KSP1 Computer Building/Buying Megathread

[Leonov]

ATX, Mini ITX, EATX, Micro ATX. They are all the different form factors that Motherboards come in. Your Mini ITX and Micro ATX(Assuming you get a small case) Are geared towards your people who want something that doesn't take up a lot of real estate and excel in mobility but lack features such as SLI/crossfire more than 1 expansion slot, though a lot of manufacturers are getting over that problem rather creatively. ATX is what most people get for their builds, can be refereed to as a full sized board, usually have plenty of Lanes for expansion cards and some of the higher end boards support Crossfire/SLI. Your EATX, or Extended ATX motherboards, are usually for your super high end enthusiasts who want features such as Quad channel memory, 4x Crossfire/SLI, and sometimes even provisions for an open loop water cooling system.

SLI is Nividias name for their Multi-GPU system. Crossfire is AMDs name for their Multi-GPU System. Personally, i would rather have one high-end single GPU, their are some compatibility issues that i think haven't been sorted out yet, and not all games perform better with it.

As jfx stated earlier it is the 3570K of Haswell, They are bench-marking and performing very well with the right GPU combination.

Now the fun part of Peripherals, This will/may effect budget depending on what you want.

Do you want a Mechanical Keyboard?, or is just any ole rubber dome keyboard going to suffice your needs?

What about Mouse?, i wouldn't think you need a gaming mouse but everyone has their own tastes.

Displays are where things get fun, is a 1080p monitor good for what you do?, Interested in 1440p?

Any other games outside of Civ and KSP?

Edited October 6, 2013 by Leonov

[Rassa Farlander]

Ok, this is getting super fun! Thanks for all the good info from everyone so far, this is helping alot! The possibilities seems almost endless! Ive been messing around with part picker and watching some videos here and there and came up with something like this:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1LKGx- Intel based

or

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1LLiA- AMD based

Only difference between the two is Processor, Motherboard and graphics card. I would like the hardware to "play nice" with each other and thats why I changed to graphics card in the AMD build. I dont know if that would actually matter much or if its something I would even notice

Im a bit over budget, but I can wait a little bit to save some more to make up the difference, if something like either of these two are actually worth the time and money to make happen. Thoughts on these set-ups? I just dont want whatever I buy to fry on me right away like Ive read in some of the reviews online, for parts like the motherboard.

Ive got a 32in LCD tv with HDMI inputs, would there be any trouble using that a display?

Whats the difference between a mechanical keyboard and a regular keyboard in terms of advantages and disadvantages? Im not sure exactly what the difference is other than what the name of each implies.

Ive only been able to play a few games on computer, I was primarily a console gamer(dont tell anyone), and only had a less than average laptop. So Id like to expand my horizons in that respect lol I like 1st person shooters, strategy games, flight sims, and alot of KSP I tried playing WOW on my laptop and did ok, just didnt have alot of time for it

[Leonov]

-snip-

A handful of questions before i say either build, Do you need a wireless card?

ASUS has a Z87 Mini ITX Motherboard with a built in Wireless card, it is pretty good.

Do you really plan on overclocking your CPU?, if not skip the K series and the After market cooler. The only upside to the K series is that its multiplier is unlocked so you can overclock it.

The stock Haswell coolers are keeping the chip temps very nice at stock clock.

It bothers me that the other builds do not have an SSD, at your price point there is no reason why not to get one.

Ive trimmed it a little and switched up some stuff.

I personally wouldn't bother with an AMD build with your budget. This will handle everything and still comes in within budget.

The 7850 is outclassed by the 760 and even the non-K 4670 is faster than the FX-6XXX chips.

All the stuff on this list is of the utmost quality ASUS makes Great motherboards and EVGA makes very good graphics cards, Nothing to worry about with DOA stuff.

The SSD is a Samsung 840 Evo, a very fast SSD at an amazing price point.

The HDD which will act as a data drive is a WD Caviar Black, I recomend these over the caviar blues because i got a caviar blue and it arrived DOA.

GPU is the same

I added the selected keyboard.

I have a TV running to my rig off an HDMI cord and it works just fine, i see no problems with this. Just in case, does it have a VGA Port or DVI Port?, The card will come with an adapter so that you can run it to the card.

