KSP1 Computer Building/Buying Megathread

[Camacha]

Excuse the triple post.

Should I wait for DDR4?

For performance? No, it's hardly going to make a difference. For future pricing? Maybe. But remember that second hand memory should be cheaper by now and that DDR4 will likely cost an arm and a leg when introduced.

Would a Crucial MX100 256GB be a good pick for an SSD?

Arguably the best pick of the moment in any size.

On the other hand, I'm a bit worried I might be waiting a while. Intel's "enthusiast" processors will probably be pricier than I'd like, so if I want to wait for DDR4 I'll have to wait for it to come to the "regular" motherboards (ie along the lines of current Z97) and CPUs.

i7's and the upper i5's are already well in enthusiast territory. Just expect it to take a while before any are out with DDR4 and that it is going to be expensive at first.

I can at least get components that aren't affected by motherboard/CPU/RAM choice now, and use them in my current PC then transfer them to my future one. For example My thinking is I'll split it four ways. 64 gigs for Linux (my main OS), 64 for a Windows install, 64 used as cache for mechanical hard drives, and 64 left for future expansion. Does this sound a reasonable idea and is the drive mentioned a good pick for that?

Like I said, it is one of the best SSD's right now. I do feel 64 GB could be a little short if you have a couple of large applications to install, but I cannot judge that for you. Also remember that ideally you want a bit of over-provisioning.

Edited July 23, 2014 by Camacha

[Hancer]

Depending on the comments (thanks alot I learned alot of things)

I came up with this configuration to play KSP with no lags on max settings running KW Rockety and some realism mods.

I need a system capable of handling 120-150 parts ship with 0.10 sec calculation.

Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (with stock cooler)

Gigabyte GA-H81M-DS2V Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

1x8GB (or 2x4GB) Corsair Vengence DDR3 RAM 1600 MHz - cml8gx3m2a1600c9

r7-260x-oc-gddr5-2gb-128bit-amd-radeon-dx112-GPU

500W Tagan PSU from old rig

WD Caivar Black 1TB Disk

Win 7 x64

What are your opinions on this?

I can spend around 500$ max.

[R0cketC0der]

Depending on the comments (thanks alot I learned alot of things)

I came up with this configuration to play KSP with no lags on max settings running KW Rockety and some realism mods.

I need a system capable of handling 120-150 parts ship with 0.10 sec calculation.

Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (with stock cooler)

Gigabyte GA-H81M-DS2V Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

1x8GB (or 2x4GB) Corsair Vengence DDR3 RAM 1600 MHz - cml8gx3m2a1600c9

r7-260x-oc-gddr5-2gb-128bit-amd-radeon-dx112-GPU

500W Tagan PSU from old rig

WD Caivar Black 1TB Disk

Win 7 x64

What are your opinions on this?

I can spend around 500$ max.

Generally this isn't bad, but two things:

- I'm not sure how close to your margin you are, but if you got a little bit left, I would suggest not using the stock cooler. You can get a decent cooler for 30$

- use 2x4gb RAM. With that, you have the same amount of RAM as 1x8gb, but double the speed. It usually doesn't matter that much performance-wise, but it's not costing you any more and eliminates one possible bottleneck.

[Camacha]

I came up with this configuration to play KSP with no lags on max settings running KW Rockety and some realism mods.

KSP will lag sometimes no matter what, but you can reduce that as much as possible.

Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (with stock cooler)

Good start. Remember that KSP only uses two cores at the moment, but for other games an i5 will help.

Gigabyte GA-H81M-DS2V Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

Why the micro board? It means only two RAM slots, limiting future upgrades.

1x8GB (or 2x4GB) Corsair Vengence DDR3 RAM 1600 MHz - cml8gx3m2a1600c9

Two equal sticks are much preferred due to it running on dual channel (= more performance). Running single channel is not optimal, but two sticks means no upgrades in the future with that motherboard.

r7-260x-oc-gddr5-2gb-128bit-amd-radeon-dx112-GPU

That should be plenty for KSP. Are you sure no other games need to be played?

500W Tagan PSU from old rig

Those seem okay-ish, but investing in a good PSU is always worth the money. It is the one component that makes or breaks a system, in every sense.

