KSP1 Computer Building/Buying Megathread

[Hobbes Novakoff]

What do you guys think of this setup? Mostly for KSP (maybe with some visual packs after U5), Cities:Skylines, Rocket League. Trying to keep the price as low as possible.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/wGjmwP

Edited December 6, 2015 by Hobbes Novakoff
Whoops, wrong link.

[Alphasus]

I actually had a build at the same target price for $800, but it might be a bit more with all of the expansion cards, etc.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7Tm4cf

It will probably be a tad more with all of your extras that I didn't need. But, you can always downgrade the GPU to the 2gb version. I recommend the extra VRAM for visual packs though. 

[Candlelight]

Question:

I'm looking to get a brand new PC by the end of this year, or hopefully, by mid-late June 2016.

Can anyone tell me what would be the optimal budget KSP PC build? I'm not  much of a gamer.The most stress i will be putting on the PC is probably KSP, but i want it to be ready for more intensive games like BF4 or GTA V, or even some editing programs (Photoshop, Sony Vegas) etc...I work on a 720p monitor (1366x768 w/ 60Hz refresh rate specifically, you can laugh now), and i'm looking to play all those games at 720p @ 60fps.So yeah, all answers welcome.Thanks!  

Edited December 6, 2015 by Candlelight
minor edit

[Alphasus]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qWd37P

Here, high end CPU and low end graphics card. In 720p, this is just fine with a 750ti. The PSU is from a reputable brand, and the motherboard is highly expandable.

[Candlelight]

1 hour ago, Alphasus said:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qWd37P

Here, high end CPU and low end graphics card. In 720p, this is just fine with a 750ti. The PSU is from a reputable brand, and the motherboard is highly expandable.

Wow, that is a really nice system.

Would something like AMD Dual Graphics do good in KSP? Sorry i didn't mention it, but my budget is $550.

[Alphasus]

Quote

Wow, that is a really nice system.

Would something like AMD Dual Graphics do good in KSP? Sorry i didn't mention it, but my budget is $550.

Not for KSP, no. KSP really requires high end CPUs with a reasonable GPU. I can always just drop the RAM to 8 GB and you would be good.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qjTXD3

Lower HDD space, and 1/2 the ram, but it is up to date with future technologies and everything else required. Better expandability with a larger PSU, and you can replace the GPU with something nicer in future. Both computers will work just as well in games, but the first one is slightly nicer to use in everything else.

Edited December 6, 2015 by Alphasus

[Hobbes Novakoff]

5 hours ago, Alphasus said:

I actually had a build at the same target price for $800, but it might be a bit more with all of the expansion cards, etc.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7Tm4cf

It will probably be a tad more with all of your extras that I didn't need. But, you can always downgrade the GPU to the 2gb version. I recommend the extra VRAM for visual packs though. 

Thanks, but I'm not sure that's right for me. If I wasn't being clear, the $800 price includes monitor, keyboard and mouse, mousepad, headset, etc. It's really more like a $600 build (including OS.) I'm not going to be using this PC for bulk storage (I actually have a 1TB USB 3.0 drive for that) so I'm not going to need the HDD until down the line. (Also, wi-fi connectivity is a must as I'm going to have this sitting in the TV room, on another floor and across the house from my router. I have gigabit fiber so I want 802.11ac wifi to take advantage of the internet.)

[Alphasus]

 

6 hours ago, Hobbes Novakoff said:

Thanks, but I'm not sure that's right for me. If I wasn't being clear, the $800 price includes monitor, keyboard and mouse, mousepad, headset, etc. It's really more like a $600 build (including OS.) I'm not going to be using this PC for bulk storage (I actually have a 1TB USB 3.0 drive for that) so I'm not going to need the HDD until down the line. (Also, wi-fi connectivity is a must as I'm going to have this sitting in the TV room, on another floor and across the house from my router. I have gigabit fiber so I want 802.11ac wifi to take advantage of the internet.)

