KSP1 Computer Building/Buying Megathread

[Randox]

I should have been more clear that the build is the current computer. I do like that CPU though, that would be quite nice to have.

For the comparable performance, the 660 is certainly tempting. Exactly what I end up with is probably ultimately going to be dictated by price though. I'm not anticipating price drops enough to really move up any higher than those two. We'll see in October/November I suppose.

And Corsair it is I think.

The hope is that with an upgraded GPU and PSU, the computer might live for another couple years, at which point I could salvage the upgraded parts for a new build.

[jfx]

Make sure your card actually fits in your oem case.

A 400 to 450w quality PSU is more than enough for mainstream hardware if you do not overclock.

As a rule of thumb add the TDP of GPU and CPU, add 50w for mainboard, memory, disks and stuff and another 20% on top of that to factor in aging caps in your PSU.

[Camacha]

This list i put together based upon your list, everything stayed accept for the board and processor.

I chenged the CPU to the AMD A10 6800K APU which has very good Price/Performance, Its a little cheaper than this build here.

.

I can't seem to find the GPU in your build. Even though the A10 has very decent integrated graphics, it is no match for a HD 7770 - or most discrete GPU's for that matter.

Make sure your card actually fits in your oem case.

A 400 to 450w quality PSU is more than enough for mainstream hardware if you do not overclock.

As a rule of thumb add the TDP of GPU and CPU, add 50w for mainboard, memory, disks and stuff and another 20% on top of that to factor in aging caps in your PSU.

Actually, 450 watt is usually plenty even with some proper overclocking. People have these crazy ideas about power consumption, but do not realize most hardware does not use more than 200-300 watt even in extreme situations. Even a HD 7970 combined with an i7 3960X just consumes 322 watt at full load. That is a crazy processor combined with a very hungry card. There are ways to consume over 450 watts, but very few people will ever do that with modern hardware.

Some high-end AMD processors get very power hungry when pushed, but cooling catches you out way before the power supply will.

Edited June 13, 2013 by Camacha

[Colonel_Panic]

Neat thread. I'll bite. This was my most recent build, though I don't know where I put the in progress shots...

6-Core i7-3930K @ 4.0GHz with HT off.

32 GB DDR3 in quad channel

GTX 660Ti

2x 160GB SATA3 SSDs in RAID 1 for system

6 TB of spinning storage for programs, data and backup

built as a universal gaming workstation... intended for a lot of video rendering, editing and encoding capacity as well as gaming and cracking. I kinda regret spending as much as I did on the CPU, but at times I'm really grateful for what it can do.

Edited June 20, 2013 by Colonel_Panic

[Galacticruler]

Compatibility Notes

ASRock FM2A85X Extreme4 ATX FM2 Motherboard has an onboard USB 3.0 header, but the NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case does not have front panel USB 3.0 ports.

You saw that, right?

In any case, what is ~$20 more?

[RatBeer]

WOULD THIS WORK?

A few days ago my GTX 460 came and im pretty keen to use it, however ive had a few problems with plugging it in and i was wondering if you guys were able to help. My PSU only has 3 molex plugs coming from it and the 460 requires 2x 6 pin plugs to operate. I thought about this and came up with this theoretical diagram which might work, but i thought i would get a second opinion before trying, I dont want to damage any components in my PC.

PSU: 550W

also, the yellow lines between plugs just indicate that they're being plugged into one another

[Colonel_Panic]

WOULD THIS WORK?

A few days ago my GTX 460 came and im pretty keen to use it, however ive had a few problems with plugging it in and i was wondering if you guys were able to help. My PSU only has 3 molex plugs coming from it and the 460 requires 2x 6 pin plugs to operate. I thought about this and came up with this theoretical diagram which might work, but i thought i would get a second opinion before trying, I dont want to damage any components in my PC.

PSU: 550W

also, the yellow lines between plugs just indicate that they're being plugged into one another

If you only have a 550W I'd probably upgrade your PSU first and get one with proper 6 & 8 pin power while you're at it.

[Leonov]

Compatibility Notes

ASRock FM2A85X Extreme4 ATX FM2 Motherboard has an onboard USB 3.0 header, but the NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case does not have front panel USB 3.0 ports.

You saw that, right?

In any case, what is ~$20 more?

I saw that. It means that the Board will have an open USB 3.0 Point.

