Which computer can run KSP best?

[gustomundo]

Hello! I currently play KSP on a macbook air (No comment wars, please), and even when I first got the game, it lagged SO much! Re-entry you could only view if you looked into the sky with 4 times phys. time warp on. Looked anywhere else, the game would crash. In fact, if you did anything on a planet with ANY atmosphere or oceans, it would lag horribly, and I could only play looking at the sky. I'd also get warnings that I was running out of space on my computer. It holds exactly 60 GB, and KSP always occupies almost all of the space! It's very annoying, so I decided that I'm going to get a new computer. Which one would you reccommed? I want a rather small one, and portable too. Also, I was wondering, if it isn't apple, if I can transfer my data that's already on my copmuter to the new one. Thanks!

[Dizzle]

Uh... KSP should not be occupying almost 60GB. Not even close.

[gustomundo]

Well whatever the cause, it lags a ton. I need a better computer. I just want to know which type is best.

Edited January 24, 2014 by vexx32
Please refrain from profanity.

[DMagic]

The newest macbook airs are actually very powerful. They can handle KSP pretty well (I assume you're using an older one), so if you want to stick with Apple, or just like that size, you can see about a newer Air.

[Dizzle]

KSP runs in 32-bit (or rather, the engine does), so you can do it relatively inexpensively. I'd make sure to have at least:

4GB RAM

Processor:Core i3 (don't know much about processors, this is from Steam's specs)

1GB VRAM

[Seshins]

i have an I7 3.6ghz, 8GB RAM (even though it only uses 4) and a 1GB GPU. runs pretty much flawlessly, with 1000+ part ships i have to turn scatter off and set graphics to medium. My rig would be considered average now.

[nine_iron]

The current PC gamer rig with 4 titans in it sounds interesting...

[minerman30]

The current PC gamer rig with 4 titans in it sounds interesting...

Yeah, I'd like to see those ArmA 3 videos they plan on making.

If you're willing to pay for a mac, I would suggest either buying an Alienate laptop or building your own desktop.

I'm guessing the MacBook holds 60gb in storage (which is crap) and that ISP uses almost all of your RAM.

Edited January 24, 2014 by minerman30

[SyberSmoke]

Yeah, I'd like to see those ArmA 3 videos they plan on making.

If you're willing to pay for a mac, I would suggest either buying an Alienate laptop or building your own desktop.

I'm guessing the MacBook holds 60gb in storage (which is crap) and that ISP uses almost all of your RAM.

The Mac Book Airs use a SSD, they are meant to be something of a subcompact laptop.

[Bean]

This discussion could go on forever, if you want a laptop, you're after a Intel Core i5 generally, and having a dedicated graphics card would be nice.

What we need to give you a better answer is your budget, whether you have a desktop/laptop requirement and whether you need to stick with apple for whatever reason.

Or, you could just buy any of the Alienware computers. The bottom end Alienware will by more than fine for KSP and most games.

Edited January 24, 2014 by Bean

[SyberSmoke]

This discussion could go on forever, if you want a laptop, you're after a Intel Core i5 generally, and having a dedicated graphics card would be nice.

What we need to give you a better answer is your budget, whether you have a desktop/laptop requirement and whether you need to stick with apple for whatever reason.

Or, you could just buy any of the Alienware computers. The bottom end Alienware will by more than fine for KSP and most games.

Alienware has gone downhill since Dell bought them. There are better gaming laptop manufacturers then them now and for less than the Alienware brand premium you will pay. Kind of a shame, but oh well that is the way it goes.

As for the Air, the current ones have an i5 Dual core that can go up to 2.6ghz. So they are not bad machines, they were just not meant to game on.

[qromodynmc]

I really dont believe any computer can play ksp at best but,If you want performance,go For better cpu with high clockspeed,because Ksp isnt really using multiple cores efficiently,One core with high clock speed would be better choice,And for the gpu,I dunno,Gtx 660 or similar gpu should be fine. Im currently using asus laptop with i7 3610qm,650m,8gb ram. It runs ksp fine but when I started to build huge things,It starts to lag.

[toric5]

i have a old mac book pro (just the non retna one, not that old...) and i can run ksp and most other games quite well with the graphics on high.

[User Unrelated]

I've also got a 3.5 year old macbook pro, 2.66GHz intel core duo (not even an i-series), 4Gb of ram, under-volted, and it runs KSP fine with textures on medium.

Have you turned down the water max subdivisions?

If you look up "KSP water lag", or just go here

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/20983-Kellven-Fixes-your-FPS-Round-2-Kerbin-Lag-Fix

do that, and it will speed up performance around bodies with an ocean on them.

I run my max subdivision settings even LOWER (2), and although the oceans look like turds, it doesn't really matter to me, it runs way faster.

Also make sure that you close out of all other programs before you play, but I feel like that might be obvious.

My computer used to lag like heck on Kerbin, too.

[Ringkeeper]

if its only about KSP: stick with MAX! 4 GB RAM in your pc. I play KSP on 2 PCs, one with 12 GB of RAM , one with only 4GB . On both pretty much the same mods. On the 4GB pc i never had a crash. Never. On the 12 GB one i have often one if the RAM usage goes over 3.5GB ... but on the 4GB one it plain cant go that high

[Tank Buddy]

Playing KSP on a laptop if far from Ideal. I just sucked it up and build myself a sick PC, and the game is much more enjoyable now. (It was amazing before) KSP is CPU intensive, so you need to get something that is fast. Also, running a CPU doing physics calculations tend to use a lot of power, so don't expect battery life.

The fact is you won't be able to run KSP on a laptop very well. Your best bet is getting a cheap laptop for whatever reason you want one, and build/buy a PC that is capable of running KSP. You only really need a good CPU, so you can build one under $1000 if you choose parts carefully.

[justidutch]

I'm using a recent model MacBook Air myself. I've got the game video settings turned down a little bit and the game runs okay. I dream of a more capable machine as well. Good to have dreams. Serious lag when I get around 800 parts, then it becomes no fun. However, that just presents another engineering challenge for Werner and his gang to overcome…

Processor 1.7 GHz Intel Core i7

Memory 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Graphics Intel HD Graphics 5000 1024 MB

Never was intended to be a gaming machine, and I don't call it as such. Just happen to have the game on it cuz I can't leave home without it.