KSP1 Computer Building/Buying Megathread

[Leonov]

Semantics Aside, Back to computers. The FX series of AMD Processors are very nice.

[Foamy]

I wasn't saying it is hard. I'm saying it is a bit more fiddly, may cause some problems air cooling does not have, is typically more expensive and most importantly, costs more time to maintain properly.

Actually WCing doesn't take any time to maintain other than changing the water once every year or so, air cooling is much harder to clean dust wise, WCing doesn't even need to be dusted so long as the radiator is clear.

[Leonov]

Im thinking of investing in an SSD. What would you SSD users Recommend? I was thinking something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-171-567&IsVirtualParent=1

[Camacha]

Im thinking of investing in an SSD. What would you SSD users Recommend? I was thinking something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-171-567&IsVirtualParent=1

That is a SSD with a Sandforce controller. I would shy away from those (including all the Vertex 1, 2, 3 and 4's and other OCZ series), since they have had major problems in the past and actually still have. The only Sandforces that might be reliable are the Intel ones, but just to be sure I would even avoid those. A lot of dead disks, corrupted data and other problems. Every time a fix is promised, but every time there still are problems. The specifications are lies too, since they are based on benchmarks with just zeros. Due to the data compression that Sandforce SSD's apply those kind of benchmarks make the disks look very good, but in reality it's bogus since no one writes only zeros and the disk is much slower with real data - often slower than the competition. A lot of people are fine with their Sandforce SSD, but a lot of them are having major problems. Do you want to participate in a crap shoot? Avoid, avoid, avoid.

There are plenty really good and affordable alternatives. If you want performance and proven reliability, you can check out the Samsung 830 or 840, most Intels or the Crucual M4. The Plextors are said to be excellent too. The fastest and best SSD at the moment is probably the Samsung 840 Pro.

Actually WCing doesn't take any time to maintain other than changing the water once every year or so, air cooling is much harder to clean dust wise, WCing doesn't even need to be dusted so long as the radiator is clear.

Changing the water, having to dust the radiator, but most importantly: draining, refilling and testing your loop every time you want to tinker with your PC, swap a GPU, CPU or anything. Like I said, it is not hard, but it is all a bit more fiddly. I tend to swap cards around somewhat regularly, so not only is that much more of a chore, you'd have to buy new blocks for most cards too.

Dusting air cooling is not really hard, especially if you have air filters. Just use a can of compressed air to get between the fins, clean up and you're done. No biggie

Edited April 27, 2013 by Camacha

[Foamy]

That is a SSD with a Sandforce controller. I would shy away from those (including all the Vertex 1, 2, 3 and 4's and other OCZ series), since they have had major problems in the past and actually still have. The only Sandforces that might be reliable are the Intel ones, but just to be sure I would even avoid those. A lot of dead disks, corrupted data and other problems. Every time a fix is promised, but every time there still are problems. The specifications are lies too, since they are based on benchmarks with just zeros. Due to the data compression that Sandforce SSD's apply those kind of benchmarks make the disks look very good, but in reality it's bogus since no one writes only zeros and the disk is much slower with real data - often slower than the competition. A lot of people are fine with their Sandforce SSD, but a lot of them are having major problems. Do you want to participate in a crap shoot? Avoid, avoid, avoid.

There are plenty really good and affordable alternatives. If you want performance and proven reliability, you can check out the Samsung 830 or 840, most Intels or the Crucual M4. The Plextors are said to be excellent too. The fastest and best SSD at the moment is probably the Samsung 840 Pro.

Changing the water, having to dust the radiator, but most importantly: draining, refilling and testing your loop every time you want to tinker with your PC, swap a GPU, CPU or anything. Like I said, it is not hard, but it is all a bit more fiddly. I tend to swap cards around somewhat regularly, so not only is that much more of a chore, you'd have to buy new blocks for most cards too.

Dusting air cooling is not really hard, especially if you have air filters. Just use a can of compressed air to get between the fins, clean up and you're done. No biggie

+1 on the SSD recommendations, Crucial have a new line out recently that look really good. Personally I'm using a Samsung 830, only because the 840 didn't exist when I built mine.