Mechanical Keyboards have faster inputs and are usually geared towards gamers and some towards typing.

You will be fine with the one you chose, Logitech makes some rock sold peripherals when it comes to reliability and build quality.

Edited October 7, 2013 by Leonov

[Rassa Farlander]

Looks like the Z87 deluxe boards use a different kind of Wifi, 802.11ac instead of the usual 802.11n. I use city wifi where I live currently and Im not sure how this would play out. Although it looks like that form of Wifi is faster, or are they compatible somehow? Also the "Expert" board is cheaper than the deluxe of the same series, this is odd

Also are there advantages to the ITX boards and cases? I dont really need it to be portable, they look pretty neat though! Id like to have something I can upgrade in the future so I was thinking a ATX board would help with that? Id like to keep my options open

Im not sure on the whole overclocking thing, Would I get a reasonable and noticeable gain on a i5 k series chip if overclocked?

No VGA imput on the TV for sure, might have a DVA Ill have to check

Im getting excited at all the possible awesomeness of this build!

Edited October 7, 2013 by Rassa Farlander

[briansun1]

itx= smaller portable but not as much upgrade space

atx= larger less portable but more upgrade space

or you can be crazy like me and put a matx into one of the largest mid towers out there.

and somethings with your intel build

you psu is probably a bit overpowered for what you need

no ssd?

you don't really need ram faster than 1600

don't get a Aio(wannabe water cooling) either go custom or high end air somthing like the 212 evo form cooler master

why not windows 8?

and just a thought wait for amd's new cards to come out before you buy prices might come down. As for gpu and cpu playing "nice" don't worry about it.

and for your thermal compound(tim) you can just use the stuff on the cooler to save some money there only a few C difference between them, and they regularly go on sale (some thimes even free with rebate) so if you do buy just wait.

Edited October 7, 2013 by briansun1

[Leonov]

The 802.11 ac wireless is backwards compatible with the previous interations of 802.11.

Gains from overclocking can be mixed in terms of performance, in benchmarks it will say its faster and does better but in irl I don't think you'll notice it too much. If haswell kept the limited change multiplier like in ivy-bridge then you will still have the ability to give your cpu a little boost.

Point Taken, Hows this tickle your fancy?

Same Quality parts, I even bumped up the GPU to the ASUS model with its monstrous cooler it runs a little faster.

Both PCI-e Slots on this board are 16x, so you can do a 2x SLI/Crossfire down the road if you wanted.

Cases are mostly personal preference, i have that case and It is Superb, Everything is Steel, the cable routing is superb, and it comes with a good amount of fans pre-installed, and airflow is nice in that case.

If you have another one in mind feel free to change it around, Well within budget.

Edited October 7, 2013 by Leonov

[Rassa Farlander]

Ok this is still giving me more ideas I like that case!

Ive seen some videos of modular vs not for power supplies and Im thinking modular should be much better? They are pretty costly though.

Windows 8 is something Im not familiar with at all. Ive had vista for awhile on my laptop and have used 7 on other computers, Any advantages to having 8? Ive seen screenshots of the interface and Im not sure if Id like that, but Im sure I could get used to it.

Id like to be able to OC I think, it seems pretty easy in the the Z87 boards. Also the K-version processor isnt much more money in price. I like the built in Wifi of some of the Asus z87 boards. So here is what Ive got out of all this so far I

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Rassa_Farlander/saved/2wPB

[briansun1]

there really is no difference between modular and not modular if you're like me and use all the cables anyway so it boils down to that. IF you are overclocking then you should probable go with a 600w psu just to be safe. Though I don't see why you would there's really no point unless you're in it for benchmarking(which you aren't from what I have read.)

[Rassa Farlander]

Ive got no idea if Ill use all the cables or not What on the list is whats going in the computer so Im not sure how to check that.

Ive got no reason to go into benchmarking really, I do just want something fast, reliable and that will last me awhile if I take care of it

[briansun1]

so you don't want to overclock then

don't quote me on this but fairly certain that you will use all the cable so go with non modular or if you really want get a semi modular one.

[Rassa Farlander]

Here's and updated list

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Rassa_Farlander/saved/2wPB

Right on budget too!

edit: Still has a slightly bigger PSU than I might need

[briansun1]

might think about this one for your psu

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cmpsu650hxa

[Traches]

Just found this thread, posting to subscribe. I know a thing or two about watercooling and computer building in general, so feel free to hit me up with questions!