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/p2qKvK

An overclocking motherboard should help that Pentium up to about 4.5 GHz. You had a locked motherboard, so no overclocking, which makes that Pentium useful. Different SSD because the 850 Evos usually had better reviews. About 170$ to allocate the rest of the build to, as well. Otherwise, same GPU, similar RAM, same cooler.

Edited December 7, 2015 by Alphasus

[Hobbes Novakoff]

42 minutes ago, Alphasus said:

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/p2qKvK

An overclocking motherboard should help that Pentium up to about 4.5 GHz. You had a locked motherboard, so no overclocking, which makes that Pentium useful. Different SSD because the 850 Evos usually had better reviews. About 170$ to allocate the rest of the build to, as well. Otherwise, same GPU, similar RAM, same cooler.

Does the case make a difference?

EDIT: Oh, never mind, I'm a stupid. That's an ATX motherboard.

EDIT 2: Holy cow, you are good. It rang up at exactly $799.95 after rebate.

Edited December 7, 2015 by Hobbes Novakoff

[scribbleheli]

With all these new PC builds and KSP builds. We should reinvigorate the CPU benchmark thread.

[robopilot99]

Hello, I'm back. I've been thinking about purchasing a laptop for some general desktop tasks and some medium gaming (I would like to be able to run KSP at medium settings), and I was wondering if anyone here and any specific recommendations. I want to install Linux on the device so I want to have nVidia graphics (I've had a terrible experience with AMD's drivers). I'm want a medium size laptop but am willing to compromise on the size. By budget is $600 - $800 dollars. If anyone knows anything that will work within that price range let me know.

[1Revenger1]

On 12/6/2015, 4:09:17, Alphasus said:

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/p2qKvK

An overclocking motherboard should help that Pentium up to about 4.5 GHz. You had a locked motherboard, so no overclocking, which makes that Pentium useful. Different SSD because the 850 Evos usually had better reviews. About 170$ to allocate the rest of the build to, as well. Otherwise, same GPU, similar RAM, same cooler.

 I would just like to say that for the uses of this, a CX series PSU is fine. But if you can, I'd probably try to get a better power supply in there such as an EVGA or XFX, especially for systems which require a lot of power.

But like I said, the CX430 should be pretty good for the build. I understand that for a budget build, squeezing every dollar out is important :P. I also think that the 430 is one of the more reliable units anyway.

[Ω]

So I've decided to scrap Windows, and instead go for Ubuntu, which means I have to get NVIDIA because of superior drivers apparently.  I was looking at the 960 and the 950.  Will the 950 be okay 1080p @ 60fps with high quality visual packs?  KSP doesn't really need a lot of GPU power (or so I'm told).  

[robopilot99]

I play with GTX 760 and get excellent performance with a few graphics mods installed. When I asked a while ago someone also mentioned the GTX750ti if you're looking to save a few bucks.

[Ω]

55 minutes ago, robopilot99 said:

I play with GTX 760 and get excellent performance with a few graphics mods installed. When I asked a while ago someone also mentioned the GTX750ti if you're looking to save a few bucks.

Do you mind installing some graphical packs?   The thing is, I don't want to buy an underpowered card, but I don't want an overpowered card.  Alphasus sugested that I get a R9 380, but AMD doesn't have good Linux drivers.  I *think* the 960 may be slightly overpowered, but i really have no benchmarks or anything to go on for KSP.

[robopilot99]

15 minutes ago, Ω said:

Do you mind installing some graphical packs?   The thing is, I don't want to buy an underpowered card, but I don't want an overpowered card.  Alphasus sugested that I get a R9 380, but AMD doesn't have good Linux drivers.  I *think* the 960 may be slightly overpowered, but i really have no benchmarks or anything to go on for KSP.

Alphasus is definitely right about needing to get a nVida card. I myself have had a terrible experience with AMD's drivers. As for performance, my GTX760 plays everything I throw at it very nicely and is more then sufficient for KSP, hence by suggestion of the 750ti.

[cantab]

I think the 950 would do well. I have a 750 Ti myself. But I eschew visual packs because I feel they'll always put some CPU load on, and KSP is a game that already has issues with CPU load.

