KSP1 Computer Building/Buying Megathread

[Leonov]

Grab a GTX 760 form a good manufacturer.

The ASUS Direct CU II GTX 760 cards are pretty cheap now and performance is excellent also they are pretty compact, if size matters.

Your PSU can handle a 760 so no problems there.

[Rassa Farlander]

Speaking of the ASUS GeForce 760, I can get mine to work When the video card is installed I cant get anything on either of my two displays, one is an old VGA Compaq LCD from 2003 and the other is my Philips 32'' LCD tv that was trying with my HDMI cable. Nothing comes up them, and Ive tried them one at a time, changing HDMI ports between motherboard and video card. When the card is in, I watch the Q-code on the mobo go through its POST check, I get no bad LED's or codes, and the little green LED on the card is lit.

Ive got everything else up and running, I got window installed and updated. Im going through driver updates now.

So can someone please help me out with this? Is it Software?(Drivers?) Hardware(video card?) or is it the odd displays Im trying to use? Ive talked to ASUS support a few times and werent much help other than saying I might have to take the video card back to micro center.

Thanks folks

[Leonov]

Does the card power on?, Does your VGA monitor get a picture when the system is on?, Make sure you do a clean install of the latest Drivers from Nividia.

[Technical Ben]

The card should display bios details/boot before it even goes into windows. Even with Windows 8 and EFI (I think/hope). The 660GTXTi that just arrived for me has VGA over DVI-A on one port only, and DVI-D on the other, so some VGA monitors may not work (I'm not sure any are supported, as just realized my spare monitor is DVI-A, just over an adapter for VGA cables. The HDMI port though should be fine.

I'd suggest:

1) Booting up without the card using on board graphics first (as you mention you have HDMI on the motherboard). Check the PC is ok, and all things ready for the swap.

2) Uninstall the drivers, AMD or NVidia.

3) Then reboot and go to the bios and set "pci graphics" as preferred/first.

4) Then add the card, making sure the additional power connectors are plugged in, and using the HDMI port to begin to rule out compatibility problems.

This should then boot up with the new card and Windows will install it's basic NVidia drivers (usually good one, but will be an older revision and no settings/control panels).

Once we can confirm the card boots up and shows the bios page/windows loading, then the new drives can be tackled.

[Ambulatory Cortex]

I’m building a new computer, and I’d like some extra sets of eyes. I intend to use it for gaming and general computing, but especially KSP and Planetary Annihilation.

Processor:

Intel Core i5-4670 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116898

Heatsink:

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-Plus-RR-B10-212P-G1/dp/B002G1YPH0

Mobo:

ASRock Z87 Extreme4 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157369

Memory:

16gig Crucial Ballistix Sport http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148663

SSD:

SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE250BW http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2W00YW3571

GFX card:

GTX 650 Ti boost http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134160

And some 2TB platter drive

I’m still wondering what PSU and case I should buy.

[briansun1]

you should probably go with a current get GPU (7XX or RX 7XX) and you might get help faster here

[nhnifong]

Are you planning on putting more GPUs in it later? I just noticed that you chose a mobo with 3 PCI Ex 3.0 16x slots.

Overall, I think these are excellent choices!

[KD3]

Why get that aftermarket heatsink if you are getting a processor that cannot be overclocked? Get one with a K on the end if you will overclock because they are unlocked.

[Ambulatory Cortex]

you should probably go with a current get GPU (7XX or RX 7XX)

Why so?

you might get help faster here

Oops.

Are you planning on putting more GPUs in it later? I just noticed that you chose a mobo with 3 PCI Ex 3.0 16x slots.

Without a pressing need, probably not. The board's price was right.

Why get that aftermarket heatsink if you are getting a processor that cannot be overclocked? Get one with a K on the end if you will overclock because they are unlocked.

My research indicated that the stock cooler wasn't very good, and quite noisy. I am not planning to overclock.

[briansun1]

Because 1. you get all the new fancy stuff that comes with new gen

2. because it's better preforming

3. because you will get more service out of it

[Galacticruler]

Kind of on-topic, kind of off-topic.

Why do people post these things in new topics, when there is a good PC megathread stickied?

[Rassa Farlander]

Ok status update on the problem.

The cards LED is green when Ive tried booting with it installed, and the PCIe error LED is not on. The fans on the card spin up as well.

Booted up without the Video card installed and my LCD tv in the HDMI slot on the Mobo, no picture at all. Plugged in the VGA monitor and it works fine with that, boots windows and everything. This was all without the video card.

Also I tried installing the drivers but since I dont have the card in I keeps saying that it cant install the drivers because I dont have the hardware.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Rassa Farlander

[Ambulatory Cortex]

Kind of on-topic, kind of off-topic.

Why do people post these things in new topics, when there is a good PC megathread stickied?

Because oops?

[Specialist290]

And on that note, I've taken the liberty of merging your thread into the megathread, Ambulatory Cortex. Not a serious offense by any means, but in the future, keep an eye out for topics that might suit your needs before making a new one

[Ambulatory Cortex]

And on that note, I've taken the liberty of merging your thread into the megathread, Ambulatory Cortex. Not a serious offense by any means, but in the future, keep an eye out for topics that might suit your needs before making a new one

Much appreciated!

