KSP1 Computer Building/Buying Megathread

[Cuky]

thanks for answers.

Voltage is the same as before, 0.9V on idle and 1.21V when under load. Fan bearings do not feel hot on touch and cooler seems to be on correctly. I have to buy new thermal paste and then I will change it and see if that helps.

 

btw. only change that I had yesterday that was different from days before is that I have updated graphics drivers

[scribbleheli]

You guys and your cute 120mm case fans.

I have a 260mm case fan. I am actually quite please with it. It moves A FREAKIN TON OF AIR. Its just mounted as exhaust. But with my push/pull corsair radiator fans on the front running 100%, It still moves so much air that I get negative pressure inside my case. 

[Alphasus]

2 hours ago, scribbleheli said:

You guys and your cute 120mm case fans.

I have a 260mm case fan. I am actually quite please with it. It moves A FREAKIN TON OF AIR. Its just mounted as exhaust. But with my push/pull corsair radiator fans on the front running 100%, It still moves so much air that I get negative pressure inside my case. 

Is it quiet? What temps do you get? Does it have a weird pitch? The largest size I would go is 140mm, because Noctua and Corsair make fans for that size.

[scribbleheli]

Its completely inaudible normally, Max speed is only like 800rpm.

Every other fan I have makes more noise. Especially my corsair fans on my radiator. 

My temps are under 50c playing ksp. Normally in the 30s range during KSP unless I'm running 600 parts. Then its around 45c.

 

[steve_v]

On 19/02/2016 at 11:12 PM, Cuky said:

btw. only change that I had yesterday that was different from days before is that I have updated graphics drivers

Could be that, it's happened before.

[linuxgurugamer]

21 hours ago, scribbleheli said:

You guys and your cute 120mm case fans.

I have a 260mm case fan. I am actually quite please with it. It moves A FREAKIN TON OF AIR. Its just mounted as exhaust. But with my push/pull corsair radiator fans on the front running 100%, It still moves so much air that I get negative pressure inside my case. 

I have a CoolerMaster HAX X case.  Totally quiet, i added an extra fan where they left space for it.  The video card makes more noise than the case

[Cuky]

1 hour ago, steve_v said:

Could be that, it's happened before.

Yes, in the end it was down to drivers. Few days ago Windows 10 again removed drivers that I have installed and replaced them with different version which caused my system to randomly crash. I then removed those drivers and downloaded latest drivers from AMD site (version 16.1.1 hotfix) and that is when those temp problems started. It was idling today at 46-47°C.

I have deleted those drivers and installed back previous version (15.2) and now temperature on idle is back at 30-32°C with occasional dip all the way down to 27°C

 

I am happy with automatic updates for Windows 10 and Office as I have never had any problems with those. But please Microsoft, stop messing with our drivers. I have now tried yet another thing to stop automatic drivers update for my GPU: I have blocked its hardware ID in Local Group Policy Editor. If that does nothing than I don't know what else to do

[Camacha]

On 20/02/2016 at 3:55 PM, Cuky said:

I am happy with automatic updates for Windows 10 and Office as I have never had any problems with those. But please Microsoft, stop messing with our drivers. I have now tried yet another thing to stop automatic drivers update for my GPU: I have blocked its hardware ID in Local Group Policy Editor. If that does nothing than I don't know what else to do

Windows 10 is quickly becoming infamous for this kind of behaviour. OS wise, it is pretty good - arguably the best OS Microsoft ever made. Unfortunately, Microsoft is really moving forward with the software as a service philisophy, which means they will update the OS at will, without really informing the user and certainly without giving the user any influence. Without some tricks that are beyond most users, you are left to suffer the consequences, though even people in IT get caught out.

Windows is excellent because of the granular control it provides. This route can only lead to pain and an advantage for the competition, since Apple has perfected the polished but without detailed control over things strategy a long time ago.

Edited February 22, 2016 by Camacha

[scribbleheli]

4 hours ago, linuxgurugamer said:

I have a CoolerMaster HAX X case.  Totally quiet, i added an extra fan where they left space for it.  The video card makes more noise than the case

I have the Haf XB cas. With the giant fan on the top

[Norcalplanner]

So I'm getting close to pulling the trigger on a new system, and have the broad parameters set. Primarily for KSP, but also for things like Fallout 4 and some 4x strstegy games. Parts include:

i5 6600k

16 gb ddr4 ram

Z170 mobo

Gtx 960 gpu (4 gb)

24" 1080x1920 monitor

500 gb ssd

Reuse existing 3tb data drive

What I'm still looking for guidance on is power supply, case, cpu cooler, and what type of ssd to get (likely m.2, but could go either sata or pci 3.0).

