KSP1 Computer Building/Buying Megathread

[Duke23]

Memtest didn't turn up anything after running for a while, I checked out the graphics card while I was at it (stress test etc - nothing), one last chkdsk and sfc to be on the paranoid side also reported that everything is okay, and the event log isn't showing anything cringe worthy. Only problem I've had since that ordeal was bumping up against KSP's memory limit even though I'm not running any big mods... Which gave me enough reason to finally install Linux Mint on this machine, but that's another story. Darn newfangled technology... Lol. Guess we'll see how long this lasts.

All else fails I did install Mint to a different disk and change the boot order, so if it goes south I have that going for me.

[DuoDex]

Hello everyone! I am considering upgrading from my retarded MacBook Pro 2012, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, 64MB Intel Graphics 4000, i5...(DEATH TO THE APPLE, I got this because it was $450 and a Windows computer with comparable specs was $600 at the time).

I've been doing a fair amount of looking around for a new laptop* with an actual graphics card, and came across this, which looks pretty d*mn good to me. Opinions?

Also, if anyone knows of any gaming-type laptops under about $1,050 I'd be happy to hear about them. The new computer is going to be a primarily gaming, secondarily gaming, and tertiary multi-use platform, as in my experience if you have a decent gaming setup brute force provided by the gaming hardware usually results in high performance. I need to have Bluetooth and wireless for work, and decent disk drives are always good. Win7/Win8 is not something I really care about, as I use Classic Shell.

*got to have a laptop. I do most of my gaming on a train to/from work.

[xtoro]

My Current build:

CPU: i7 4790K overclocked at 4.5Ghz

RAM: 16GB HyperX Fury ocverclocked @ 2400

Motherboard: MSI Z97-GD65 Gaming board

GPU: 2x Radeon HD 5830's crossfired and overclocked

PSU: Thermaltake 750W

HDD #1: 1TB Western Digital Black

HDD #2: Three Spinpoint S4's in RAID 0 config

Case: Coolermaster CM690II lined with sound-deadening Spire Soundpad matting on both side panels

Case Cooling: 5 fans for case controlled by Scythe fan controller

CPU Cooling: CPU is watercooled with Corsair H80i watercooler.

CLICK PICS FOR HIGH-RES!

Case:

Inside:

Temps and info (Too long for one screenshot, sorry):

CPU temps at idle are always under 30*C and during KSP gameplay sit around 35*C with GPU at around 45-48*. Stress testing the entire system gets my CPU up to around 64* and GPU at 70*. I've never seen my CPU get close to 70* and I've never had my GPU go over 70*.

Currently having fitment issues with my actual video cards which are Radeon HD 5890's. They take too much room near the front of the case so I have my 5830's installed for now until I can figure something out. They still run great so I'm not worried about it.

[cantab]

Looks pretty good. I've been sceptical about the mesh-fronted cases, but that looks better in your "real" pic than in the promotional pics.

On the graphics card, would taking the HDD bays out help?

And wot no SSD?

[xtoro]

Looks pretty good. I've been sceptical about the mesh-fronted cases, but that looks better in your "real" pic than in the promotional pics.

On the graphics card, would taking the HDD bays out help?

And wot no SSD?

Thanks. The case works really well with the front mesh, and there's dust filters behiind the mesh as well. The inside of my case does get dusty though because my side fan is an intake. I keep meaning to change it around to exhaust...

I thought of taking the bays out but that would mean cutting that support out as well, which holds up my dvd drive and fan controller, and then I'd have to figure out some other way to mount my drives. The dual 5830s do a pretty good job for what I need so I don't feel the need to start cutting up my case.

And nope, no SSD's! I wanted the larger storage space without it costing an arm and a leg. I use many huge programs that take up lots of space, so the SSD route wasn't really an option for me. The S4's in RAID 0 are almost as fast as my other system's single SSD so I'm happy with that.

And I do have future plans to expand and get more hard drives in there so that I can switch it to a RAID 5 system for fault tolerance. Then I'll never have to worry about losing anything from corrupt hard drives, and I can just hot-swap them. I'm currently using an external RAID 5 bay as a vault for things like pictures and documents that we never want to lose. It's set up to run on our home network so everyone can access it. Once I have my PC's RAID 5 set up, it will then become the data vault until I set up my proper HP Server rack in the basement

[Elthy]

You bought an i7 but you didnt have the money for an extra SSD? Thats realy strange...

[xtoro]

You bought an i7 but you didnt have the money for an extra SSD? Thats realy strange...

No it's not that, I had my raid array setup and then upgraded my motherboard and stuff after. I have SSD's in my other systems but I wanted to keep a raid array with lots of storage in this one. And replacing these drives with 500GB Ssd's isn't really worth it for me. I can afford it for sure, but would just be a waste IMO for what I use it for.

