is this good laptop for playing ksp causally

[man man]

im looking to buy a laptop soon for ksp would this one be a good laptop for it? if not then can anyone recommend one? https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-hp-finish-in-jet-black/5868705.p?skuId=5868705

[Galileo]

I see you say you are buying this for KSP, but understand that this is definitely not intended to be a gaming laptop. It will likely struggle with a decent mod load. I would definitely expect it bog down and get very hot trying to run visual mods due to the integrated intel HD 620 graphics not being designed to handle things like that. I think this laptop would be ok for a light list of mods, and minimal visual mods, if any. Hope that helps.

Edited February 28, 2018 by Galileo

[MaxwellsDemon]

3 hours ago, Galileo said:

 due to the integrated intel HD 620 graphics not being designed to handle things like that.

I play KSP on a laptop with integrated Intel graphics, and I can definitely confirm that it struggles.   My next machine will be purchased with an eye towards much better graphics capability.

 

ETA:   Let me put it this way:  It wasn't till recently that I realized, from people talking about it on the forums, that the clock in the upper left wasn't always in yellow font for other people!

Edited February 28, 2018 by MaxwellsDemon
Additional thought

[Gilph]

The Dell XPS15 has a NVidia 1050 GPU option. The 8 GB version of that would be a bare minimum that I could see someone being happy with, assuming stock planets and minimum visual mods. It would be able to support a decent level of non-visual mod load. As a laptop, it will be at least twice the price of the model you listed. As a desktop, you would be able to get something slightly better in specs for that laptop price.

Edit: I see that Dell laptops with 1050 graphics are available in cheaper models. So, maybe not twice the price, but there is a cost premium for using a laptop

Edited February 28, 2018 by Gilph

[The Aziz]

I'd also say that the processor looks... Well, base 2 core 2.5GHz is not something really useful for such CPU-demanding game as KSP.

[Deddly]

Hi! Welcome to the wonderful world of KSP!

Here are a few thoughts that hopefully can help you to make your decision:

• I run KSP on integrated graphics HD520. I usually get no graphics slowdown (I get the green clock) when I play at the lowest resolution in 4:3 format. If I install mods that add clouds etc, I notice the performance decrease. So that part really depends on how important the graphics are to you.
• As for that particular laptop you link to, the screen resolution is 1366x768, which is fine for KSP for pretty rubbish for anything else.
• The CPU is fine. Two cores is plenty enough for KSP, since it still mainly uses a single core for physics, and those 2.5 Ghz i5 CPUs are much faster today than they used to be. I have an older version of that same CPU and it does fine for large vessels with hundreds of parts. If you want to build massive stations with part numbers in the thousands, you might want more performance.
• The Hard drive might let you down. After experiencing the difference that an SSD makes, I don't want to ever go back to using an HDD. It will work just fine, but virtual memory and loading will bog your system down.

Having said that, when you are buying a laptop in that price range, you will have to make some compromises. How much can you afford?

 

EDIT: Oh, and I moved the thread to the Lounge, since it's not a suggestion for KSP development

 

Edited February 28, 2018 by Deddly

[A Soviet Tank]

On 28/02/2018 at 1:39 PM, MaxwellsDemon said:

 

ETA:   Let me put it this way:  It wasn't till recently that I realized, from people talking about it on the forums, that the clock in the upper left wasn't always in yellow font for other people!

Yeah the same was for me until I got a gaming laptop and it was in green. 

I'd recommend saving for something designed for games if you can. I got my more-than-decent-for-ksp laptop for just over £1000, and it can handle any mods I throw at it on medium settings. 

[p1t1o]

is this good laptop for playing ksp causally

Come on guys! "Causally"? Is nobody going to jump on that? 

 

"Yes, but only at sub-light speeds."

***

But seriously, yes, though that laptop is not exactly setting fire to anyones mind, it is more than enough to play KSP. As far as I know the minimum specs for KSP have not changed much in the last couple of years. A cheap computer today is as good as an expensive one form that long ago. There are faster laptops that will enable a heavier mod load, or greater frame rates, but that one should be sufficient to play, definitely "casually".

[guesswho2778]

 

On 3/7/2018 at 3:28 AM, p1t1o said:

it is more than enough to play KSP

well its better than mine

mine is a 4 GB ram (dont know the specifics) acer and it wont let me use nukes or more than 300 parts (and most grapics mods) without unberable lag but it is fine for most missions

Edited March 16, 2018 by guesswho2778

[YNM]

For casual uses, it's more than fine. (by casual I mean just a mun landing or something).

 

 

For causal uses... I think you'll find it not too casual.

[Xaskery]

On 2018/2/28 at 9:41 PM, Gilph said:

The Dell XPS15 has a NVidia 1050 GPU option. The 8 GB version of that would be a bare minimum that I could see someone being happy with, assuming stock planets and minimum visual mods. It would be able to support a decent level of non-visual mod load. As a laptop, it will be at least twice the price of the model you listed. As a desktop, you would be able to get something slightly better in specs for that laptop price.

Edit: I see that Dell laptops with 1050 graphics are available in cheaper models. So, maybe not twice the price, but there is a cost premium for using a laptop

How do I present my ideas? I've used the dell laptop before, but it doesn't seem to be the best choice for Game players, because it's going to break up or crash  if you play games for a long time , Unless you like to play games on your laptop, maybe you are good at some computer skills for your laptop , 

Edited March 20, 2018 by Xaskery

[Gilph]

4 hours ago, Xaskery said:

How do I present my ideas? I've used the dell laptop before, but it doesn't seem to be the best choice for gamers.because it's going to break up if you play games for a long time , Unless you like to play games on your laptop, maybe you are good at some computer skills for your laptop , 

It is difficult to state exactly the best choice for everyone. The OP mentions a laptop for occasional KSP use, but does not say he want's a gaming laptop  for other gaming use. Most laptops, including the Dells, are fine.

There is a reason why they make gaming laptops, and why they are expensive. It is to handle the case you spoke of, where you are a gamer that plays different games for long periods at a time. This does not seem to be the OP question. I do not use laptops for personal use or gaming; they are not cost efficient and I enjoy building my own to serve my own gaming requirements.

[YNM]

24 minutes ago, Gilph said:

I do not use laptops for personal use or gaming; they are not cost efficient and I enjoy building my own to serve my own gaming requirements.

... until you need to move someplace.

 

But yeah, for KSP, given all the physics calculation, it's single-CPU-intensive - an i5 doesn't sound the best for such task, but it might just fall on being fine.