WD Caivar Black 1TB Disk

Those drives are fine, you might want to consider a SSD.

Win 7 x64

You have that lying around? If you are going to buy new, Windows 8 is really a nice OS, despite all the nay-saying going on. If you have Windows 7, go for it, that is still fine too.

[Hancer]

Thank you so much.

I will surely play other things. Especially DCS A-10, PMDG Flight Sim and other sims which are demanding.

I picked that mobo because its reliable and cheap.

[cantab]

Thanks for the advice Camacha. Maybe I'll go for the 512 GB version of the MX100 SSD. Works out the same per GB and better to have too much space than too little. And am I right in thinking that higher-capacity SSDs have some performance benefits over lower-capacity ones?

I picked that mobo because its reliable and cheap.

I would think about getting a Z series motherboard though. True, you'll pay a fair bit more for even the cheaper Z97/87 boards, but it'll mean you can upgrade in future to a k-series CPU and overclock.

[Camacha]

Thanks for the advice Camacha. Maybe I'll go for the 512 GB version of the MX100 SSD. Works out the same per GB and better to have too much space than too little. And am I right in thinking that higher-capacity SSDs have some performance benefits over lower-capacity ones?

You are correct, although I doubt that you would even notice the difference in speed.

I would think about getting a Z series motherboard though. True, you'll pay a fair bit more for even the cheaper Z97/87 boards, but it'll mean you can upgrade in future to a k-series CPU and overclock.

This is all a matter of personal taste, but I would advise to go all-in or not bother with it at all. I know very few people that actually change out the CPU in a later stadium, especially when the CPU on stock speeds has similar performance. If you are sure you are not going to overclock, you might better buy a better motherboard with more options.

Edited July 24, 2014 by Camacha

[Bilfr3d]

So, what exactly do you expect to be doing that you cannot do already? The slowest socket 2011 chip should be capable of doing pretty much anything, so you need to have very specific wishes if upgrading is to make sense.

Well, specific wishes are rendering, video recording at high res with a good fps (around 35-45) and also multitasking and program development/compilation. Specific enough wishes?

EDIT: rendering meaning 3D modelling rendering

[Camacha]

Well, specific wishes are rendering, video recording at high res with a good fps (around 35-45) and also multitasking and program development/compilation. Specific enough wishes?

EDIT: rendering meaning 3D modelling rendering

I might be confused, but some things are not adding up. I read the system was to be upgraded to a chip with 3,7 GHz on every core, but the only chip with those speeds is the lowest tier socket 2011 processor. Or are you waiting for Haswell-E? Another possibility would be to go from Sandy-E to Ivy-E, but those gains are negligible, so I can hardly imagine that.

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to give you a hard time, I am just trying to figure out what is going on. Rendering typically scales well with more cores, the other tasks probably have more limited gains.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Camacha

[cantab]

Finding the exact CPU would help. On windows 7: Start > right click Computer > Properties. On windows 8: Desktop > File explorer > right click This PC or similar on the left > Properties. On linux: open a command prompt and type cat /proc/cpuinfo. Post the full cpu model number, it'll help others figure out exactly what you have and whether an upgrade is worth it.

[Bilfr3d]

I might be confused, but some things are not adding up. I read the system was to be upgraded to a chip with 3,7 GHz on every core, but the only chip with those speeds is the lowest tier socket 2011 processor. Or are you waiting for Haswell-E? Another possibility would be to go from Sandy-E to Ivy-E, but those gains are negligible, so I can hardly imagine that.

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to give you a hard time, I am just trying to figure out what is going on. Rendering typically scales well with more cores, the other tasks probably have more limited gains.

That Ghz mark wasn't exact. It was roughly from what I could remember I've changed plans now anyways.

[andrew123]

Just a PSA: unless you do time-sensitive and precision computer work, ECC RAM is a ripoff. Not to mention only Xeon CPU's from Intel support ecc, and you'd be using an ecc vram equipped gpu in conjunction with a redrocket or xeon phi if you're a professional.

Or, you might even have a k40 accelerator card.

