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Should I Upgrade my computer or buy a new one?

Post Date: 2019-08-26
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jsbzpt View Drop Down
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Posts: 10 		  Quote jsbzpt Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Should I Upgrade my computer or buy a new one?
    Posted: 26 Aug 2019 at 12:39pm
Budget:
[flexible but would like to keep it under $1000]

Expectations:
I have an old computer that DS built for me. It has been the best computer I have ever used but it is getting older. I would like to upgrade it if possible but I am not sure if I would be better off just buying a new one. I am a photographer and am having trouble with photo editing. I would like to upgrade to a larger solid-state hard drive and add an additional storage drive. I would also upgrade the processor and graphics card. Would I need to upgrade anything else? What graphics card and processor would you recommend?   

Usage:
[Photo and video editing]

Specifications: This is my current hardware

- OS Name     Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
- System Type     x64-based PC
- Processor     Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3820 CPU @ 3.60GHz, 3601 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
- BIOS Version/Date     American Megatrends Inc. 3305, 12/25/2012
- SMBIOS Version     2.7
- Hardware Abstraction Layer     Version = "6.1.7601.24408"
- Installed Physical Memory (RAM)     16.0 GB
- Graphics - NVIDIA GeForce GTX660 Ti (4095 mg total memory)




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jsbzpt View Drop Down
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Posts: 10 		  Quote jsbzpt Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Aug 2019 at 12:43pm
Here is a more complete specs list of my computer.

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Corsair 650D
Processor: Intel Core i7 3820 3.6GHz (Turbo Mode up to 3.8GHz) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X79 (Intel X79 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 800W Corsair GS (Dual SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (128GB Solid State (By: Samsung) (Model: 840 Pro Series) <b></b>
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card(s): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB (Includes PhysX)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex 240mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler (Extreme-Performance Edition)
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HockeyBuck View Drop Down
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Posts: 1608 		  Quote HockeyBuck Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Aug 2019 at 1:52pm
Hello jsbzpt!    To be honest, that budget is low, but you could do some nice improvements with $1K upgrading the rig.

I have a 2012 DS Hailstorm X79 rig still serving me very nicely in 2K gaming on 3X Dell 24” IPS monitors with a new RTX 2080 GPU that has 8 GB VRAM on board.     I suspect you could extend the life of your current X79 rig for more enjoyable photo work by making some simple improvements to GPU, double RAM to 32 GB, and add a additional roomy 2TB SATA III SSD Drive.   These improvements would likely make the rig a lot more fun and more effective to use for another couple years.   

You can find an RTX 2060 Super GPU for around $420-500.....or a better RTX 2070 Super GPU around $650-750.   

Replace old 16GB DDR3 with a 32GB DDR3 RAM kit for $140-$200

2TB 2.5” SATA III SSD runs $225-350

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Nomad1970 View Drop Down
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Posts: 716 		  Quote Nomad1970 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Aug 2019 at 4:33pm
An X79 has 8 mem slots so he should be able to add 4 more mem sticks instead of buying complete new mem.
My Precious 2
I7-9700 oc 4.7GHz
32GB DDR4 3000MHz Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro
SSD M.2 (512GB Samsung 970 PRO)
SSD M.2 1TB Samsung 970 EVO
240GB Samsung 860 Pro SSD
1TB W.D. HD
EVGA GTX 1080Ti
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HockeyBuck View Drop Down
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Posts: 1608 		  Quote HockeyBuck Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Aug 2019 at 5:16pm
Originally posted by Nomad1970

An X79 has 8 mem slots so he should be able to add 4 more mem sticks instead of buying complete new mem.


RAM is so inexpensive right now that it would probably be better to replace than mix 7 yr old RAM with new RAM.   
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jsbzpt View Drop Down
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Posts: 10 		  Quote jsbzpt Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Aug 2019 at 5:18pm
Maybe I was too optomistic about $1000. My main photo editing program is not working well with my processor according to the programs tech support so I definitely want to upgrade that. My question is can I do that without upgrading my motherboard and if I upgrade my GPU, RAM, and processor would it be worth the money. I don't want to spend a bunch of money and not have something that I will last for a while.

This is something of what I was thinking
- Intel Core i7-9700 Desktop Processor 8 Cores - $330
- GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER Twin Fan 8GB GDDR6 256-bit 14Gbps Gaming Graphics Card - $500
- 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory 1.5V - $170
- Samsung 860 EVO 500GB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD - $75
- WD Gold 4TB Enterprise Class Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM - $142

Total = $1217

A roughly equivalent new model from DS would be about $2700

Also, has anyone ever had Digital Storm do the upgrade? How does that work?
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HockeyBuck View Drop Down
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Posts: 1608 		  Quote HockeyBuck Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Aug 2019 at 5:50pm
I would not consider changing to a new CPU without a motherboard upgrade to a new mobo model...not a good investment otherwise in my opinion....and that will require new DDR4 RAM     

With your limited budget, updating those 3 components was the best option I could see for improved performance now while keeping the
X-79 mobo and 4-core cpu going until you can up that budget and get a new rig better for the work you do.   

It would be better and most economical for the long run of course to get a brand new DS rig with an 8-core CPU better for editing with those components on board, but my suggested changes are what I would do to boost performance within your stated budget.    The DDR3 RAM would not work in a new rig but it’s cheap now so a reasonable casualty when you get a new computer...but the new GPU and SSD could continue to serve in a new build.
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jsbzpt View Drop Down
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Posts: 10 		  Quote jsbzpt Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Aug 2019 at 8:50pm
Thanks for your suggestions. I think if I am going to fork out the $ I would prefer to pay more and upgrade the processor as well especially since it seems like this is part of my current problem. So if I add in a new motherboard that bumps up the cost by between $140-300 it looks like. That brings the total to between $1350-1550 which is still a lot cheaper than 2700. Is there a particular motherboard that you would recommend?    
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HockeyBuck View Drop Down
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Posts: 1608 		  Quote HockeyBuck Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 27 Aug 2019 at 12:22am


Hadn't noticed you were still on Win 7....going to need Win 10 to move forward either way.   

You should talk to DS about this if you are hoping they will build you a new system in your old case from parts you would need to purchase from DS...and at prices they can get.    If they will do it, see then what the cost would be according to DS.   

Compare that cost to something like a new DS Lynx rig using similar components.
    

I can recommend the ASUS ROG Z390 STRIX-H ATX motherboard.   New mobos have two M.2 NVME SSD drive slots to utilize...and those NVME SSD's are 5 times faster than SATA III SSD's.   That kind of fast drive would be best as your Drive1 choice.   
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Posts: 7331 		  Quote Cretae Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 27 Aug 2019 at 3:22am
How about a new Ryzen build that comes in around $1800?

One advantage is the new Ryzen 7 3800X is nearly neck and neck with the 9700K, but includes 8 threads you can very well use that the 9700K doesn't have.

See what you think of this:

Config # 2552149

Everything you need, warranteed for 1/3 years. If you really want the RTX 2070, it still comes in under $2000 with the $200 discount, and there's free shipping. The air cooling is very good from AMD. The Lynx case is standard with colorful fans, even.
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