KSP1 Computer Building/Buying Megathread

[legoclone09]

7 minutes ago, Camacha said:

One might even argue that a simpler chip overclocked to the hilt can do the same for KSP with a smaller budget. The 7700K is massive overkill.

A 7350k might work, there are less cores generating less heat. On good watercooling I wonder what's possible with it.

EDIT: Seems to be around 5GHz on it. For a KSP only rig, that and a RX 470 would be good.

Edited March 3, 2017 by legoclone09

[Camacha]

7 minutes ago, legoclone09 said:

A 7350k might work

Agreed. The actual price difference with the i5-7600K seems fairly minor, though, at least locally. If money is not incredibly tight, and there is a remote chance that you would do other things with the computer, the i5 might be the better option. The option of overclocking with an i3 seems to be rather expensive.

I must admit I have not looked at lower range Intels lately. They used to have a few really good value chips in there, like G3258, but I do not think Intel has released an overclocking budget chip recently. The most interesting budget concious option seems to be the i3-7100, which is the lowest clocked chip, but 3,9 GHz at a little over a 100 dollar sounds pretty good. For a dedicated KSP machine, that might be a pretty good deal.

It will be interesting what the R3 and R5 series bring to the table, though. They will probably not beat Intel in pure thread speed, but if you can get a whole lot more chip for the same money, you could still be getting the better deal. Compared to the old AMD models, any new model will be a vast improvement when it comes to KSP. Performance should be on par with an Intel of the skylake or Haswell generation.

[legoclone09]

6 minutes ago, Camacha said:

Agreed. The actual price difference with the i5-7600K seems fairly minor, though, at least locally. If money is not incredibly tight, and there is a remote chance that you would do other things with the computer, the i5 might be the better option. The option of overclocking with an i3 seems to be rather expensive.

I must admit I have not looked at lower range Intels lately. They used to have a few really good value chips in there, like G3258, but I do not think Intel has released an overclocking budget chip recently. The most interesting budget concious option seems to be the i3-7100, which is the lowest clocked chip, but 3,9 GHz at a little over a 100 dollar sounds pretty good. For a dedicated KSP machine, that might be a pretty good deal.

It will be interesting what the R3 and R5 series bring to the table, though. They will probably not beat Intel in pure thread speed, but if you can get a whole lot more chip for the same money, you could still be getting the better deal. Compared to the old AMD models, any new model will be a vast improvement when it comes to KSP. Performance should be on par with an Intel of the skylake or Haswell generation.

The i3 7350k is about $170 here, $60 for a decent Corsair water cooler, $100 for a Z270 motherboard, $150 or so for the GPU, $60 for RAM, $30 for a PSU, and $30-80 for a case.

Or just do something stupid like this: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/tTJpRG

[cantab]

15 hours ago, Camacha said:

but I do not think Intel has released an overclocking budget chip recently.

Well they did by mistake, with the Skylake non-K overclocking. Though especially now it might be difficult to get a motherboard and BIOS that support it. 4.4 GHz on my i3-6100 now, once I finally tracked down the needed BIOS for my board.

Edited March 3, 2017 by cantab

[Camacha]

4 hours ago, cantab said:

Well they did by mistake, with the Skylake non-K overclocking. Though especially now it might be difficult to get a motherboard and BIOS that support it. 4.4 GHz on my i3-6100 now, once I finally tracked down the needed BIOS for my board.

 

That is a great party trick It is not something I would recommend to the average consumer looking for a computer or new hardware to play KSP or games in general, though. You need to be a bit comfortable around computers and willing to take a gamble to take that project on. Especially since Intel was not amused by manufacturers supporting this and actively suppressed it.

That being said, that kind of tinkering is lots of fun. It reminds me of the XP x64 days, where you needed to hunt down generic drivers never intended for the platform in the first place. When you finally figure it all out and everything works, you feel like an absolute champ. If you happen to have the relevant hardware already and you want some fun poking around in the guts of a computer, it is a neat project.

[Hay]

On 03/03/2017 at 7:02 AM, legoclone09 said:

The i3 7350k is about $170 here, $60 for a decent Corsair water cooler, $100 for a Z270 motherboard, $150 or so for the GPU, $60 for RAM, $30 for a PSU, and $30-80 for a case.

Or just do something stupid like this: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/tTJpRG

The i3 7350K is way overpriced, you'll be much better of with a cheap B250 mobo and an i5 7400/7500, especially since a lot of games don't even work on a dual core.

