KSP1 Computer Building/Buying Megathread

[Eleven]

I've been playing KSP on a Lenovo G580 laptop since 0.18, and eventually upgraded the cpu to an i5 from it's original i3, so I'm used to low-end. (Although I do run Linux and play the 64bit client)

Does anyone have a Lenovo Y50-70? I need to get my wife a decent laptop with touchscreen and this one looks like I could hijack it for my own gaming needs, I was just hoping to see if anyone has experience with one?

[steve_v]

Well, you can complain about not having or finding a mouse, or ignore the blinking lights and be happy.

While this is true, this particular machine is in the same room in which I sleep... which means I then have to open the bugger up and eviscerate the damn ultra-bright blinky LEDs. I have choice words for whoever decided all computer components need ridiculously bright blue LEDs...

what is your budget?

I'd say around $40 is reasonable for a mouse. I'd be willing to pay a little more for a really nice mouse but I want quality, not extra features, and I sure don't want to pay for them.

Edited June 3, 2015 by steve_v

[Drunken Hobo]

I find it kind of amusing that the invention of the blue LED was worthy of a Nobel Prize, and all it's really used for is making computer components obnoxiously bright.

I use one of them ergonomic vertical mice, as they stop my wrist sounding like a cement mixer. Need to buy a new one soon as the middle click is knackered, but Amazon recently put up free delivery to purchases over £20, and the mouse I want is £10.

[Camacha]

While this is true, this particular machine is in the same room in which I sleep... which means I then have to open the bugger up and eviscerate the damn ultra-bright blinky LEDs. I have choice words for whoever decided all computer components need ridiculously bright blue LEDs...

Some of the fancy ones have lights that can be turned off, some via profile. I must admit it is a pretty cool trick that mice can turn their own lights off when you boot up a movie.

Do you leave your computer running all night? I would say the noise is worse than a little light.

I'd say around $40 is reasonable for a mouse. I'd be willing to pay a little more for a really nice mouse but I want quality, not extra features, and I sure don't want to pay for them.

Would a very simple office mouse not suffice? I have used one until recently. They are dirt cheap and since they need to withstand regular office abuse, they can take a beating too. Technology has become cheap and good enough to make them very comfortable mice sensor wise. You lose the extra buttons, but you have quite a list of specific demands there All the rest is there.

Logitech M100:

Microsoft Basic Optimal Mouse 2.0

Edited June 4, 2015 by Camacha

[cantab]

Some of the fancy ones have lights that can be turned off, some via profile. I must admit it is a pretty cool trick that mice can turn their own lights off when you boot up a movie.

Then, though, you get into the needing specialist software problem. And it's not just for fancy features either, sometimes the specialist software ends up needed for the basics. My otherwise-good Gigabyte gaming keyboard is like that, the freaking Caps Lock light doesn't work on Linux because Gigabyte decided to do things some oddball way that relies on their Windows software instead of just following the standards that normal keyboards use.

[Camacha]

Then, though, you get into the needing specialist software problem. And it's not just for fancy features either, sometimes the specialist software ends up needed for the basics. My otherwise-good Gigabyte gaming keyboard is like that, the freaking Caps Lock light doesn't work on Linux because Gigabyte decided to do things some oddball way that relies on their Windows software instead of just following the standards that normal keyboards use.

Luckily, most mice and keyboards work perfectly fine without specialized software.

[kenbobo]

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-PCI-E-Graphics-01G-P3-1302-LR/dp/B0049MPQA4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1433537256&sr=8-3&keywords=graphics+card+pc Is this an acceptable graphics card? Will it work for a gaming comp?

[Camacha]

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-PCI-E-Graphics-01G-P3-1302-LR/dp/B0049MPQA4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1433537256&sr=8-3&keywords=graphics+card+pc Is this an acceptable graphics card? Will it work for a gaming comp?

I can be short and sweet: no. It is painfully outdated. I interpret your question as you looking for something cheap, but really, you need to spend a little more to get anything worth while. If you can spare about $100 you will be able to buy something reasonably useful, and if you can up that to $150 or even $200, you will have a modern and capable card that will last you a while.