[Drunken Hobo]

Got my new PC today. First time I've played KSP on maximum graphics. Looks a lot less like Minecraft now! I'm taking a few liberties with it; installing a game from a disc, from Steam, from GOG and watching videos at the same time. It doesn't even flinch. A bit of a step up from my 8-year-old PC.

I also don't really get the fuss with Windows 8. It's a bit stupid, but there hasn't been anything overly annoying. The things I didn't like were really easy to change.

Now I just need a new monitor... a 10-year-old 1024 x 768 CRT monitor seems a bit insulting... as do my ~17 year-old speakers.

[Nuke]

ksp runs smoother on my new rig, but i think that is mostly because of the extra cpu power. the gpu is better than my gtx560 i was running, but not by much, and i can run at the next highest setting ok. one reason for getting the 750ti was because its relatively tiny. 3 fan monstrosities were a no go, and that meant either getting something older, something lower end, or throwing out my plans for a tiny pc. hopefully by next year they will have a power/heat efficient model (which seems to be the direction nvidia is going) of reasonable performance that can fit into the limited space of my case, and i can afford a new monitor to go with it since im not building a pc next year. 1080p is getting old.

[Duke23]

Well my situation looks better now. I still got a couple blue screens but... Simple fix, I guess I'm just lame sometimes. I cleaned and reseated the RAM and graphics card then proceeded to run prime95 on blend for a couple hours, burn in test with furmark, and memtest86+ for 10 passes (about 16 hours I think) and everything is fine. No more blue screens. Other than that I don't think I did anything major. And here I was thinking the worst. I just kept telling myself something must be failing because my rig is less than a year old so why would I have to reseat anything? I saw a few reviews for my RAM sticks that said they went bad pretty quick so I thought that was the issue but I think its all good now.

[dharak1]

So I've been looking at saving up for a new PC for a while now but I'll have to wait. In the meantime I can settle for just a graphics card update. I have a prebuilt Gateway DX4860 but I've made a few changes such as putting in 8 more gb of ram bringing the total up to 16 GB. Mine also appears to have a 2 TB hard drive unlike the models they sell now with just 1 TB. I'm looking to upgrade from my current graphics card, a Radeon HD 6750 to something a bit better. Preferably an Nvidia card as from what I've seen they run cooler and have less compatibility issues with games. From newegg it seems my graphics card uses PCI Express 2.1 x16 meaning the slot on the Mobo is the same so the graphics card would need to be PCI 2.1 x16. Any help or Suggestions are appreciated. I also have no solid price range but preferably under $200.

[jfx]

PCIe 3 cards run in PCIe 2 or even 1 slots, you're good. Just make sure your PSU has at least one, better two free 12v power connectors so you can power your new gpu with an adapter as it will most likely draw more than your old one. or better yet a 6pin gpu connector.

Look at something like an AMD R9 270. Nvidia will launch new cards soonish, their sub $200 is pretty meh at the moment (imo). With an nvidia you'd lack severall nice-to-haves like mantle, directX11.2 and Nvidias awesomeness in regards to driver profiles and DSR is not that important for a card in that price range.

[Tech Support]

I just bought a R9 270x and my board is a old G31 with PCIe 1, works just fine ( a huge 'thank you !' to Camacha for suggesting it )

[dharak1]

Would the AMD R9 270x be something I could pull out of my current PC in 4-5 months and put in my new build and still have it be decent and relatively up to date with other mid price range stuff? It would be nice if that was a possibility.

[swiftgates24]

If you want Nvidia, you could also get a GTX 760. They generally have higher fps in games and suffer less from drops. However, it will cost you pretty much around $200 which seems to be your max budget.

If you want even better performance, you can wait a little longer and save a little more and get the GTX 960 which is a brand new GPU architecture. It was supposed to come out this month, but it may have been postponed to Q1 2015.

If you want a GPU right now, however, it is between the R7 270x and the GTX 760.

[ajshell1]

Hello.

I thought I'd be fine with my nice build.

Unfortunately, when I was about to order the parts, I came to my senses and realized that I couldn't afford that.

So, I had to cut my specs to the bone.

Here is my list.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qTnbVn

How does it look?

My plan is to use a TV as a monitor and to use Linux until I can afford Windows 8.1. Then, I'll get an SSD and another graphics card because this motherboard works with CrossFire and SLI. Then I might get a better processor and a cooler.

Is it possible to hook a laptop up to a desktop so that the laptop's monitor works as the monitor for the desktop?

Also, can you recommend an Nvidia GPU for the same price point?

Edited October 27, 2014 by ajshell1

[swiftgates24]

Hello.

I thought I'd be fine with my nice build.

Unfortunately, when I was about to order the parts, I came to my senses and realized that I couldn't afford that.

So, I had to cut my specs to the bone.

Here is my list.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qTnbVn

How does it look?

My plan is to use a TV as a monitor and to use Linux until I can afford Windows 8.1. Then, I'll get an SSD and another graphics card because this motherboard works with CrossFire and SLI. Then I might get a better processor and a cooler.