[Elthy]

We realy need reliable data on scaling with cores for KSP. Im was thinking about doing proper benchmarks for a long time, but in the next weeks im quite busy...

Edited March 4, 2017 by Elthy

[legoclone09]

6 hours ago, Hay said:

The i3 7350K is way overpriced, you'll be much better of with a cheap B250 mobo and an i5 7400/7500, especially since a lot of games don't even work on a dual core.

I know, I made that partlist for kicks.

[cantab]

15 hours ago, Camacha said:

You need to be a bit comfortable around computers and willing to take a gamble to take that project on.

Doesn't that apply to building your own PC in general?

That said I don't think I'd advise a Skylake non-K overclock build now, considering the extra cost of a Z board and aftermarket cooler combined with more uncertainty over whether it will even work, along with the Kaby Lake Pentiums basically being Skylake i3s for half the price.

7 hours ago, Hay said:

a lot of games don't even work on a dual core.

Such as? A few games won't run or run very badly on a 'straight' dual core but what games won't run on a dual-core with SMT/hyperthreading (ie Core i3 or Kaby Lake Pentium.)

EDIT PS: And we can't go by game publisher's "minimum requirements". They are frequently bull with games running fine on lower spec hardware.

Edited March 4, 2017 by cantab

[Camacha]

On 04/03/2017 at 5:41 PM, cantab said:

Doesn't that apply to building your own PC in general?

Nah. Building a computer is easy, partly because it was designed to be. You do need to do a little homework, but information is plentiful, of high quality and with just the most basic knowledge, it is actually pretty hard to seriously damage anything. Male plug A goes into female plug A, and so forth. There are a few common pitfalls, like forgetting the stand-offs, but those are broadly advertised. No gambling is involved.

Finding an obscure and unsupported BIOS takes a bit more digging, requires better judgement on what and, more importantly, what not to use, and can quickly lead to pretty much irrecoverable damage. Still a fun project, but a little more insight into the dos and don'ts of computing is required.

Edited March 5, 2017 by Camacha

[Alex38]

Hi everyone,

someone link me to this thread so i can ask for some advice  

i'm going to build a pc with these specs :

CPU : pentium g4560

GPU : RX480 8gb

RAM: 8gb

my question : will this build perform well on ksp ? i'm gonna use many mods and visual mods as well  

thanks for reading  

 

full config link : https://www.topachat.com/pages/configomatic.php?c=D58ng0vmWSN3a%2FJhbBgfnS8Q76zOc6fC8pHr90JZr6E%3D

Edited March 5, 2017 by Alex38

[legoclone09]

30 minutes ago, Alex38 said:

Hi everyone,

someone link me to this thread so i can ask for some advice  

i'm going to build a pc with these specs :

CPU : pentium g4560

GPU : RX480 8gb

RAM: 8gb

my question : will this build perform well on ksp ? i'm gonna use many mods and visual mods as well  

thanks for reading  

 

full config link : https://www.topachat.com/pages/configomatic.php?c=D58ng0vmWSN3a%2FJhbBgfnS8Q76zOc6fC8pHr90JZr6E%3D

I recommend getting a better processor for KSP, and you'll only need a RX 470 for KSP, the ASUS ROG STRIX 8GB is $155 or so with a mail-in-rebate currently, insane deal. I recommend a processor with good single-core performance, a 7600k overclocked is great. Don't forget a Z270 chipset motherboard so you can overclock, and for a cooler I recommend a CRYORIG H7 or H5. PCPartPicker is a really good site for organizing PC builds.

[Camacha]

1 minute ago, legoclone09 said:

I recommend getting a better processor for KSP, and you'll only need a RX 470 for KSP, the ASUS ROG STRIX 8GB is $155 or so with a mail-in-rebate currently, insane deal. I recommend a processor with good single-core performance, a 7600k overclocked is great. Don't forget a Z270 chipset motherboard so you can overclock, and for a cooler I recommend a CRYORIG H7 or H5. PCPartPicker is a really good site for organizing PC builds.

Why do you recommend a better processor? Seeing how KSP runs fine on much slower and older processors and this processor is just about a quarter of the price of a 7600K, it seems a little overboard to recommend one of the more high end processors. The 7600K is faster, but not that much faster and commands a much, much higher price. Add to that the additional cooling, the overclocking capable motherboard and beefed up PSU and the total extra cost is easily 300 dollar and possibly a bit more. That is a lot of monetary units.

