Simple small power reactor setup with no wasted power reactor blocks. Not suitable for large ships.
Dimensions: 15:15:15 (minimum 5:5:5, with a total of +30 in any direction ex:35:5:5, 15:5:25)
Blocks: 172 power reactors (294 e/s per block)
I spent an embarrassing amount of time thinking about this.
50k?
I love small builds, but they're inefficient due to the rules of power reactors and capacitors (bigger is far more efficient). Small builds need to take advantage of every trick possible in order to maximize efficiency.
50k e/s takes advantage of the 50k power capacity provided by the ship core. Systems can be unreliable when the e/s is greater than the capacity, so I stopped at 50k e/s. You can go higher or lower, but that falls into the realm of personal preference.
1279.8, 50,000 , 1,500,000, and 2,000,000 e/s are the only significant efficiency points from a mathematical standpoint that I'm aware of.
Quad Grouping?
Subject to personal preference.
A single power reactor group needs dimensions of 35:35:34 in order to reach 50k e/s, which I consider to be too big for a ship that only generates 50k e/s.
Four groups of power reactors provides a decent amount of power in a smaller setup at the cost of power efficiency.
Helix?
The 5:5:5 in the center of the helix allows each power group to maximize their size of dimensions scaling without wasting power reactors. The size of the helix can then be scaled up by branching off from the eight corners of the 5:5:5.
It's possible to make smaller groupings, but it depends on the shape of the ship.
Dimensions: 15:15:15 (minimum 5:5:5, with a total of +30 in any direction ex:35:5:5, 15:5:25)
Blocks: 172 power reactors (294 e/s per block)
I spent an embarrassing amount of time thinking about this.
I love small builds, but they're inefficient due to the rules of power reactors and capacitors (bigger is far more efficient). Small builds need to take advantage of every trick possible in order to maximize efficiency.
50k e/s takes advantage of the 50k power capacity provided by the ship core. Systems can be unreliable when the e/s is greater than the capacity, so I stopped at 50k e/s. You can go higher or lower, but that falls into the realm of personal preference.
1279.8, 50,000 , 1,500,000, and 2,000,000 e/s are the only significant efficiency points from a mathematical standpoint that I'm aware of.
Quad Grouping?
Subject to personal preference.
A single power reactor group needs dimensions of 35:35:34 in order to reach 50k e/s, which I consider to be too big for a ship that only generates 50k e/s.
Four groups of power reactors provides a decent amount of power in a smaller setup at the cost of power efficiency.
Helix?
The 5:5:5 in the center of the helix allows each power group to maximize their size of dimensions scaling without wasting power reactors. The size of the helix can then be scaled up by branching off from the eight corners of the 5:5:5.
It's possible to make smaller groupings, but it depends on the shape of the ship.