You really want a card with GDDR5 memory, as GDDR3 is going to seriously hamper your card. Memory size is not as much of a defining metric as people think it is, though nowadays you want something in the neighbourhood of 1 GB or beyond. More importantly though, the card GPU chip needs to be half decent. I would suggest looking for something like a GTX 750 Ti, a R7 265 or a R9 270 or even 270X.

Before we get in too deep though: what CPU and other hardware are you going to combine it with? What you already have is massively going to influence what is a useful addition. Buying a quick card for a slow system is as useful as a return ticket for the Titanic.

[cantab]

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-PCI-E-Graphics-01G-P3-1302-LR/dp/B0049MPQA4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1433537256&sr=8-3&keywords=graphics+card+pc Is this an acceptable graphics card? Will it work for a gaming comp?

No. It's an absolute bottom-of-the-barrel display card and not remotely suitable for gaming.

Here's one guide with recommendations for various budgets, albeit in UK prices http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/gaming-graphics-card-review,review-32899.html Generally speaking the graphics card market is pretty competitive though and you get what you pay for.

[Drunken Hobo]

I'm sure you're all dying to know the end of my thrilling gamepad saga - I bought a wired 360 controller for PC. Found an official one for £21 so just bought it.

Still not a huge fan of the shape as my hands are a bit too close together and it makes them curve inwards, but the sticks are very responsive, the triggers have a nice weight and the buttons are crisp. Also strangely heavy for something that contains no battery. Responsive sticks being the most important part for racing games.

[Cyrious]

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-PCI-E-Graphics-01G-P3-1302-LR/dp/B0049MPQA4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1433537256&sr=8-3&keywords=graphics+card+pc Is this an acceptable graphics card? Will it work for a gaming comp?

No. That card is barely capable of displaying video streams without choking, let alone gaming. Its the kind of card you use while waiting for the good one to come back from warranty RMA, or use for testing purposes. At minimum for a gaming card in this day and age, I suggest a GTS 450. They can be had for cheap (~$35 USD on ebay), overclock well (>900mhz core clock is common), and will handle most older games with ease. There's also the fact they SLI scale really really well, if you are willing to try that.

[Camacha]

No. That card is barely capable of displaying video streams without choking, let alone gaming. Its the kind of card you use while waiting for the good one to come back from warranty RMA, or use for testing purposes. At minimum for a gaming card in this day and age, I suggest a GTS 450. They can be had for cheap (~$35 USD on ebay), overclock well (>900mhz core clock is common), and will handle most older games with ease. There's also the fact they SLI scale really really well, if you are willing to try that.

I have had a GTS450 and it is a fun card, but I would probably look for something of a slightly newer generation.

[Cyrious]

I merely suggested it as its by far faster than the posted 8400GS for approximately the same price. Yeah, I agree, its an old card, but if you need something better than integrated on a budget its a decent choice. A newer choice would be maybe a 650TI, as its easily twice as fast as the GTS 450, and can be had for about $60.

[Camacha]

I merely suggested it as its by far faster than the posted 8400GS for approximately the same price. Yeah, I agree, its an old card, but if you need something better than integrated on a budget its a decent choice. A newer choice would be maybe a 650TI, as its easily twice as fast as the GTS 450, and can be had for about $60.

Fair enough. I think a GTS 450 would not be a bad choice, as I have has lots of fun with it and simply upgraded it because I wanted more and not because it did not fulfil its job any more. It is just that there are more modern options.

A GTS 650Ti certainly would fit the bill, but I cannot turn them up anywhere near 60 dollars. Are you talking about second hand cards?

[Cyrious]

Fair enough. I think a GTS 450 would not be a bad choice, as I have has lots of fun with it and simply upgraded it because I wanted more and not because it did not fulfil its job any more. It is just that there are more modern options.

A GTS 650Ti certainly would fit the bill, but I cannot turn them up anywhere near 60 dollars. Are you talking about second hand cards?

Secondhand and generic on fleabay, with other brands starting at $70. I almost never buy new hardware, as I can generally get what I want/need used and for a fraction of the price of new. When my GTX 460 hit the market it was over $250. I bought it used for under $60, and considering the games that I play aren't too demanding, it works just fine.

[Camacha]

I almost never buy new hardware, as I can generally get what I want/need used and for a fraction of the price of new. When my GTX 460 hit the market it was over $250. I bought it used for under $60, and considering the games that I play aren't too demanding, it works just fine.

