Graphics

[RedDwarfIV]

My desktop is an Acer Aspire M1930, with quad-core processor, 8 GB RAM, and Intel HD Graphics.

I was told when I bought the computer that for the price range I was looking at, a quad-core was the best processor I could get - apparently triple-core has problems and isn\'t as fast anyway. I upgraded the system to 8 GB of RAM myself recently.

But I still can\'t get much more than 10 FPS on KSP.

Do I need better graphics?

Does this mean installing a better graphics card?

What does a graphics card do? I got the impression they were supposed to send the interface to the monitor/s. Is it a Graphics Processing Unit I need to be looking at? If so, why can\'t I find any mention of GPUs for my desktop on the Internet?

[Kryten]

What you need is a better GPU; they don\'t simply interface with your monitor, they do the processing for anything involving 3D graphics, and on modern computers are frequently used for more than that (e.g. the PhysX engine, which can run better on GPU processing than on CPU).

You can\'t find one for your computer because components usually aren\'t made for specific models of computer\' you need to choose one that\'s powerful enough for what you want to use it for, and that your computer can itself power (ie make sure that CPU wattage+GPU wattage is less than you power supply wattage).

[Capt'n Skunky]

First thing you have to bear in mind is that the game is NOT optimized and has a ton of debug code, both of which can make the game sluggish on even the most powerful of systems.

You are currently using an on-board video solution which will always provide sub-optimal performance. By adding a dedicated video card you get the advantage of having all your graphics being processed by the GPU on the card, which it\'s specifically optimized to do, and you get to use the VRAM on the card instead of the shared system RAM.

Acer\'s aren\'t known for exactly being the best, in fact my experience has been that they are utter shite. That doesn\'t mean your system can\'t handle KSP, it just means you may need to help it with a crutch or two.

I just tried to get some information on your specific model from Acer and they have NOTHING in the way of useful information on it. At best I found a generic manual, nothing bout what slots your computer may or may not have. Without such information, I can\'t make a suggestion as to what video card you could buy to improve your performance.

Cheers!

Capt\'n Skunky

KSP Community Manager

[RedDwarfIV]

Thanks for the information you have geen able to provide, even if Acer is unable to. I\'ll look into it.

[thermobaric]

First thing you have to bear in mind is that the game is NOT optimized and has a ton of debug code, both of which can make the game sluggish on even the most powerful of systems.

oh that\'s why.. i got an awesome machine (i built it 1 month ago, it can run crysis 2 easily on 120 fps). but if i fire like 15 rockets at the same time and i\'m in the atmosphere then my frame rate gets a huge drop (to like 15 fps).

skunky, when do you think ksp will be optimized? like when 2.0 or earlier?

tnx for the info