That being said, it all much depends on whether other games will be played with this system too and what the expectancy of performance at what resolution and settings is.

[Alex38]

14 minutes ago, legoclone09 said:

I recommend getting a better processor for KSP, and you'll only need a RX 470 for KSP, the ASUS ROG STRIX 8GB is $155 or so with a mail-in-rebate currently, insane deal. I recommend a processor with good single-core performance, a 7600k overclocked is great. Don't forget a Z270 chipset motherboard so you can overclock, and for a cooler I recommend a CRYORIG H7 or H5. PCPartPicker is a really good site for organizing PC builds.

thanks but i can't afford an 7600k ! ^^ that's not in my budget really  Moreover, i'm french so the prices here aren't the same and that's a loooot more expensive ahah 

 

3 minutes ago, Camacha said:

Why do you recommend a better processor? Seeing how KSP runs fine on much slower and older processors and this processor is just about a quarter of the price of a 7600K, it seems a little overboard to recommend one of the more high end processors. The 7600K is faster, but not that much faster and commands a much, much higher price. Add to that the additional cooling, the overclocking capable motherboard and beefed up PSU and the total extra cost is easily 300 dollar and possibly a bit more. That is a lot of monetary units.

That being said, it all much depends on whether other games will be played with this system too and what the expectancy of performance at what resolution and settings is.

I'm going to play KSP , BF1, maybe Rainbow six siege but KSP first at 1080p and my goal is to be able to play at 60 fps in high or ultra, but high is all right compared to my ps4 ^^

I want the RX480 8gb because if i upgrade my CPU in the futur, that would be nice to have the best RX480  

[legoclone09]

12 minutes ago, Alex38 said:

thanks but i can't afford an 7600k ! ^^ that's not in my budget really  Moreover, i'm french so the prices here aren't the same and that's a loooot more expensive ahah 

 

I'm going to play KSP , BF1, maybe Rainbow six siege but KSP first at 1080p and my goal is to be able to play at 60 fps in high or ultra, but high is all right compared to my ps4 ^^

I want the RX480 8gb because if i upgrade my CPU in the futur, that would be nice to have the best RX480  

Okay, the Pentium and the RX 480 is a great choice for what you're doing. KSP is mostly CPU-bound (for higher framerates with high part vessels), my i5 4670k @4.2GHz usually gets around 40-50FPS on the BDB Saturn V. (about 100 parts).

[Alex38]

2 minutes ago, legoclone09 said:

Okay, the Pentium and the RX 480 is a great choice for what you're doing. KSP is mostly CPU-bound (for higher framerates with high part vessels), my i5 4670k @4.2GHz usually gets around 40-50FPS on the BDB Saturn V. (about 100 parts).

okay thanks  so my pentium should get about 20% less perf, so around 30 fps thats quite good for me i'll take it  

[Camacha]

1 minute ago, Alex38 said:

okay thanks  so my pentium should get about 20% less perf, so around 30 fps thats quite good for me i'll take it  

Do note that the RX480 is fairly potent compared to the Pentium. Also note that BF1 requires a lot of CPU power, so it you want to play that properly, the Pentium might struggle a fair bit.

[Alex38]

Just now, Camacha said:

Do note that the RX480 is fairly potent compared to the Pentium. Also note that BF1 requires a lot of CPU power, so it you want to play that properly, the Pentium might struggle a fair bit.

i don't understand "potent" ? it means more powerful than needed ? 

yeah but i've seen videos with the g4560 and the 480 4gb, the man got around 60 fps ultra settings  so i assume that the cpu will give the most of him but if i can run bf1 60fps on high settings and buy an i5 6600 in the futur that could be a good option ?

[Camacha]

1 minute ago, Alex38 said:

i don't understand "potent" ? it means more powerful than needed ? 

Yes and no. Generally, game systems with a fast processor are limited by the GPU and not the CPU. However, some modern games task the CPU a lot, so the CPU might become the issue in those cases. It should also be noted that people tend to upgrade a GPU much more often than a CPU.

If you want to play games like BF1, I personally would probably look into buying a CPU that is a little bit quicker. Depending on budget, I would maybe look for a CPU that is a bit more powerful and reduce budget for the GPU accordingly.
 

1 minute ago, Alex38 said:

yeah but i've seen videos with the g4560 and the 480 4gb, the man got around 60 fps ultra settings  so i assume that the cpu will give the most of him but if i can run bf1 60fps on high settings and buy an i5 6600 in the futur that could be a good option ?