Which means that the Case doesnt come OEM with USB 3.0 in one of its expansion bays, but your board supports USB 3.0

Camcha brings up a good point about APU vs discreet graphics. But the CPU in your build is a bit dated and i dont think its worth investing in. if you can afford to spend a little more this may suffice?

[Leonov]

WOULD THIS WORK?

A few days ago my GTX 460 came and im pretty keen to use it, however ive had a few problems with plugging it in and i was wondering if you guys were able to help. My PSU only has 3 molex plugs coming from it and the 460 requires 2x 6 pin plugs to operate. I thought about this and came up with this theoretical diagram which might work, but i thought i would get a second opinion before trying, I dont want to damage any components in my PC.

PSU: 550W

also, the yellow lines between plugs just indicate that they're being plugged into one another

If i understand correctly you have a them powered on the molex strings comming from the PSU? Try it, I dont like the idea of it but, if it doesnt power on you may need to upgrade your PSU.

Edited June 13, 2013 by Leonov

[Galacticruler]

Lenov, you downgraded the CPU, the other build, while it had case issues, had a 4.1 Ghz CPU, the FX one in that build two posts up has 3.8.

I honestly am tring to save cash here, and still have a PC that out performs Some middle-aged AlienWares.

EDIT:

A fusion of my original list, your first list and a different CPU than both.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Galacticruler/saved/1Lbm

Edited June 13, 2013 by Galacticruler

[RatBeer]

If i understand correctly you have a them powered on the molex strings comming from the PSU? Try it, I dont like the idea of it but, if it doesnt power on you may need to upgrade your PSU.

yes they are molex strings, they aren't really coming straight from the PSU. Like the diagram suggests, two from the optical drive and one from the hard drive, but i guess they all connect to the PSU somehow, I dont know. I thought i would try this because i think it would be a lot cheaper to buy a molex splitter than to do a PSU upgrade. Not to mention, i dont know how.

[Leonov]

Lenov, you downgraded the CPU, the other build, while it had case issues, had a 4.1 Ghz CPU, the FX one in that build two posts up has 3.8.

I honestly am tring to save cash here, and still have a PC that out performs Some middle-aged AlienWares.

EDIT:

A fusion of my original list, your first list and a different CPU than both.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Galacticruler/saved/1Lbm

Well, its not really a downgrade in this build. the FX-4300 is a good CPU, But the difference is between if you want an APU(GPU is on the CPU die set) with no GPU, or get a CPU and a Discreet GPU.

It all depends what you want to do, Richland(6800K) is a nice tweak to Trinity(5800K) and a lot of people are happy with the A10 series, You can always add a GPU to the A10 and still have a pretty good system.

[RatBeer]

If you only have a 550W I'd probably upgrade your PSU first and get one with proper 6 & 8 pin power while you're at it.

Well i think the card is recommended to have 450W so i think the PSU can power it.

[jfx]

Core i7-3930K @ 4.0GHz

32 GB DDR3 in quad channel

GTX 660Ti

2x 160GB SATA3 SSDs in RAID 1 for system

6 TB of spinning storage for programs, data and backup

Great rig, but you should replace your desk asap . Its one of the worst IKEA products if you use it constantly.

[Galacticruler]

-

I'm not going for integrated GPUs, they tend to drive the cost of the CPU up when bundled, along with power consumption.

Also, every build you suggested is actually more expensive than mine, and while I understand you are attempting to help me with a low budget gamming rig, I do think mine could perform well.

At least as well as or better than (hopefully better than) my current toaster(http://www.xfire.com/users/genfirebird1 hit "Rig" at the left)

Remember, $0 budget right now, I'll be working my way towards these parts for a few years.

[Colonel_Panic]

Great rig, but you should replace your desk asap . Its one of the worst IKEA products if you use it constantly.

haha yeah, I know... it came with the room when I moved in, and I didn't bring anything with me to replace it. It was falling apart already when I moved in, and it's held together with extra screws, drywall anchors, glue and zip-ties right now. I've been planning on building my own to fit onto the wooden frame of the loft, but I just haven't had the free time or money to do it yet.

[Camacha]

If you only have a 550W I'd probably upgrade your PSU first and get one with proper 6 & 8 pin power while you're at it.