[Camacha]

Just a PSA: unless you do time-sensitive and precision computer work, ECC RAM is a ripoff. Not to mention only Xeon CPU's from Intel support ecc

There is a reason it can predominantly be found on workstations and servers

and you'd be using an ecc vram equipped gpu in conjunction with a redrocket or xeon phi if you're a professional.

I believe most modern GPU's have ECC memory, as GDDR5 has error correction.

[Hancer]

Dear All,

Could you please help me to select either one of these builds indicated below?

Notes:

1-I am not interested in O.C.

2-I will use this PC mostly for gaming which are flight sims (PMDG, DCS Products...etc), RTS and some FPS. But mainly for KSP.

3-I have Win 7 x64

4-I already have a case and 500W PSU.

Build 1:

Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor

Gigabyte GA-H87M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive

Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

PowerColor Radeon R7 260X 2GB TurboDuo Video Card

Build 2:

Z97 PC Mate Intel Z97 Soket 1150 DDR3 3000MHz(O.C.) HDMI&DVI

i5 4670K

Sapphire HD6870 GDDR5 1GB 256Bit AMD Radeon DX11

Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB RAM

sandisk xtreme 2 SSD

Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

[joppiesaus]

Dear All,

Could you please help me to select either one of these builds indicated below?

Notes:

1-I am not interested in O.C.

2-I will use this PC mostly for gaming which are flight sims (PMDG, DCS Products...etc), RTS and some FPS. But mainly for KSP.

3-I have Win 7 x64

4-I already have a case and 500W PSU.

Build 1:

Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor

Gigabyte GA-H87M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive

Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

PowerColor Radeon R7 260X 2GB TurboDuo Video Card

Build 2:

Z97 PC Mate Intel Z97 Soket 1150 DDR3 3000MHz(O.C.) HDMI&DVI

i5 4670K

Sapphire HD6870 GDDR5 1GB 256Bit AMD Radeon DX11

Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB RAM

sandisk xtreme 2 SSD

Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Build 1? Nah. I don't like the combinations, even though some of them are excelent parts.

I would go for the second build, with some modifications.

CPU? Great CPU! You could go for some AMD but this one is already awesome for your requirements.

Motherboard is also awesome. Maybe a little overkill, but it's designed for gaming, which is your requirement. so it's ok.

RAM? Awesome.

SSD? I would go for the Samsung 840 instead. It's a little cheaper(in my country) and I prefer samsung.

HDD? OK. This one is good. It doesn't really matter, it's your choice.

GPU? I'd go for a GTX 750 (Ti). It fits more with everything else.

Check if the MB fits in your case too.

[Elthy]

Im not sure why you limit yourself to two builds. It seems its a custombuild anyway...

While the first one seems quite resonable the second one is strange...

You dont need the i5 4670k, its way to expensive if you dont want to overclock. Also you wont need a Z97 Mainboard (the ZXX means it supports OC, but you dont want to do that anyway). The HD 6870 is two generations old, there is no sense in buing that old stuff anymore (the new cards are allready cheap enough)...

My suggestions if you want a decent PC and save some money:

Buy the cheapest Haswell i5 Quadcore (except you can get more MHZ for just a few bucks more), it will be not much slower than the expensive i5 4670k. Add to that one of the cheapest mainboards with socket 1150, what is called "Gamer" is just over expensive stuff you wont need (especialy if you dont overclock). I would choose 2*4 GB RAM with 1600mhz and without a big heatspreader (useless and just reduces compability when you want to install a larger CPU cooler). I cant say much to the GPU since i dont know how they perform in the mentioned simulators, you have to figure that out on yourself...

A SSD is highly recommended, there is no way to boost the systemspeed that hard (it doesnt boost FPS, only loading times!)

[cantab]

Agreed, double-check the case size. You don't want a mobo that won't fit!

I think the high-end i5's the right choice given KSP demands fast single-threaded performance while some other games will benefit from the cores. If a saving is wanted, you could consider the top-end i3 rather than a slower i5, KSP will run better on it.

As for the mobo, another that's well recieved and well-priced is the ASRock Z97 Pro3. It only supports one graphics card though, so if you think you'll ever want to run sli/crossfire you might want to pick another board. More generally I'd say don't get hung up on H vs Z, there's overlap in the price ranges anyway, but go for a 9 series rather than 8 series chipset so you don't have any worries about CPU support.