The time cost for changing gear is a big fear for me, CPU is pretty easy but GPU would be the big time cost. My biggest WC dream would be easy snap on/off auto closing valves for plugging into waterblocks. I don't tend to swap cards/CPUs very often though so it's not a massive issue to me.

[CARROTSAREAWSOME]

So, im getting my first PC soon and i woud like to know what kind computers you guys have. My computer is going to have AMD Phenom II X4 3.4 Ghz prosessor, Gigabyte Radeon HD 7770 Ghz edition and 8 Gigs of g.skill Dual kit ripjaws x. Any ideas how many part ships its going to handle? Sorry for my English, im 12 year old boy from Finland (the country of thousands lakes).

[Camacha]

My biggest WC dream would be easy snap on/off auto closing valves for plugging into waterblocks.

Have you ever looked into modding something together with hydraulic valves/plugs? Those do just that; you can easily decouple lines with at most a spilled drop. I don't know whether it has ever been done, but I think it should be achievable, although I don't know whether the comparatively low water pressure in a WC system spoils things.

[Leonov]

So, im getting my first PC soon and i woud like to know what kind computers you guys have. My computer is going to have AMD Phenom II X4 3.4 Ghz prosessor, Gigabyte Radeon HD 7770 Ghz edition and 8 Gigs of g.skill Dual kit ripjaws x. Any ideas how many part ships its going to handle? Sorry for my English, im 12 year old boy from Finland (the country of thousands lakes).

I dont know how bad shipping will be, It should be reasonably good. I would put a little more into the GPU. The 7770 is pretty good but for a little more you can get a GTX 660.

In reference to SSDs, this would be a better alternative than? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147192 Its in the same price range as the scandisk.

Edited April 28, 2013 by Leonov

[Galacticruler]

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Galacticruler/sd/1tMp

Any opinions on this build?

I am attempting to aim low budget wise, the monitor is necissary as my current one is breaking.

[Leonov]

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Galacticruler/sd/1tMp

Any opinions on this build?

I am attempting to aim low budget wise, the monitor is necissary as my current one is breaking.

Page is not found. try the BB code markup for it from pcpartpicker.

[Foamy]

In reference to SSDs, this would be a better alternative than? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147192 Its in the same price range as the scandisk.

Yep, that's exactly the one you want.

[Leonov]

Im assuming that if i use a HDD now i could clone my OS and things onto the SSD down the road. Cloning should work as there wouldnt be a hardware change from drive to drive.

[Galacticruler]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($94.84 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2P Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($55.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.98 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.77 @ Amazon)

Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)

Case: Cooler Master Elite 370 ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.39 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($44.98 @ Outlet PC)

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($93.31 @ Amazon)

Monitor: Acer G185HVb 60Hz 18.5" Monitor ($89.99 @ Amazon)

Total: $645.22

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-28 10:15 EDT-0400)

There.

Edited April 28, 2013 by Galacticruler
Wrong list

[Leonov]

Looks like a good list. What do you plan to do with it?

[Galacticruler]

low budget gaming build.

[Foamy]

Im assuming that if i use a HDD now i could clone my OS and things onto the SSD down the road. Cloning should work as there wouldnt be a hardware change from drive to drive.

Yeah, shouldn't be a problem. I'd only do it if you are happy with your current OS state though, if you're getting crashes or other weirdness it may be best to start fresh.

[Leonov]

It should work for that. If you can spend a little more on the GPU maybe get an EVGA GTX650, Its a big step from the 7770 and is ~$45USD more. http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp42653kr

[Camacha]

In reference to SSDs, this would be a better alternative than? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147192 Its in the same price range as the scandisk.

That is an excellent SSD, arguably the best at the moment.

Im assuming that if i use a HDD now i could clone my OS and things onto the SSD down the road. Cloning should work as there wouldnt be a hardware change from drive to drive.

Cloning is possible, but personally I recommend a clean install. I consider knowing I won't transplant any old problems worth the effort, but if you disagree cloning is a viable option.

