KSP1 Computer Building/Buying Megathread

[KocLobster]

@Elthy

Sorry, I don't know much except the basics and what is necessary when it comes to peripherals. I don't know much about quality audio or video. I will be sure to do this though

[Camacha]

16 minutes ago, KocLobster said:

@Elthy

Sorry, I don't know much except the basics and what is necessary when it comes to peripherals. I don't know much about quality audio or video. I will be sure to do this though

While I do agree that headphones often are better value for money than a headset, having a separate microphone can be bothersome. Clipping the thing on every time can get annoying after a while. If you are okay with it, though, why not?

[briansun1]

56 minutes ago, Camacha said:

While I do agree that headphones often are better value for money than a headset, having a separate microphone can be bothersome. Clipping the thing on every time can get annoying after a while. If you are okay with it, though, why not?

A desk mic is always an option.

[Elthy]

The Zalman mic i mentioned is supposed to be clipped to the headphone cable, it converts it to a headset. But i simply placed it on top of my monitor...

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

Okay, total computer building noob here, and I'm thinking about building a new computer.

Here are my questions:

1. What dx12 graphics cards are best for KSP/space engineers/gaming?
2. What number of cores will work best with KSP?
3. What does multi-threading mean, and what CPUs have it?

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

Oh, and are there are recommended tutorials on the web for building a computer?

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

/me reads the OP.

Look at that! 

• What are you planning to do with this compuer: KSP, space engineers, nolimits 2, other games.  Some 3D modelling possibly.

• Budget: Not sure yet.  Not massive, but I don't want to buy something that will be obsolete tomorrow.
   
  1. Does this include a copy of Windows: Yes.
  2. Does this include peripheals (a keyboard, monitor, mouse, speakers, etc.): No.

   

  [*]Where are you from: USA

  1. Wherever you may be from, does the store that you are planning to order from have a website: I will either go to a bricks & mortar Fry's, or order elsewhere online.
  2. If you are from the United States, do you live nearby a Microcenter? Not sure what that is.
• Do you have any specific requests with the build? DX12, lots of graphics power, efficient for KSP (Right amout of threads, cores.)
  1. Do you plan on overclocking? If yes, do you have a specific goal in mind? No.
  2. Would you prefer the build to be particularly small? No.
  3. Would you prefer the build to be particularly quiet? No.
  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? Ideally, I would like to upgrade for a while.
  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: Not sure.  It could be useful, but I don't know.

[Red Iron Crown]

1 hour ago, Mad Rocket Scientist said:

Okay, total computer building noob here, and I'm thinking about building a new computer.

Here are my questions:

1. What dx12 graphics cards are best for KSP/space engineers/gaming?
2. What number of cores will work best with KSP?
3. What does multi-threading mean, and what CPUs have it?

 

53 minutes ago, Mad Rocket Scientist said:

Oh, and are there are recommended tutorials on the web for building a computer?

1. A budget is needed to answer that.
2. Fewer, faster cores are still better than more cores, and there doesn't seem to be as much benefit beyond four cores for most typical scenarions in KSP (Though I know you do some atypical things.)
3. I assume you mean hyperthreading, as multithreading is a feature of every remotely modern processor. It's an intel feature that permits additional threads to run concurrently under some conditions, but it's not the same as adding complete cores (though the OS sees it as such). Tl;dr: If you aren't aware of what you need it for you likely don't need it, it's not much of a benefit for gaming.
(4.) I like this one, and their System Guide has good hardware recommendations, too.

[Elthy]

Well, for DX12 you will propably want to go with AMD. If i understand you correctly you want a build with a good performance/price ratio, so it would propably result in a i5 6XXX+R9 380(X) 4GB. Thatw ith 16GB Ram and a decent SSD and you are set for a long time... Should be around 800-900$ for the PC (without software and periphials).

[Norcalplanner]

So I'm finally ready to pull the trigger on a new system, primarily for KSP and other games (Fallout 4, XCOM 2) as well as general computing tasks.  I'll be reusing a 2 TB data drive and peripherals from my current system, so all I need is a new box.  Looking to use only a single 1080 monitor for gaming (which is an upgrade from my current 1440 x 900 monitor), and I'm trying to keep this system somewhat quiet.  This will be my first PC build, but I've watched enough videos that I feel like I know what to do.  I also have some programmer friends I can call on in a pickle who are experienced with building PCs.

Any glaring errors or omissions?  Any suggestions? 