I'm also looking to make this system as quiet as reasonably possible. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Elthy]

For the PSU: You wont need more than 400W, but its hard to recommend a decent brand since there are so many which are good and i dont know how much you want to spend on efficency.

Case is also hard to select for you since it comes to personal taste, a good one for a smaller budget is the Bitfenix Shinobi USB 3.0.

Good CPU-Coolers are the Alpenföhn Brocken 2 or the Thermalright Macho, not to expensive but very powerfull and quiet.

I would only order additional casefans if you arent satisfied with the one in your case, since your hardware doesnt produce much heat its eventualy enough. If you need more you could spend lots of money on Noiseblockers Eloops (only when pushing, not for pulling!) or go cheaper with e.g. beQuiets Pure Wings 2. Be carefull to choose lower RPM, everything under 1000 RPM should be very quiet.

Regarding SSDs: Its not necessary to take m.2, normal Sata ones are good, too. While some extremly expensive SSDs have higher theoretical bandwidth those rarely translate into better real-life performance.

[Alphasus]

4 minutes ago, Elthy said:

For the PSU: You wont need more than 400W, but its hard to recommend a decent brand since there are so many which are good and i dont know how much you want to spend on efficency.

Case is also hard to select for you since it comes to personal taste, a good one for a smaller budget is the Bitfenix Shinobi USB 3.0.

Good CPU-Coolers are the Alpenföhn Brocken 2 or the Thermalright Macho, not to expensive but very powerfull and quiet.

I would only order additional casefans if you arent satisfied with the one in your case, since your hardware doesnt produce much heat its eventualy enough. If you need more you could spend lots of money on Noiseblockers Eloops (only when pushing, not for pulling!) or go cheaper with e.g. beQuiets Pure Wings 2. Be carefull to choose lower RPM, everything under 1000 RPM should be very quiet.

Regarding SSDs: Its not necessary to take m.2, normal Sata ones are good, too. While some extremly expensive SSDs have higher theoretical bandwidth those rarely translate into better real-life performance.

I recommend Noctua NF-S12B fans. They are cheaper, and come in Noctua's second set of good looking colors. Also, I use both a 700 and a 1200. The 700 is silent, and the 1200 is not louder than a whisper. 

[Norcalplanner]

Thanks for the replies.  I'll check out those recommendations.

[linuxgurugamer]

5 hours ago, Elthy said:

For the PSU: You wont need more than 400W, but its hard to recommend a decent brand since there are so many which are good and i dont know how much you want to spend on efficency.

Ummm, you want a larger PSU, for a couple of reasons.  First, when your system has a spike in the load, a larger PSU will maintain the voltage better.  Also, a larger PSU will run cooler than a smaller one, and even if you use both at the same level, the larger one will be working less than the smaller one, which will contribute to reliability.

I'd recommend an 800W PSU, at least 80% efficiency, if possible

I'm speaking from experience, I've been building systems for more than 30 years.

LGG

[Alphasus]

7 minutes ago, linuxgurugamer said:

Ummm, you want a larger PSU, for a couple of reasons.  First, when your system has a spike in the load, a larger PSU will maintain the voltage better.  Also, a larger PSU will run cooler than a smaller one, and even if you use both at the same level, the larger one will be working less than the smaller one, which will contribute to reliability.

I'd recommend an 800W PSU, at least 80% efficiency, if possible

I'm speaking from experience, I've been building systems for more than 30 years.

LGG

And I would say that you aren't wrong, if you want silence. Look for PSUs with fans that don't turn on until about 300 watts of use. You may even need some 1000W PSUs. But if you want efficiency, go for predicted power usage being 60% of the PSU maximum.

[linuxgurugamer]

2 minutes ago, Alphasus said:

And I would say that you aren't wrong, if you want silence. Look for PSUs with fans that don't turn on until about 300 watts of use. You may even need some 1000W PSUs. But if you want efficiency, go for predicted power usage being 60% of the PSU maximum.

Why are you recommending 60% efficiency?  

[Alphasus]

Just now, linuxgurugamer said:

Why are you recommending 60% efficiency?  

It allows upgradeability, and many PSUs are most efficient between 40% and 80%. So, there's your average. With upgrades, maybe you will see that 80%.

[linuxgurugamer]

These days, I wouldn't go with anything less than 70-80%.  There are enough good ones with those efficiencies.  Personally, I have an 80% efficiency, I wanted a 90%, but that was too expensive.