Cloning or not, do not forget to turn on AHCI in the BIOS *before* installing Windows. This is important for your performance. Also, make sure your SSD is connected to preferably a native SATA600 controller, which is usually the lowest numbered SATA port on your motherbord. Do not, and this is critical for performance, use any SATA600 port controlled by a seperate chip, often something from Marvell. This info can typically be found in the manual, although you are probably fine if you use the SATA port with the lowest number.

[Leonov]

Im using a ASUS Republic of Gamers Crosshair V Formula-Z Motherboard, all of its ports are the SATA 6.0

Edited April 28, 2013 by Leonov

[Camacha]

Im using a ASUS Republic of Gamers Crosshair V Formula-Z Motherboard, all of its ports are the SATA 6.0

Ah, AMD. Those are native, that will do just fine.

I will probably go with a Kingston 3k, its a little cheaper and just as good, if not better.

This SSD -> http://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-internal-hard-drive-sh103s3120g

Actually it is not just as good. It has a Sandforce controller, see my story above. Like I said:

That is a SSD with a Sandforce controller. I would shy away from those (including all the Vertex 1, 2, 3 and 4's and other OCZ series), since they have had major problems in the past and actually still have. The only Sandforces that might be reliable are the Intel ones, but just to be sure I would even avoid those. A lot of dead disks, corrupted data and other problems. Every time a fix is promised, but every time there still are problems. The specifications are lies too, since they are based on benchmarks with just zeros. Due to the data compression that Sandforce SSD's apply those kind of benchmarks make the disks look very good, but in reality it's bogus since no one writes only zeros and the disk is much slower with real data - often slower than the competition. A lot of people are fine with their Sandforce SSD, but a lot of them are having major problems. Do you want to participate in a crap shoot? Avoid, avoid, avoid.

If the 840 Pro is a bit too expensive for you, you could also go with the SSD's I mentioned before. They are often a bit cheaper and much better/more reliable than the Kingston one you picked now.

There are plenty really good and affordable alternatives. If you want performance and proven reliability, you can check out the Samsung 830 or 840, most Intels or the Crucual M4. The Plextors are said to be excellent too. The fastest and best SSD at the moment is probably the Samsung 840 Pro.

Really, save yourself some headaches.

[Leonov]

I should probably look into the kingston's some more.

After reading a little more about the Sandforce controller, I would rather spend ~$20 more for a good quality product than have to deal with a possible headache. Thanks for the advice.

[karolus10]

SDD is more meant to be quick access memory (operating system and such) than to be storage device, I bought some time ago 64 GiB SSD for OS + 2TiB HDD for "other stuff" and I think that it's more than enough for most uses (hell, even 250 GB HDD is enough for most people still).

Also beneficial is move most often used files to RAM memory (look at tmpfs if u use Linux) - 8-16 GiB of ram is quite common these days, so conservation of RAM space isn't an issue and you get additional performance improvement and slow down wearing-off of Your SSD drive.

Edited April 29, 2013 by karolus10

[Camacha]

I run a 128 GB SSD and that is sufficient for Windows and some big software suites. I also have some relatively small games on the SSD. If you are a gamer that likes bigger games, you might consider 256 GB, although that is a bit of a luxery. I would not want to do with less, though.

I know, most games only benefit while loading from a SSD, but some games actually gain quite a lot, particularly games that stream (Skyrim, Minecraft et cetera). Games like KSP show barely any change.

[Foamy]

I enjoy having a consistent performance across my entire OS no matter what I am doing, that is why I spent a lot on a 500GB SSD. I don't regret that at all, I've spent that much on other components in the past but none of those improved my experience as much as the SSD. Not having to constantly monitor space and shuffle things around between SSD and RAID is fantastic.

[Amram]

I second Camacha and Foamy.

I grabbed a 128gb SSD first, and found myself far too constrained for space. When just the OS and one game eat 50% of your drive, but its definitely doable.

Having the freedom to not worry about HD space because there is plenty to go around(i grabbed a crucial M4 512gb) gives me back the relaxed nature of storage management. I don't have to balance nearly every installation with an uninstall anymore.

512 is nice a roomy, but I could probably do with a 256 with little fuss. I think 256gb makes a nice border between too small, and larger than needed(though possibly wanted)

Edited April 30, 2013 by Amram