My Wish List Details

New PC

Qty.	Image	Product Description	Unit Price	Savings	Total Price
1		EVGA GeForce GTX 960 04G-P4-3967-KR 4GB SSC GAMING w/ACX 2.0+, Whisper Silent Cooling w/ Free Installed Backplate Graphics ... Model #:04G-P4-3967-KR Item #:N82E16814487155 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock	$229.99	-$4.00 Instant	$225.99
1		Corsair Carbide Series 200R Black Steel / Plastic compact ATX Mid Tower Case Model #:CC-9011023-WW Item #:N82E16811139018 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock	$69.99	-$10.00 Instant	$59.99
1		GIGABYTE G1 Gaming GA-Z170X-Gaming 3 (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard Model #:GA-Z170X-Gaming 3 Item #:N82E16813128837 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock Mail in Rebate Card	$149.99	-$30.00 Instant	$119.99
1		CORSAIR CX series CX600M 600W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC CP-9020060-NA ... Model #:CP-9020060-NA Item #:N82E16817139048 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock Mail in Rebate Card	$79.99	-$15.00 Instant	$64.99
1		Intel Core i5-6600K 6M Skylake Quad-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 1151 91W BX80662I56600K Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 530 Model #:BX80662I56600K Item #:N82E16819117561 Return Policy:Replacement Only Return Policy In Stock	$254.99	-$15.00 Instant	$239.99
1		SAMSUNG 850 EVO M.2 500GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal SSD Single Unit Version MZ-N5E500BW Model #:MZ-N5E500BW Item #:N82E16820147399 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock	$179.99	-$22.00 Instant	$157.99
1		G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000) Intel Z170 Platform / Intel X99 Platform ... Model #:F4-3000C15D-16GVRB Item #:N82E16820231937 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock	$74.99		$74.99
1		ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM Model #:DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Item #:N82E16827135204 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock	$19.99		$19.99
1		Microsoft Windows 10 Home - Full Version (32 & 64-bit) / USB Flash Drive Model #:KW9-00016 Item #:N82E16832588528 Return Policy:Consumable Product Return Policy In Stock	$129.99		$129.99
1		Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound AS5-3.5G - OEM Model #:AS5-3.5G Item #:N82E16835100007 Return Policy:Consumable Product Return Policy In Stock	$11.99	-$5.00 Instant	$6.99
1		Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120 mm PWM Fan Model #:RR-212E-20PK-R2 Item #:N82E16835103099 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock Mail in Rebate	$34.99	-$5.50 Instant	$29.49
1		Rosewill RTK-002 Anti-Static Wrist Strap Model #:RTK-002 Item #:N82E16899261005 Return Policy:Standard Return Policy In Stock	$9.99	-$4.19 Instant	$5.80
Subtotal:					$1,136.19

 

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

39 minutes ago, Red Iron Crown said:

1. A budget is needed to answer that.

I haven't picked one yet, but I'll be back to this thread with one.

39 minutes ago, Red Iron Crown said:

2. Fewer, faster cores are still better than more cores, and there doesn't seem to be as much benefit beyond four cores for most typical scenarions in KSP (Though I know you do some atypical things.)

Okay, thanks. 

39 minutes ago, Red Iron Crown said:

3. I assume you mean hyperthreading, as multithreading is a feature of every remotely modern processor. It's an intel feature that permits additional threads to run concurrently under some conditions, but it's not the same as adding complete cores (though the OS sees it as such). Tl;dr: If you aren't aware of what you need it for you likely don't need it, it's not much of a benefit for gaming.

Thanks for the answer, and I did mean hyperthreading.

39 minutes ago, Red Iron Crown said:

(4.) I like this one, and their System Guide has good hardware recommendations, too.

Perfect, I'll read through those!  Thanks for the help.

36 minutes ago, Elthy said:

Well, for DX12 you will propably want to go with AMD. If i understand you correctly you want a build with a good performance/price ratio, so it would propably result in a i5 6XXX+R9 380(X) 4GB. Thatw ith 16GB Ram and a decent SSD and you are set for a long time... Should be around 800-900$ for the PC (without software and periphials).

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Alphasus]

11 hours ago, Norcalplanner said:

So I'm finally ready to pull the trigger on a new system, primarily for KSP and other games (Fallout 4, XCOM 2) as well as general computing tasks.  I'll be reusing a 2 TB data drive and peripherals from my current system, so all I need is a new box.  Looking to use only a single 1080 monitor for gaming (which is an upgrade from my current 1440 x 900 monitor), and I'm trying to keep this system somewhat quiet.  This will be my first PC build, but I've watched enough videos that I feel like I know what to do.  I also have some programmer friends I can call on in a pickle who are experienced with building PCs.

Any glaring errors or omissions?  

If you have the cash: Fans under 19dB for the case, a noise silencing case, and a CPU cooler under 19dB. I prefer Noctua for both CPU coolers and fans, but those are numbers you want. Of course for the coolers, look for 50 CFM or more too. Finally. try arctic MX-4. it does perform better.

Edited April 3, 2016 by Alphasus

[Elthy]

dB numbers for fans are almost allways useless. They are only usefull if measured under exactly the same conditions, e.g. a comparing test by a hardware magazin.

[Camacha]

18 hours ago, Norcalplanner said:

So I'm finally ready to pull the trigger on a new system, primarily for KSP and other games (Fallout 4, XCOM 2) as well as general computing tasks.  I'll be reusing a 2 TB data drive and peripherals from my current system, so all I need is a new box.  Looking to use only a single 1080 monitor for gaming (which is an upgrade from my current 1440 x 900 monitor), and I'm trying to keep this system somewhat quiet.  This will be my first PC build, but I've watched enough videos that I feel like I know what to do.  I also have some programmer friends I can call on in a pickle who are experienced with building PCs.