My battle station:

[Leonov]

-snip-

Ta-Daa?

The 802.11 AC isn't faster on your existing wireless, to take advantages of it your router would need to be ac. I dont think you can justify getting the board with the system built in when the expansion cards by asus are just as fast on your existing network.

I don't think the K is worth it, even with the standard you have a limited unlock so you can push the Haswell chip.

Personally i don't think overclocking a Haswell is a good idea, you will need some serious cooling if you want to push them far.

The Semi-Modular PSUs is Very manageable in the C70 case, all you will need is a 600W and the one in this list i currently have an i like it very much.

I would trust the ASUS card over the EVGA one, they are both great manufacturers, but for the money, I would grab the ASUS one.

Edited October 8, 2013 by Leonov

[briansun1]

what about this ram? it's $40 when they have it in stock

[Rassa Farlander]

Id take that RAM if it were in stock lol

The only thing with that new list Leonov that I think of is the motherboard, its only got one PCIe 3.0 and doesnt look like it does SLI

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z87K/#specifications

I know Im not going to do SLI right away but I think I might down the road if they work out the kinks Other than that I think that may a good start for my build

So ive still got this, got the ASUS card in there and dropped the K off the processor:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1M8q2

Thoughts?

[Leonov]

Id take that RAM if it were in stock lol

The only thing with that new list Leonov that I think of is the motherboard, its only got one PCIe 3.0 and doesnt look like it does SLI

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z87K/#specifications

I know Im not going to do SLI right away but I think I might down the road if they work out the kinks Other than that I think that may a good start for my build

So ive still got this, got the ASUS card in there and dropped the K off the processor:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1M8q2

Thoughts?

I think this is better.

The difference between the CX builder series and the PRO series of PSU's from corsair is limited, but the price gap is gigantic.

I found the board i was looking for, It has 2x PCIE x16 3.0 and one PCIE 2.0 x16.

The wireless add on card will be better suited for your situation that the integrated one, as you can not take advantage of the ac features.

[briansun1]

just wait a few days

[Rassa Farlander]

I definitely plan on waiting a little bit, maybe try picking this up after U.S. thanksgiving and get some stuff on-sale if I can. Ive located a microcenter near me and started an account Come on black friday! lol

[briansun1]

micro center has some pretty good deals though sometimes you have to actually be in the store to know about them

[Rassa Farlander]

Ok heres another version of the build, Ive been getting opinions from the partpicker forums as well, Im over budget, but Im going to up that to $1400 and just wait a few months to grabs some deals around the holidays, hopefully can get some gift cards of something for x-mas Here is das list:

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Rassa_Farlander/saved/2wPB

[Rassa Farlander]

-snip-

That thing is just damn sexy! I dont want to think about how much that one cost. lol

[briansun1]

1. reduce psu power to 600ish

2. don't buy brand name ram

3. get a 212 evo and get rid of the h100

4. spend saved money on beer or coke or maybe a fancy dinner or maybe a better Gpu

5. ???

6. profit

[nine_iron]

I vote also for the non-name brand ram and ditching the 100, GPU is the core of a gaming PC. Pretty much pick the one(s) you want along with a case and build the rig around that.

A good motherboard follows of course and then a good rated CPU, something from the intel i5 4K series (with the K on the end). I7s are not required and the money is FAR better spent on graphic cards.

[Leonov]

-snip-

This is a way better use of funds in my opinion assuming you do bump up your budget.

the Board is the good Z87 chip-set, It supports 2x SLI/Crossfire (Assuming you would ever get into it.)

I don't recommend trying to push Haswell chips. They tend to run hot even with high end cooling once you get their speed high enough.

The wireless card is just as good as the integrated one on that other motherboard, you wont see any difference using the AC nic on the board because your router isn't AC as you stated earlier.

the cooling fins on the Vengeance ram doesn't do that much to cool the ram as, putting a piece of metal on the chips already maximizes out the cooling potential. Dont bother buying vengeance as the XMS3 is basically the same PCB and chips minus the large cooling fins. You even get the same lifetime warranty.

Edited October 8, 2013 by Leonov