Comparing introduction prices to second hand prices skews things a little bit, but indeed, electronic items are great to buy second hand due to the massive price drops. With some wit and a little effort you can get great deals buying second hand electronics. There often are brand new or barely used products to be had for a fraction of the sticker price, quite often still covered by warranty.

Edited June 13, 2015 by Camacha

[Cyrious]

Comparing introduction prices to second hand prices skews things a little bit, but indeed, electronic items are great to buy second hand due to the massive price drops. With some wit and a little effort you can get great deals buying second hand electronics. There often are brand new or barely used products to be had for a fraction of the sticker price, quite often still covered by warranty.

Yep, thats why I intend on getting the Asus P9X79 WS motherboard for my Xeon used instead of new. New, its over $370 USD on newegg, yet used I can get one in excellent condition off ebay for $250.

[steve_v]

...Asus P9X79 WS...

I have the base version (P9X79), excellent board. The plentiful pcie/memory bandwidth on that chipset is a nice bonus too.

[Cyrious]

I have the base version (P9X79), excellent board. The plentiful pcie/memory bandwidth on that chipset is a nice bonus too.

Yeah I was thinking about grabbing that for my Xeon, but it doesnt officially support it, and the only other X79 boards to support Xeons are MSI's offerings, and I'll be dead before I stick a $2000 Xeon on an MSI board. What makes selecting the new board even harder is that it must have some sort of supplemental PCI-E power plug, as I overclock the crap out of my graphics cards (including overvolting), and the GT 440 144 doesnt have a PCI-E 6-pin to feed it extra juice, which means all that it gets comes from the slot.

[steve_v]

On ye old "quest for the perfect mouse" of earlier posts: In the end I bought a couple of NOS intellimice (mouses?) on fleabay. Better the devil you know and all that, some nutter was shipping free at $30ea.

- - - Updated - - -

I'll be dead before I stick a $2000 Xeon on an MSI board.

Amen.

[Camacha]

On ye old "quest for the perfect mouse" of earlier posts: In the end I bought a couple of NOS intellimice (mouses?) on fleabay. Better the devil you know and all that, some nutter was shipping free at $30ea.

That is really going to cause issues when those finally break down What is NOS, by the way?

and I'll be dead before I stick a $2000 Xeon on an MSI board.

Amen.

What is up with MSI? I have heard of people distrusting various brands for various reasons, but MSI is new on that list.

[Cyrious]

What is up with MSI? I have heard of people distrusting various brands for various reasons, but MSI is new on that list.

MSI's boards, especially their AMD boards, have a well earned reputation for blowing the VRMs and taking the CPU with them. As I do distributed computing alot, it greatly increases the odds of the board going up in flames and destroying the CPU. This in turn would have me sitting back on my Q9400, and I really dont want to go back to Core 2 Quad.

[steve_v]

What is NOS, by the way?

New-Old-Stock. Unused, from some forgotten corporate IT storeroom no doubt.

[Camacha]

MSI's boards, especially their AMD boards, have a well earned reputation for blowing the VRMs and taking the CPU with them. As I do distributed computing alot, it greatly increases the odds of the board going up in flames and destroying the CPU. This in turn would have me sitting back on my Q9400, and I really dont want to go back to Core 2 Quad.

Do you have a website or other source for that? I have been dealing with hardware for quite a while now and never heard of stories about MSI reliability, but I do not consider it impossible. One notable case I remember a while ago was the Gigabyte coldboot problem and even Intel got caught out with their SATA issues, so weird things do happen.

New-Old-Stock. Unused, from some forgotten corporate IT storeroom no doubt.

I love those forgotten bits of hardware, it makes for great deals later on

[steve_v]

What is up with MSI? I have heard of people distrusting various brands for various reasons, but MSI is new on that list.

While I've not had that much hardware meet an untimely demise, A disproportionate number of those have been MSI motherboards and GPUs. Just my experience, and not statistically significant, but I'd buy something I trust a bit more for a nice CPU like that

This also partly stems from a time a while back when I noticed that certain manufacturers used capacitors with names I recognised, and some from little known plants in china... though MSI was not by any means the only offender in this case.

Edited June 13, 2015 by steve_v