Please read my earlier comment on PSU's. 550 watt is more than plenty for average and even powerusers. Only extreme triple or quad GPU hexacore setups will take more at maximum load, but it will be really, really hard to get there. This is under the assumption the PSU is a decent one, as cheap power supplies will not make their rating and are not worth the space they occupy. Cheap power supplies are often rated at peak load, which can often only last milliseconds and most will not even deliver that. A decent power supply will deliver the rated wattage and often a lot more consistently.

That being said, having to use that many converters is often an indication that the underlying power rails are not really built for the task. It might be worth investigating the internals of the said PSU (by researching documentation, not opening it up!).

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Galacticruler/saved/1CJJ

To be honest I think this is actually one of the best configurations if you are on a budget. Sure, the processor is not very new anymore, but it has been tried and tested and is still very capable. It would be a bit of a shame to invest a lot of money in a newer CPU that is not that much better or better at all. On the biggest tech website of my country these X4 965's are still endorsed for budget conscious builds.

Lenov, you downgraded the CPU, the other build, while it had case issues, had a 4.1 Ghz CPU, the FX one in that build two posts up has 3.8.

I honestly am tring to save cash here, and still have a PC that out performs Some middle-aged AlienWares.

Be aware that comparing clock speeds does not say much about comparative performance. Only when a chip is on the same process, from the same family/generation and has otherwise the same specs clock speed can be used as an indicator. In all other cases benchmarks are really the only way to know which is faster and just to be safe this would be a good thing to do anyway. Some 4 GHz chips can actually be slower than other 2.2 GHz chips, it all depends on a lot of factors other than clock speed.

I'm not going for integrated GPUs, they tend to drive the cost of the CPU up when bundled, along with power consumption.

Remember, $0 budget right now, I'll be working my way towards these parts for a few years.

Wait, you do not have any budget for a while? It is kind of useless to look at suitable systems when you are going to buy in months or more, as some hardware gets cheaper and options change. It will be best to save some money and then checking out your options and the hardware at the time. There is a fair chance AMD will have newer and faster GPU's for the same price by then and some other hardware might change too.

[Exerminator2000]

I've just ordered parts to build my first gaming computer http://pcpartpicker.com/user/exer/saved/1KXK and i was wondering how this would do, it should be fine but with computers, you never know.

[Leonov]

I've just ordered parts to build my first gaming computer http://pcpartpicker.com/user/exer/saved/1KXK and i was wondering how this would do, it should be fine but with computers, you never know.

Looks like a good setup.

[Leonov]

-snip-

Since i like cold hard facts and not here-say when it comes to this stuff.

Here is a nice comparison tool, I have it pre set for the FX 6350 vs A10 6800K.

It will do most planned and all current CPU and show you there stats no bias.

Taa daa.

[Camacha]

Since i like cold hard facts and not here-say when it comes to this stuff.

Here is a nice comparison tool, I have it pre set for the FX 6350 vs A10 6800K.

It will do most planned and all current CPU and show you there stats no bias.

Taa daa.

Please note that these are not necessarily cold hard facts These kinds of websites operate on basis of calculated performance derived from specifications and not measured performance. True benchmarks are pretty much the only way to be sure of performance comparisons. These calculated things do offer some indication, but are wildly wrong at times too.

It is an unfortunate byproduct of a real world always being more complex than it is on paper

Edited June 14, 2013 by Camacha

[Moustachauve]

I finally received my new GTX 770 I'm just waiting for my PSU now

Here it is, sitting beside my old GT430 and a five dollars for size comparison (I found this picture really nice )

[JelloTickles]

My really horrible specs:

Only ones I know about are

Proccessor: AMD E-1-1200 APU with Radeon HD graphics

1.40 Ghz

RAM: 2.00 (Actually 1.73)

I don't know how to get more information. From this you can already tell it's horrible.

[Camacha]

I finally received my new GTX 770 I'm just waiting for my PSU now

Here it is, sitting beside my old GT430 and a five dollars for size comparison (I found this picture really nice )

If it is worth doing, it is worth overdoing!

[Moustachauve]

it is stock overclocked, but I don't plan to overclock it more than that at the moment, as I am not an expert and I don't want to break anything.

the Core clock is at 1137MHz+ instead of 1046MHz+ and the memory is at 7GHz instead of 6GHz

Edited June 15, 2013 by Moustachauve