Any glaring errors or omissions?  Any suggestions?

A couple of points:

- Why do you have a PSU that has twice the power of what you are ever going to use?
- Arctic Silver 5 is not the top player any more. You would be better off with a more modern, non-conductive TIM.
- Be sure to double check whether your large memory coolers are not going to hit your cooling tower. They sometimes do that.

 

2 hours ago, Elthy said:

dB numbers for fans are almost allways useless. They are only usefull if measured under exactly the same conditions, e.g. a comparing test by a hardware magazin.

Manufacturer numbers are as good as made up. You really need to look at an independent site like Silent PC Review for a good, honest comparison. Also, a certain dB numbers tells you something about the energy level of the sound, but nothing about the profile. A quieter fan might very well have a much more annoying sound.
 

[Norcalplanner]

Thanks @Alphasus and @Camacha for your responses.  Swapped out the MX-4 for the Arctic Silver and stepped up to a Corsair Carbide 330R low noise case.  (This case also has a solid top, which I like from a dust-reduction perspective.)  I'll keep the information on Noctua fans and coolers in my hip pocket for now - if the system turns out louder than anticipated, that's what I'll replace first.  PSU is oversized in case I add additional peripherals or a second 960 down the road in SLI.

Thanks again for all your help.

[edit] And as one last change, I upgraded the power supply to a Corsair RM550X - too many reports about video card coil whine being traced to low end power supplies.

Edited April 4, 2016 by Norcalplanner
Added power supply note

[briansun1]

17 hours ago, Camacha said:

- Arctic Silver 5 is not the top player any more. You would be better off with a more modern, non-conductive TIM.
 

What is good now?

[Camacha]

8 minutes ago, briansun1 said:

What is good now?

I use MX4, but that was the hip thing a couple of years ago. Please refer to the many great comparing reviews for what is the best option now

[Alphasus]

3 hours ago, Camacha said:

I use MX4, but that was the hip thing a couple of years ago. Please refer to the many great comparing reviews for what is the best option now

That review suggests the superiority of NT-H1. For some odd reason, that is inconsistent with other sites.

[Camacha]

31 minutes ago, Alphasus said:

That review suggests the superiority of NT-H1. For some odd reason, that is inconsistent with other sites.

Checking multiple reviews and drawing conclusions is not a bad thing I just posted a comprehensive review, but make no claim about its accurary.

[cantab]

4 hours ago, briansun1 said:

What is good now?

IMHO it doesn't matter much. The difference between "good" and "bad" thermal paste is less than the difference between coolers, less than the difference between correct and incorrect cooler mounting, probably less than the difference from the "silicon lottery" when overclocking.

Just get something that isn't electricaly-conductive, you don't want any shorts if a bit spills or squeezes out.

[Deddly]

I was thinking of getting one of these: http://shop.lenovo.com/gb/en/laptops/thinkpad/yoga-series/

Even though the specs say that it is available with a dedicated GPU, it's only available with HD 520 graphics, which I was very disappointed about. I understand that KSP isn't very demanding of the GPU, but does anyone know whether this would hold back KSP performance at all? I'm especially concerned because Squad have mentioned that they really want to focus on the visuals with the next update, which will probably require more in the way of graphics processing power.

By the way, I know that laptops can't play the game as well as desktops, and I'm not looking for anything other than a Thinkpad, for non-KSP reasons.

[Alphasus]

3 hours ago, Deddly said:

I was thinking of getting one of these: http://shop.lenovo.com/gb/en/laptops/thinkpad/yoga-series/

Even though the specs say that it is available with a dedicated GPU, it's only available with HD 520 graphics, which I was very disappointed about. I understand that KSP isn't very demanding of the GPU, but does anyone know whether this would hold back KSP performance at all? I'm especially concerned because Squad have mentioned that they really want to focus on the visuals with the next update, which will probably require more in the way of graphics processing power.

By the way, I know that laptops can't play the game as well as desktops, and I'm not looking for anything other than a Thinkpad, for non-KSP reasons.

A real shame. The IdeaPad Y700 is perfect for you. But, that iGPU might hold you back a bit. You will encounter CPU problems beforehand though.

[Deddly]

@Alphasus I dunno tough. The IdeaPad line is so...to coin a word, consumery. I want my machines to last for years and years, with spill-proof keyboards, great typing experience and magnesium/carbon cases that can withstand someone accidentally sitting on them. Oh, and once you've gotten used to the trackpoint there really is no going back.

[briansun1]

11 hours ago, Deddly said:

@Alphasus I dunno tough. The IdeaPad line is so...to coin a word, consumery. I want my machines to last for years and years, with spill-proof keyboards, great typing experience and magnesium/carbon cases that can withstand someone accidentally sitting on them. Oh, and once you've gotten used to the trackpoint there really is no going back.

I can not get used to the trackpoint. it's just so fiddly. I also wish that they was stop changing  the fn and ctrl keys.

[Deddly]

Agreed about the Keyboard changing. The trackpoint is definitely an aquired taste. But once you get it, you realise that in many cases it's much more efficient to have to cursor control right underneath your fingertips att all times, without ever having to take your hands off the keyboard.