I would not advise upgrading later. Intel processors generally do not become much cheaper down the line, even when second hand. Buy things once and buy them right. Again, it might be worth waiting for the R3 and R5 release. You might pick up a very nice processor for a more acceptable price.

[Alex38]

1 minute ago, Camacha said:

Yes and no. Generally, game systems with a fast processor are limited by the GPU and not the CPU. However, some modern games task the CPU a lot, so the CPU might become the issue in those cases. It should also be noted that people tend to upgrade a GPU much more often than a CPU.

If you want to play games like BF1, I personally would probably look into buying a CPU that is a little bit quicker. Depending on budget, I would maybe look for a CPU that is a bit more powerful and reduce budget for the GPU accordingly.
 

I would not advise upgrading later. Intel processors generally do not become much cheaper down the line, even when second hand. Buy things once and buy them right. Again, it might be worth waiting for the R3 and R5 release. You might pick up a very nice processor for a more acceptable price.

Ok thanks for your advices  i have a 600€ budget so i should buy an i5 6600 ? and a cheaper Radeon RX.. (rx470 ? ) and then later buy a better graphic card ? 

the R3 and R5 will be much more cheaper than the ones already released ? When do you think they will be available ? 

[Camacha]

7 minutes ago, Alex38 said:

Ok thanks for your advices  i have a 600€ budget so i should buy an i5 6600 ? and a cheaper Radeon RX.. (rx470 ? ) and then later buy a better graphic card ? 

I am not sure about the exact model, because that greatly depends on local pricing, but going for a non-overclocking model makes sense if budget is somewhat tight. You do not have all the extra costly requirements for the PSU, cooling and motherboard, which should save you some cash.

If you want to play BF1, you could find out how well it plays on an RX470. If that performance level is acceptable, that might be a sensible choice.
 

Quote

the R3 and R5 will be much more cheaper than the ones already released ?

Yes. It is almost certain that you will get a better price performance than with Intel, without the terrible single threaded speed AMD used to have. With a tight budget, waiting could very well pay.

 

Quote

When do you think they will be available ? 

We do not know for sure, but it should be somewhere in Q2.

Edited March 5, 2017 by Camacha

[legoclone09]

48 minutes ago, Alex38 said:

the R3 and R5 will be much more cheaper than the ones already released ? When do you think they will be available ? 

R5 is going to be Q2 and R3 is H2 of 2017.

[Gerry]

I planning to build a new computer and wonder what inexpensive CPU should i buy that fits the needs of (modded) Kerbal Space Program. It seems the game needs a strong CPU, but what ist better, more cores (i.e. like the upcoming 6c/12t new AMD Ryzen R5) or less cores at higher clock speed like the i3-7350k OC? Maybe an overclocked i7-7700k is the optimum, but this CPU with good mainboard and cooling solution is out of reach from my budget for the computer. CPU and mainboard should not be much more then 300€.

And what graphic card you recommend for KSP with mods like Real Solarsystem and EVE, is an RX-460 4GB enough or will a more expensive graphic card benefit?

Currently i am playing KSP on my laptop mith a low power CPU i5-4210u and GeForce 840m 2GB. Launching a vessel with more than 100 parts becomes catastrophic and the framerate goes down in the region of 5 fps, the cooling fans in my laptop howls but cant prevent that the CPU reaches a temperatur of >90° celcius

 

[Deddly]

Hi there, @Gerry! First of all, welcome to the forum, I hope you'll enjoy your stay here!

Now onto your question. Although improvements have been made, KSP still runs best on a processor that has plenty of power for single-threaded applications. That means that lots of cores aren't going to help.

I'm sure that there are others who can give a more detailed answer than that, but I hope that gets you off in the right direction to start with. 

Edit: actually, I'm surprised that your current machine gets such poor performance because that sounds worse than my old dual core laptop... It might be throttling performance because of the heat. Have you tried opening it up and cleaning all the vents and fans from dust?

[Gerry]

Hi Deddly, thanks for th welcome

Ok, so it looks like that a high clocked i3 oder i5 has the best value for KSP.

EDIT: The laptop is 2 years old, Iopened it last summer to replace the HDD with a SDD and tryed to remove the dust, but it seems there was not so much of it. But thanks for this tip, i think its worth to try this again.

Edited March 5, 2017 by Gerry