[Alphasus]

4 minutes ago, linuxgurugamer said:

These days, I wouldn't go with anything less than 70-80%.  There are enough good ones with those efficiencies.  Personally, I have an 80% efficiency, I wanted a 90%, but that was too expensive.

Oh no, I meant percentage of load, not efficiency. I use 80+ Gold, which is 87%. I meant that if you use 600 watts, you should get a 1000W PSU. PSUs are more efficient in that 40 to 80% of max load range.

Edited February 22, 2016 by Alphasus

[cantab]

Alphasus wasn't recommending 60% efficiency, he was recommending a system that under load draws only 60% of the PSU's rated wattage.

That said, when you aren't gaming your PC may well be practically idling. PSUs tend to fall off in efficiency at idle, though the absolute wattage losses are necessarily small.

Anyway, I'd say go for a quality 550-650 Watt supply. That will cover virtually any single-GPU system. There are many "semi passive" power supplies now, that only turn their fan on when they need it, meaning one less noise source when the PC is not heavily loaded.

[Alphasus]

Just now, cantab said:

Alphasus wasn't recommending 60% efficiency, he was recommending a system that under load draws only 60% of the PSU's rated wattage.

That said, when you aren't gaming your PC may well be practically idling. PSUs tend to fall off in efficiency at idle, though the absolute wattage losses are necessarily small.

Anyway, I'd say go for a quality 550-650 Watt supply. That will cover virtually any single-GPU system. There are many "semi passive" power supplies now, that only turn their fan on when they need it, meaning one less noise source when the PC is not heavily loaded.

The benefits of SSDs: when not gaming, my system is shut down. When I want to game, I can 10 seconds later. So, my system is always under gaming loads. I have a laptop for other purposes.

[cantab]

Whereas me, even if I had a laptop, I'd still rather do my recreation and productivity with my proper monitors and keyboard.

For what it's worth, http://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator

reckons Norcalplanner's build will only use 300 Watts or so even under load, which puts my 550-650 Watt recommendation right in the efficiency butter zone.

[Alphasus]

2 minutes ago, cantab said:

Whereas me, even if I had a laptop, I'd still rather do my recreation and productivity with my proper monitors and keyboard.

For what it's worth, http://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator

reckons Norcalplanner's build will only use 300 Watts or so even under load, which puts my 550-650 Watt recommendation right in the efficiency butter zone.

Yes, but fans will be spinning at that load. PSU fans are generally loud, so he would want a PSU with fans that spin up at 350W or so. Tom's Hardware has comprehensive graphs in their individual PSU reviews about this.

5 minutes ago, cantab said:

Whereas me, even if I had a laptop, I'd still rather do my recreation and productivity with my proper monitors and keyboard.

For what it's worth, http://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator

reckons Norcalplanner's build will only use 300 Watts or so even under load, which puts my 550-650 Watt recommendation right in the efficiency butter zone.

It's a rather nice laptop with a greater than 1440p screen, and a non-mushy rather tactile laptop keyboard.

Edited February 22, 2016 by Alphasus

[Camacha]

17 minutes ago, Alphasus said:

Oh no, I meant percentage of load, not efficiency. I use 80+ Gold, which is 87%. I meant that if you use 600 watts, you should get a 1000W PSU. PSUs are more efficient in that 40 to 80% of max load range.

600 watts is well beyond what most systems actually use nowadays. Even ridiculous computers tend to use a lot less. Also, the difference in efficiency between the optimum and something less optimal will only be a few watt. Nothing you will notice in real life. If you care about money, you will spend more on the largely dimensioned PSU. If you care about the environment, you will cause more pollution through having a larger PSU produced and shipped than you will save in energy. If you care about noise, smaller PSUs tend to be much more silence oriented than the larger units.

In short, there is no real reason buying a huge PSU than to actually use that amount of power and that will only happen if you have some ridiculous system with multiple high end cards.

[Alphasus]

4 minutes ago, Camacha said:

600 watts is well beyond what most systems actually use nowadays. Even ridiculous computers tend to use a lot less. Also, the difference in efficiency between the optimum and something less optimal will only be a few watt. Nothing you will notice in real life. If you care about money, you will spend more on the largely dimensioned PSU. If you care about the environment, you will cause more pollution through having a larger PSU produced and shipped than you will save in energy. If you care about noise, smaller PSUs tend to be much more silence oriented than the larger units.

In short, there is no real reason buying a huge PSU than to actually use that amount of power and that will only happen if you have some ridiculous system with multiple high end cards.

600 watts was an example. It also nicely scales to 300 watts with a 500 watt PSU.