MumOfKSPdevotee

Cheers Snark! I definitely know not to settle for 4 GB. A couple of the guys have provided links to different PCs. I’ve had a look at them and of course they all look good to me. So I’ll keep taking in any advice, suggestions etc. and in the meantime I’m learning quite a bit about a subject that was absolutely foreign to me. And that’s never a bad thing.

That sounds perfect! Thank you for accomplishing in five minutes what would’ve taken me the better part of 2019. Barring any rational and compelling argument from anyone else here, I’m gonna go ahead and order it. Just one question: will 8GB be enough? Come to think of it, he won’t need that much RAM since the majority of his waking hours will be spent mowing the lawns and doing the dishes, right? Oh, I am so grateful. You’ve no idea how much weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Anyways, I’ll wait a bit to see if there’s any naysayers. Other than that, it should be all systems go! I am so excited at the thought of his face when he finally gets the PC he’s been dropping hints for at each birthday and Christmas for the past two years.

Yep, I actually have $1700 available with Zip, so I’m more than happy to go up to say, $700 or even $800. You know what, klesh? I was toying with the idea of asking if someone could find a suitable computer that can be bought through Zip and all I’d have to do is buy it. But I thought that was a bit presumptuous of me. I fully put my trust in you guys. Thank you again and I’m standing by! Age is just a number.

I forgot to mention an important point: I am limited to using only retailers who offer Zip as a payment option. Zip is an interest-free company similar to afterpay. I’ve had an account with them for years and it’s how I bought my son’s iPad and his netbook for school. I looked at ReBoot IT and Newegg as suggested by Harry and klesh but neither are with Zip. So I looked at sites that definitely are and I found this computer that I was hoping Snark (or any other uber-helpful, uber-friendly community member, of which there is many) could take a look at. Hopefully this the right link... https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/hp-19-5-all-in-one-desktop-pc-c416a-hp20c416a#features It has windows 10 and 1 TB as Snark advised but it has only 4GB of RAM. There was no feature (that Snark described and that I saw on other sites) that lets you add on optional extras such as extra RAM. Does this mean I can’t buy extra RAM? Also, is a graphics card the same thing as a graphics processor? Thanks again, KSP-ers

Thank you Harry. I truly appreciate your suggestion. And thanks also for the link.

Thanks sincerely for the welcome adsii! And as monstah says, you are all my children, therefore as your mother, I’m just reminding you to not drink too much coffee. It’ll interfere with your sleep. Mother knows best! If all the other Moderators are even a quarter as nice as adsii and Snark, then I’m not going anywhere! Seriously, moderators are usually the worst when it comes to being nasty and condescending. And I’m sure my (real) son will join the community. I’m surprised he hasn’t already, such is his passion for KSP. Snark, I’ll no doubt talk to you again in the very near future in one of the modding forums. I look forward to learning more from KSP than I did in all six years of science classes at secondary school.

Boy, did I make the right choice in coming here for advice! It is so heartening to know that I can do this with confidence. I’m definitely gonna take up Klesh’s offer of staying in touch with you guys ‘til such time as my son and his new computer disappear into the bedroom never to be seen again. Well, except for mealtimes. That’s a given, he’s nearly 14. He has the appetite of an entire village (livestock included). Klesh made a great point that probably wasn’t meant to be earth shattering but nonetheless is to me. That being that “space nerds” and “computer geeks” are two separate qualities altogether. My son is definitely a space nerd. He’s a rocket nerd, a solar system nerd, a tanks (WW2) nerd, a bridge construction nerd. He’s an all-things-science nerd. But... when it comes to computer matters he’s not that far removed from me. So, I’m gonna fess up to him that I came here for help, which, until I read that comment from Klesh, was not something I would’ve anticipated doing. When he realises that he ought not be embarrassed about his lack of tech knowledge, he will also realise that his mum has not joined a forum of his single favourite thing in the world thereby coming perilously close to ruining the experience for him . You know... my mum is on KSP getting advice! My MUM! How embarrassing! They’re all gonna think I’m a loser who doesn’t know a thing about computers. Right now he’s at school. So when he gets home I’m gonna show him all of this and then he can be instrumental in the whole acquisition process. Again, thank you so, so much. You guys are a godsend. I am beyond happy to be in contact with such a bunch of genuinely lovely people. And I suspect it won’t end even once we’ve finalised our computer purchase. There is something else I’m curious about, that being “modding.” But that’s a whole other Oprah show, so for now it’s back to rereading all of these responses, happy in the knowledge that I’m slowly getting the gist of it all. <3 Ann, but you guys are very welcome to call me Mum, or Mom, depending on which hemisphere you call home) :)

Aww thank you for your beautiful words. But it’s easy to be a good mum when you have the best children in the world. I have three sons and they’re all individually awesome. I have been heard to say on more than one occasion, “Not to blow my own trumpet, but geez I make great people.” And on the subject of great people, I am totally struck by how sweet and kind you guys of the KSP community are! Genuinely lovely people. I would normally be loathe to approach a forum lest it’s full of nasty, mean-spirited people, the likes of which I’ve had the displeasure of experiencing. Probs my own fault as I used to go on messageboards on fansites of bands that seem to attract pretentious, arrogant, judgmental knobs that never miss an opportunity to disparage someone like me. It just serves as further confirmation that my son is spending time interacting with the best kind of people out there. Much love <3

Thank you both so much! That’s a wealth of knowledge, right there. I (surprisingly) understood the majority of the info, which is more of a reflection of you guys, as I’m sure you made a concerted effort to speak in a language I’d likely understand. Thank you for that. Having read Snark’s great explanation of the graphics card/monitor size correlation, I’m sure a small- to mid- sized monitor should suffice. I also get that a minimum of 8GB is advised, 16GB is preferable and over 16GB is probably not necessary. My son likes a game called Simple Planes and he is keen to play another called Simple Rockets 2 which has recently been released for PC. As for budget, I have about $500 at my disposal which until now I thought was sort of meagre. But now I realise I should be able to buy a pretty decent setup with that amount. Or I could buy a $20 laptop and spend the remaining $480 on shoes and chocolates and wine. Again, thank you guys. I reckon I have more than enough info to arm myself with when I start the whole shopping around thing. And with the info comes a degree of confidence, something I wasn’t expecting to have so soon.

So I thought I had posted a comment last night wherein I asked for advice re buying my son a suitable PC on which he can play KSP. He already plays it on his PS4 and maybe on his iPad as well or his netbook. The thing is, I don’t know if I successfully submitted my request for advice since I’ve yet to make my bold foray into the 20th century, let alone the 21st century. In other words, I don’t have a firm grasp on tech in general, and even less so when it comes to KSP. My son absolutely loves KSP and has been wanting to play it on PC for ages. He is 13 years old and of late has been experiencing occasional mild depression. I really want to buy him a PC and am excited at the prospect of being able to do so. But - and here’s where I call upon the KSP community - I have no idea what I should be purchasing. The only criterion is that KSP can be played on it. Please, please someone, anyone, any piece of advice or guidance would be so appreciated. I don’t know if it makes any difference but we live in Australia (Melbourne). And while I’ll be happy just to have enough knowledge to buy the right PC, you won’t see my name listed on the Forbes Top 50 Rich List, so it would be best to err on the side of cheaper, if that’s possible. Thank you sincerely (in anticipation) to whomever, if anyone, can help me sort this out. Ann (loving mother of a KSP devotee)