Is it possible to hook a laptop up to a desktop so that the laptop's monitor works as the monitor for the desktop?

Also, can you recommend an Nvidia GPU for the same price point?

It's unfortunate you could not afford the original build. That build will do you fine for that price point. However, I reccomend getting a Mid-Tower case and an ATX board now to save money later

You can use laptop as a desktop monitor, but it requires disassembling the laptop, and you probably don't want to do that (If you do, I'll be happy to enlighten you ).

As said earlier, low end Nvidia GPUs generally don't have great price/performance ratios. The price of the R9 280 is matched by the 750 Ti, but the performance between that and the 760 is much greater. There are no Nvidia GPUs for the same price as the R9 280, only ones which cost the same and perform worse, or ones that cost more but perform better. The 280 is in the middle.

HOWEVER, I see a $30 rebate on that card, and its original price is $200 USD. This is about the same price as the GTX 760. Since the performance on the 760 is better, and it only cost a few bucks more at that point, you might as well go with the 760 if you won't take advantage of the rebate (ie. it will expire before you have to chance to use it). And, like I said above, for a few bucks more and a longer wait, you will get the 960 for the same price and even better performance

P.S. IMO, no Nvidia card lower than the 760 is worth it

[Elthy]

The R9 280 is about 10% faster than the GTX 760...

[swiftgates24]

The R9 280 is about 10% faster than the GTX 760...

It's situational, as with any component of a computer. Some games it's better, some it's not. I'm just doing an overall judgement of it, and from personal experience.

Edited October 28, 2014 by swiftgates24

[Elthy]

Some games it's better, some it's not

Exact. It sums up to about 7-10% more performance (@ Full-HD) over all, some sources:

http://www.computerbase.de/2014-09/amd-radeon-r9-285-test-benchmarks/5/ (look at the ratings for the 760vs r280)

http://ht4u.net/reviews/2014/nvidia_maxwell_next-gen_geforce_gtx_970_und_gtx_980_im_test/index48.php (look at the ratings for the 760vs r280)

Both are test from newer GPUs and in german but i think the charts are understandable for everyone...

[Camacha]

I just bought a R9 270x and my board is a old G31 with PCIe 1, works just fine ( a huge 'thank you !' to Camacha for suggesting it )

Cheers mate! Are you happy with the performance of the overall system, since the rest of the hardware is a little older?

That poor CPU has its work cut out

Edited October 31, 2014 by Camacha

[Tech Support]

Cheers mate! Are you happy with the performance of the overall system, since the rest of the hardware is a little older?

That poor CPU has its work cut out

lol, its running ok, but I am having some slowdown issues ( probably due to the 2GB DDR2 RAM and the Core2 duo processor ) but I can't complain; I am getting Mid-level performance on an ancient machine !

[Camacha]

lol, its running ok, but I am having some slowdown issues ( probably due to the 2GB DDR2 RAM and the Core2 duo processor ) but I can't complain; I am getting Mid-level performance on an ancient machine !

I would assume the RAM is to blame. As soon as your physical RAM runs out, the machine starts swapping to your hard drive. Because this substitutes pretty much the fastest form of memory with the slowest problems are expected. You can always investigate by opening Task Manager before you start your game. The RAM and CPU graph should both be pretty obvious in most games - just remember that KSP might yield strange results due to its single threaded nature.

Your 270x is most likely not running at full potential yet, but that leaves a little room for when you upgrade the other hardware a little later. Also remember to crank up the video resolution and quality, since that is the way to make most the the power your card has. As long as you do not exceed the cards potential, performance impact should be minimal.

[cantab]

Question tangentially related, is there a way to monitor GPU loading other than checking game framerates (which may be confounded if the game's CPU-limited)?

[Camacha]

Question tangentially related, is there a way to monitor GPU loading other than checking game framerates (which may be confounded if the game's CPU-limited)?

Download GPU-Z or Afterburner (also for non MSI cards), everything you need to know and more, nicely graphed out. In my book that is the only way of figuring out what components are bottlenecking your system, along with Task Manager. GPU-Z (along with CPU-Z) is the defacto standard in checking out your hardware, while Afterburner also allows you to overclock your card. Please note that you need to read up and follow instructions when you do that to avoid permanent damage to your card. It is not hard, but you do need some pointers on how to do it correctly.

Another decent tip is that, to load the GPU in games, you generally turn up the graphics way high. Big resolutions, lots of detail, that kind of stuff. To load the processor you do the reverse. Turn the graphics all the way down and you generally artificially limit the system by CPU. Mind you, this might not work when the system is a bit lopsided, with a weak CPU combined with a powerful card or a beast of a CPU linked to internal graphics. The only way of being sure is measuring, measuring and mearuring again. You can only spend money effectively if you know where to spend it in the first place. Measure thrice, spend it once.

Edited November 2, 2014 by Camacha