Harry Rhodan

If you keep the GPU you get the most bang for the buck with an Intel i5 10400f (the f at the end means that they don't have an an integrated GPU). An i3 10100f is even cheaper but only four cores are a questionable investment for the future. A B560 board with fast RAM would be preferable, because the B560 supports higher memory speeds than the specified 2666MHz. If that's still too much you could get any of the older and lower series boards for socket 1200 (H410, H510, B460) and two sticks of RAM with 2666MHz.

You would at least need to replace the CPU, board an RAM. I would go with a Ryzen 5 5600G, a B450 Board and 16GB of at least 3200MHz RAM. That would be currently about 400€ here. But the safest bet is to wait until the game is released and people know what it actually needs.

It's a horrible video and you should feel bad about posting it! Because now I want one.

Is it still a small form factor build if all those regular size components are sticking out left and right?

Like with all prebuilts they don't tell you where most of these components come from. So you don't know their quality or if they are replaceable with standard parts. If I try to throw together the prices of good components with their current prices in Germany (which include VAT) I arrive at: CPU: 250€ Board: 150€ PSU: 100€ RAM: 100€ SSD: 50€ Cooler: 50€ Case: 100€ That's 800€ in components. If you factor in 200€ for assembly and Windows you are at about 1000€ without the GPU. Sou you're paying 400 for an old 2060 Super. With the current situation maybe not the worst deal. A 3060 costs about 600 here right now. But you would need to check the prices you would get to see if this calculation works for you.

You could also try to delete the file "appmanifest_220200.acf" from two folders above the KSP main folder. This is where Steam stores the information on how much it needs to download or already downloaded.

High single core performance, enough RAM and a middle or entry class GPU, which are extremely expensive these days. High single core performance also usually means no laptops as they will throttle back after a few minutes or even seconds because they overheat comparatively quickly. Especially in cheaper and/or thinner machines. No. All the relevant parts are soldered on and you only have a single RAM slot which will make the horribly slow integrated graphics even slower.

I don't think you even can overclock RAM on a B360 board. It'll definitely run. The question is if you can get it up to 2666 if it's not specified for that speed. Otherwise you might end up at 2400 or 2133 as an automatic fallback. You should probably look up what options your board is actually offering.

It's the principle of the thing!

I'm torn between the MSI B550 Tomahawk and the Gigabyte B550 Aorus Pro. The Aorus Pro theoretically has the better VRM setup while the Tomahawk has an internal USB-C connector for the case.

Cool, have you tried a stress test with Prime 95 if the CPU is stable? Do you have a case for the GPU or is it just naked right next to case?

You need a Thunderbolt 3 connector for a external GPU and your board doesn't have that. Same goes for the PSU as these prebuilt SFF machines have custom connectors for their PSUs. Honestly instead of throwing money at stand-up guyizing a mediocre office machine you could just buy a machine that is actually capable of using high end components.

Physically yes, but neither the cooling system nor the PSU are meant to cope with this thing and you also can't overclock or just undervolt it because this OEM board doesn't have any options for that. Like the others already said: save for a good PC rather than trying to fit some already outdated stuff into your old one.

Is KSP really using all of the RAM? Are you using that many mods? It is definitely not calculating physics on a GPU, so that is just a waste of money and energy. Try to find out what is actually limiting your performance and then upgrade that.

Is that one thread or the whole CPU? Because again: this game uses one single thread per craft for physics calculations. That means if one single thread of your CPU is at 100% then it is already working at full potential. And that at just 100/16 = 6.25% of any combined load.