessary)
• Keyboard (if necessary)
• Monitor (if necessary)
• Speakers/Headset (if necessary)

Once again, thank you in advannce for taking the time to answer these.

[minerman30]

My new, 2-week-old gaming rig:

Intel 3.4Gh i5 Quad-Core Processor LGA 1150

16Gb RAM

Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce 650 Ti

MSI Z87-G45 Gaming Motherboard LGA 1150

Seagate Barracuda 1Tb Hard Drive

Corsair CX500M Power Supply

Zalman Z11 Case

TM-LINK WiFi card

Generic Optical Drive

Windows 7 Home Premium

[Sol_Rokks_Teddy]

My new motherboard and cpu http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/12Yhs came in on friday but i haven't had time to do anything with it, and wont for another couple of days. For now i have a few questions about the operating system, I run windows 8 and I'm wondering how it is going to react to a new motherboard and cpu. Is it just going to need to download new drivers? Do i need to do this, or prepare my software somehow, before i actually swap the parts?

I forgot about the operating system (and dvd drive) for my second computer, is a system builder (http://www.amazon.ca/Windows-System-Builder-DVD-64-Bit/dp/B0094NY3R0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379290208&sr=8-1&keywords=windows+8) what i think it is? For a computer with no operating system at all?

Also hows this for a dvd drive? http://www.amazon.ca/Super-Multi-Internal-24x-Rewriter/dp/B009F1DYF8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379291556&sr=8-1&keywords=dvd+drive

I mostly just need it to install the os, if a system builder is what i think it is.

Thanks again in advance for the advice, and thanks for the advice so far.

[briansun1]

I don't think your will need to do anything special just swap the parts.

[deskjetser]

I've been running my new build for about 3 weeks now, everything is broken in and it's had its legs stretched.

It's my first full AMD build, and my god it is freaking awesome. Would love some feedback on your guys' opinions.

Parts:

AMD FX-8350 4GHz 8 Core Processor

ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z AM3+ Socket Motherboard

Patriot Viper 3 2x8GB DDR3-2133MHz RAM

ASUS HD7970 3GB Graphics Card

Corsair AX760 PSU Platinum Certified

Corsair H80i Liquid CPU Cooler

Corsair Force GS 128GB SSD - OS Installed

Seagate Barracuda 2TB HDD - Mass Storage

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 Case

Total: £1300ish/$2000ish

3D Mark test results: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/845970

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[Leonov]

-snip-

Pretty rig, I have that same Motherboard and CPU.

What kind of Temps are you getting with that H80i?, I choose a Phanteks PH-TC14PE and it keeps my 8350 down to 15C/35C Idle/Load.

I wonder how an Air Cooled Solution would work in the Corsair Cube?

[deskjetser]

Pretty rig, I have that same Motherboard and CPU.

What kind of Temps are you getting with that H80i?, I choose a Phanteks PH-TC14PE and it keeps my 8350 down to 15C/35C Idle/Load.

I wonder how an Air Cooled Solution would work in the Corsair Cube?

Why thank you, I do love the Mobo and CPU especially, you?

Temps after 12 hours running stress testing;

Max CPU: 52 Degrees C at 5GHz OC

Max GPU: 48 Degrees C at 1.1GHz Core clock OC and 1575MHz Mem OC

And i'm sure an air-cooler solution in this case would only promote a channel of airflow, thus maybe being better than my water cooler?

But holy cow your temps are amazing...

*Edit* My CPU idles around 35C and my GPU 29C.

[Leonov]

Its all about Surface Area and Heat Pipes when it comes to Air Cooling, Two things the massive phanteks does. Then agian the PH-TC14PE can compete and beat the H100i.

Certianly a ton of air moving in that case, I could only guess if an aircooler would do good in there.

I need to look into getting a wider case, This Cooler barely fits in my current one.