[Lord Aurelius]

High resolution visual packs shouldn't put much (if any) extra load on the CPU. They will use more RAM and slow down load times, but after that initial processing there shouldn't be any additional overhead. What may add some extra load are additional fancy effects that require CPU time to process, but simply using a higher resolution texture shouldn't put any additional burden on the CPU (the GPU and memory bandwidth are another matter however).

That said, I agree that the 950 should be perfectly fine for running even a heavily modded KSP with visual packs. The game isn't particularly demanding graphics wise so the goal is to take all the graphics load off the CPU (and the integrated graphics it shares its thermal envelope with) so it can focus on all those physics calculations.

[Alphasus]

 

23 hours ago, Ω said:

So I've decided to scrap Windows, and instead go for Ubuntu, which means I have to get NVIDIA because of superior drivers apparently.  I was looking at the 960 and the 950.  Will the 950 be okay 1080p @ 60fps with high quality visual packs?  KSP doesn't really need a lot of GPU power (or so I'm told).  

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vYLJJx

An i7 Devils canyon CPU, and a 750ti GPU. Also, a large SSD to speed up what you do. Feel free to swap it for a 250 gb SSD and 2 tb hard drive combo. 16 GB of fast ram, and better single thread performance than the i5 6600k by quite a bit. A high end CPU cooler to keep the CPU, which runs quite warm, consistently cool. Also, a reliable PSU with a low power GPU.

Edited December 9, 2015 by Alphasus

[cantab]

So I've started having a problem with my new(ish) build: I'm getting an intermittent obnoxious hum. It's not super loud but it's a noticeable pitch, not like the normal fan hiss. It doesn't seem to clearly link to either CPU or GPU load.

I suspected the power supply, since it''s in a semi-passive that turns the fan off outright when it doesn't think it needed. But I haven't been able to consistently link the hum to when that fan is running, though I haven't investigated enough to be sure yet I don't think.

Any other suggestions for things I could look at?

[Camacha]

Any coil can cause this and is not necessarily related to a certain load. Sometimes a bit or combination of hardware just does this. There are mitigating strategies (like hot glueing everything down), but it is often hard to fix.

My current system also has an intermittent high pitch whine. I swapped out almost every part, but the problem remains occasionally present. I pretty much accepted it will stay that way until I buy a new system.

Edited December 9, 2015 by Camacha

[riocrokite]

I don't know whether you guys suggested it before - buying used or not-used unpacked hardware with the receipt;

I've saved quite a lot of money buying unpacked-not used or slightly used hardware a year ago:

- xeon 1240v3 for 176 usd (slightly used still under guarantee)
- GB z87-ud3h for 75 usd (unpacked- not used still under guarantee)
- msi 7950 for 90 usd (used, still under guarantee)
 

this purchases saved me about 250 usd compared to new equivalents (4770, new mobo, r9 380)

[Elthy]

Buying used hardware is risky, you never know what the user did before to the hardware. Its often hard to get you money back if the recieved stuff is simply broken, also its possible it was used at way to high temperatures or overclocked very far, which both would affect the remaining lifetime.

[Red Iron Crown]

I've had generally good experiences with open box and refurbished hardware, but I would only buy from a reputable retailer and check their return policy on such items carefully.

[briansun1]

11 hours ago, cantab said:

So I've started having a problem with my new(ish) build: I'm getting an intermittent obnoxious hum. It's not super loud but it's a noticeable pitch, not like the normal fan hiss. It doesn't seem to clearly link to either CPU or GPU load.

I suspected the power supply, since it''s in a semi-passive that turns the fan off outright when it doesn't think it needed. But I haven't been able to consistently link the hum to when that fan is running, though I haven't investigated enough to be sure yet I don't think.

Any other suggestions for things I could look at?

I have a similar issue as well. I know however that it's coming from one of my HDDs though (seagate constellation), so maybe check them?

Edited December 9, 2015 by briansun1