[ThinkOutsideTheHangar]

Isn't the Z97 the server motherboard?

[cantab]

Not really. It's more the higher-end desktop chipset, supporting things like overclocking and SLI. But is actually missing a "business" feature (something about 5 rather than 1.5 firmware) that the H97 chipset says.

[Camacha]

Please make sure the PSU is of a proper A-brand. Some cheap brand does not only deliver what it promises, but it can also seriously hurt your hardware. DO NOT USE A CHEAP PSU.

[Bilfr3d]

Ok, I have got my eye on a new laptop. I want it to be able to play fairly moderate gaming (i.e. games like battlefield 3 & 4, payday, portal 2, KSP, etc.). I only really want it for gaming, but I have chosen this one because the budget is a bit short. Anyway, will it be able to play the games I stated above? At a decent, if not good, FPS?

SPECS (pasted from website)

Processor
[LIST]
[*]Processor Brand
    					 Intel

[*]Processor Type
    					 Core i7

[*]Processor Model
    					 4500U

[*]Processor Speed (GHz)
    					 1.80

[*]Processor Max Speed (GHz)
    					 3.0
[/LIST]
[h=4]Memory[/h]
[LIST]
[*]Installed RAM
    					 8GB

[*]RAM Expandable To (GB)
    					 16

[*]RAM Type
    					 DDR3

[*]Cache Memory Size (M)
    					 4
[/LIST]

[h=4]Disk Drives[/h]
[LIST]
[*]Hard Drive Size
    					 1TB

[*]Hard Drive Type
    					 SATA

[*]Hard Drive Speed (RPM)
    					 5400

[*]Digital Media Cards Reader
    					 MMC, SD Memory Card, SDHC, SDXC

[*]Optical Drive Type
    					 DVD Super Multi
[/LIST]

[h=4]Screen[/h]
[LIST]
[*]Screen Size
    					 15.6"

[*]Screen Type
    					 LED LCD

[*]Screen Definition
    					 High Definition

[*]Screen Resolution
    					 1366 x 768

[*]Screen Aspect Ratio
    					 16:9
[/LIST]

[h=4]Graphics & Video Support[/h]
[LIST]
[*]Graphics Card Brand
    					 AMD

[*]Graphics Card Memory
    					 2GB

[*]Graphics Card Memory Type
    					 Dedicated

[Camacha]

Without a specific graphics card type and preferably memory type this will be hard to judge. But let me ask you the obvious - which benchmarks did you check out yourself? That is pretty much the best and only way of getting a decent idea of real world performance. All other performance estimations are shaky at best.

[cantab]

Agreed. Knowing the exact hardware would help. But just having a separate GPU is a good suggestion it's a higher end or gaming-oriented laptop.

[Elthy]

But just having a separate GPU is a good suggestion it's a higher end or gaming-oriented laptop.

Not realy, there are tons of laptops with a GT 710m or similar...

Also the CPU is propably to slow for Battlefield multiplayer, i doubt is allways running at maximum turbo.

[Bilfr3d]

Without a specific graphics card type and preferably memory type this will be hard to judge. But let me ask you the obvious - which benchmarks did you check out yourself? That is pretty much the best and only way of getting a decent idea of real world performance. All other performance estimations are shaky at best.

Agreed. Knowing the exact hardware would help. But just having a separate GPU is a good suggestion it's a higher end or gaming-oriented laptop.

I have not yet looked at any benchemarks. And that info was the only info the vendors site gave me. I've also changed the laptop I'm looking at now. I am going to buy the same laptop my brother has, because his can easily run payday, battlefield, etc. at normal and high quality with above 60FPS in most scenarios.

Not realy, there are tons of laptops with a GT 710m or similar...

Also the CPU is propably to slow for Battlefield multiplayer, i doubt is allways running at maximum turbo.

The CPU would not be slow at all. My Dad runs a kit that plays Battlefield online. He only has a dual core pentium, and it runs fine a normal graphics. His GPU is a GTX760 btw.