I am now looking for an appropriate case. I would prefer one with a front door which hides the power button and drive bays, as I have two young children who like to press buttons. I prefer monolithic aesthetics, but I'm not tied to them.

Still not sure what I should get for a GFX card, either. Should I get the Asus GTX 760? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121775

[Leonov]

Much appreciated!

I am now looking for an appropriate case. I would prefer one with a front door which hides the power button and drive bays, as I have two young children who like to press buttons. I prefer monolithic aesthetics, but I'm not tied to them.

Still not sure what I should get for a GFX card, either. Should I get the Asus GTX 760? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121775

The GTX 760 is a pretty good card for the money right now, it should be able to play most games at High some on Ultra.

Rassa, are you sure you have it in the correct slot on your motherboard?, check the manual sometimes it has to be in a specific slot.

If not, just go ahead and RMA it.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Leonov

[Camacha]

My research indicated that the stock cooler wasn't very good, and quite noisy. I am not planning to overclock.

I would spend the few bucks to keep the option open, if only because the resale value is better with K-processors. I have seen a couple of people regretting not getting an overclockable processer very quickly after buying and building their computer.

[briansun1]

it will also extend the amount of time of use you get out of it

[ZedNova]

Would the AMD A8-5600k be overclockable?

[Leonov]

Would the AMD A8-5600k be overclockable?

Yes, that APU has an unlocked Multiplier, AMD labels their Overclockable stuff as "Black Edition" and their FX line of Chips all have unlocked multipliers.

On the subject of APUs, you would behoove yourself to grab an A10-6800K if you wanted to build say a "Console Killer".

[Ambulatory Cortex]

I would spend the few bucks to keep the option open, if only because the resale value is better with K-processors. I have seen a couple of people regretting not getting an overclockable processer very quickly after buying and building their computer.

You don't think I'll want any of the features they stripped out of the K version?

[Leonov]

You don't think I'll want any of the features they stripped out of the K version?

Your only plus side to getting the K version is that you have an unlocked multiplier, there are no stripped out features.

Correct me if i am wrong but even the Non-K Processors have the ability to be overclocked, not as much as the K version but enough to be useful.

you are grabbing the 4670 correct?, if so that is a pretty darn good processor by itself. Your gains from overclocking are small, what really makes a system feel fast is grabbing something like an SSD and having low latency RAM.

The stock cooler on the haswell stuff is perfectly fine as long as you don't try to overclock it on the stock cooler. The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus is a decent cooler and a nice upgrade form the stock cooler.

[Camacha]

it will also extend the amount of time of use you get out of it

That depends, so it is prudent to be a bit careful with such claims.

You don't think I'll want any of the features they stripped out of the K version?

Since you did not mention any task that would need them, I assumed you would not. They are quite specific features, so in general people that can use them would know that they want them.

[Camacha]

Your only plus side to getting the K version is that you have an unlocked multiplier, there are no stripped out features.

Except the vPro, VT-d and TSX-NI features of course.

Correct me if i am wrong but even the Non-K Processors have the ability to be overclocked, not as much as the K version but enough to be useful.

Well, it is a very limited amount, so it depends on your definition of useful. I do not think it would make a noticable difference.

you are grabbing the 4670 correct?, if so that is a pretty darn good processor by itself. Your gains from overclocking are small

Again, it is a matter of context, but the gains are quite substantial in my book. Depending on the specific chip gains of 20 to over 30% are possible. Not as much as with the Sandy's, but still a nice chunk of 'free' calculative power.

what really makes a system feel fast is grabbing something like an SSD and having low latency RAM.

I would indeed advise any buyer - and especially any buyer of high end hardware - to make a small investment in a SSD. The prices have dropped enough to be interesting. They are still high, but it is certainly worth the money. The technology has matured a bit, and the performance is really what computers have been lacking the past decade. Every component has gone through an amazing revolution of speed, except the harddrive, which remained stuck in the previous century. Until the advent of the SSD, that is.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Camacha

[Leonov]

Except the vPro, VT-d and TSX-NI features of course.

Let me clarify, When i said, "Your only plus side to getting the K version is that you have an unlocked multiplier, there are no stripped out features." i should have probably put, "Your only plus side to getting the K version is that you have an unlocked multiplier, there are no stripped out features on the non-K processors." I understand that the K units do not come with a lot of specialty features. Even so most of those features do not apply to the average consumer who is trying to simply buy a computer to play video games and what have you.

If we are being honest here, Current Gen CPUs such as Haswell and even Ivy/Sandy-Bridge are so powerful that the gain in performance between them isn't that amazing. Whats really changing is power consumption which is necessary for the After-PC Market, lets face it a day will come where a tablet will do everything a laptop can do. An example of this is the Microsoft Surface 2. The time is coming where Tablets will satisfy consumers need for a computer. Maybe is Intel can get their Broadwell Chips to stop melting the 14nm process will be worthwhile. There is a reason why many people are buying Haswell for new machines, one of them is that Intel's pricing scheme barely makes sense, Instead of old processors becoming cheaper they stay the same price. But this are all side issues.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Leonov