How to make the game run faster

[gonzxor5]

I want to play KSP with mods that improve the graphics such as kerbin planet texture. In ksp I always seem to have a slight bit have lag, but it doesnt increase with bigger ships.

my specs are

i5-4460 @ 3.2Ghz

8GB of ram

Im willing to spend around $150 but I'm not sure what I need (Im not a computer wizard)

 

If anyone plays counter strike go, I only get 30fps on dust 2 on minimal settings AND tweaking the launch settings(without tweaking I get about 20). Seriously my friends with cheap laptops get better fps then me. Could there possibly be something wrong with my computer?

 

Thanks for the help, much appreciated.

 

[dire]

Your CPU and ram are fine. What sort of graphics card do you have?

Assuming your computer has a graphics expansion slot of some sort (there are several sorts) and further assuming that it doesn't have a dedicated card right now, you could get a lot of mileage out of buying a cheap graphics card (like, for example quadrupling your frame rate with the cheapest card on the market). Just make sure it's the right type for your expansion slot.

Edited July 16, 2016 by dire

[gonzxor5]

6 hours ago, dire said:

Your CPU and ram are fine. What sort of graphics card do you have?

Assuming your computer has a graphics expansion slot of some sort (there are several sorts) and further assuming that it doesn't have a dedicated card right now, you could get a lot of mileage out of buying a cheap graphics card (like, for example quadrupling your frame rate with the cheapest card on the market). Just make sure it's the right type for your expansion slot.

Yeah currently I have the stock card that came with the PC. It's called "Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600".

What do you mean its right type for my expansion slot? What card would you suggest?

[Shikashi]

Well, I do have a bit of a stronger CPU, but apparently it's performing worse? Well, I got a really good graphics card for 100 bucks, the nVidia GeForce GTX 750, manufactured by Asus with 2 GB of VRAM. It is PCI Express x16-32 or so. Still, I get kinda bad framerates...

[THX1138]

6 hours ago, gonzxor5 said:

Yeah currently I have the stock card that came with the PC. It's called "Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600".

What do you mean its right type for my expansion slot? What card would you suggest?

That's an integrated graphics chip, right? Integrated into the CPU itself?

If your motherboard has a graphics card slot, you need a card that fits into that slot. Mine is PCI Express 2.0 16x - yours might be different (I haven't bothered following progress in the technology).

[Streetwind]

On 17.7.2016 at 6:58 AM, gonzxor5 said:

Yeah currently I have the stock card that came with the PC. It's called "Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600".

What do you mean its right type for my expansion slot? What card would you suggest?

As @THX1138 mentioned: you do not have a graphics card at all. You're running on processor-integrated graphics. Those will indeed make KSP feel sluggish at times.

For starters, you need to confirm that you are on a real desktop PC. Because, if you have a laptop or other mobile/convertible device, or a so-called "all in one" PC (a monitor that has a computer built into it), then chances are high that you will not be able to do any upgrading. In that case, you should contact your manufacturer's support hotline and ask if the device is at all upgradable. In 95% of all cases, the answer will be no, but there are some exceptions.

 

Now, if you are indeed on a desktop, then I have good news: there is no such thing as a desktop computer without at least one full-size graphics card expansion slot. They are called PCI Express x16 slots, and are often the "topmost" slot in a tower PC case standing normally upgright. Some boards may have a tiny slot on top of that, but you want the big, full-size slot. Here's a useful picture where the thing is labeled. In you case it will be empty, because outside of professional specialist hardware, there is nothing else besides a graphics card that occupies a PCIe x16 slot.

The next thing you need to determine is how much power your PC has available to it. Graphics cards exist in a video variety of sizes, and the largest ones can eat more juice than the rest of the computer combined. Even in the price range you are looking at, there are some that want a dedicated power connector. Ideally, your power supply should have its info sticker visible to you when you look inside the case. This tells you the maximum output of the power supply somewhere on it. As a rule of the thumb, 300W to 350W is good enough for a videocard without a dedicated power connector, and 400W to 450W is good for cards with one dedicated connector.

If you have at least 400W available to you, check that you also have the correct connector. Here's a picture of the PCIe 6-pin power connector. This thing is unique, you can't confuse it with anything else. However, larger power supplies may potentially come with one or more PCIe 8-pin connectors instead, which can look similar to a mainboard connector that you definitely should not mix up. However, in 99% of all cases, the right connectors actually have the word "PCIe" written on them. Sometimes 8-pin connectors are also split into 6+2-pin configurations. If you have enough power, but can't find a connector, you can buy an adapter if you want.

 

Now that you know what your PC can support, it's time to select actual cards. I'm not sure if your $150 price limit includes tax or not, because in the US it is customary to specify prices without tax, which can get confusing to my European self But let's start with which models are appropriate for you. Generally, you want to focus on the GTX 700 and 900 series for Nvidia, or the R7 300 and RX 400 series for AMD. It is not important for you to worry about which manufacturer you pick, or how much RAM the cards are advertised as having. It is much more important to select a card from the above series, because those are actually up to date. Most shops just love selling you outdated crap for 10% off, which looks equivalent because it has the same amount of memory... Don't fall for those scams. Among the huge heaps of stuff that manufacturers put into the names of their cards, focus on the model. That's what defines what you will get.

If you have a PCIe power connector available to you, then you are well served with a Nvidia GTX 950 or an AMD Radeon R7 370 card. You may occasionally find a GTX 950 without a power connector, but almost all models require one. These cards are decently quick - definitely more than enough for KSP by a long shot, and you'll find yourself able to crank the graphics in CS:GO quite a ways up. Looking at Newegg, you should be able to find them around $125 before taxes, depending on the exact model and what rebates are currently available.

If you don't have a PCIe power connector and only 350W or less - or if you decide that you don't need quite as much graphics power - then a GTX 750 Ti is hard to beat. Keep in mind that you want the "Ti" variant, there are also non-Ti ones which are noticably slower. This should save you about $30 compared to the bigger cards above.

Finally, if you feel like waiting, there is a brand new card coming from AMD later this summer which falls right into your price range: The RX 460. However, the thing with waiting for new hardware components to hit the market is that there's always new hardware components coming soon. At some point you just have to pull the trigger, or you'll just end up waiting forever. If you want to play now, then buy now. But I wanted to at least mention the option.

Edited July 18, 2016 by Streetwind