Repurposing my rig for gaming/photo editing

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Hannabal

Hannabal

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Feb 12, 2014
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Hey guys!
Im pretty new to toms hardware but have read countless articles and threads so I was hoping to pick your brains for some ideas on upgrading my PC on the cheap.

I have been collecting parts over the last couple months that I find deals on and my build is as follows.

I7 860
Evo 212 cooler
4x2gb DDR 1333
Intel DP55WB P55 Mobo
Asus Gtx 660
WD 500GB 7200rpm
Antec Earthwatts 650 Watt 80 Plus Bronze psu

My question is as follows; Would it be a substantial performance gain to goto some higher frequency ram, or upgrade to a ssd for gaming/photo editing? Or is the old WD and 1333mhz ram I am reusing going to bottleneck my rig?

Also a side note, the i7 870 is going to be run @ 3.4-4ghz depending on how my old case/evo 212 do at cooling it down.

Thanks in advance to anyo e taking the time to help me out :)
 
Solution
dwatterworth
You won't see a dramatic increase in gaming performance by running higher speed ram. You would definitely see faster working if you have a larger scratch disk in your photo or video editing software set in the ram.

An SSD is a fantastic improvement for virtually any computer. In any configuration, you will see much improved loading, sizing and saving of photos or video along with the entire system being snappier. You can either go for a big SSD and host the entire system to it, using the HDD for backup/long term storage or just host your photo work on it while putting games on the SSD with the OS. Either way, you'll dramatically lower the number of random operations on the HDD, letting it focus more on accessing your image files...
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dwatterworth

dwatterworth

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Dec 5, 2012
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You won't see a dramatic increase in gaming performance by running higher speed ram. You would definitely see faster working if you have a larger scratch disk in your photo or video editing software set in the ram.

An SSD is a fantastic improvement for virtually any computer. In any configuration, you will see much improved loading, sizing and saving of photos or video along with the entire system being snappier. You can either go for a big SSD and host the entire system to it, using the HDD for backup/long term storage or just host your photo work on it while putting games on the SSD with the OS. Either way, you'll dramatically lower the number of random operations on the HDD, letting it focus more on accessing your image files or game files and then any SSD won't get bogged down until you stack a bunch of operations on top of eachother.
 
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Solution
Murissokah

Murissokah

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Aug 12, 2007
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+1 for SSD.

RAM frequency is not that big of a deal. Desktop applications aren't usually very intensive in sequential R/W to memory, and when they are, there is usually another bottleneck that comes first. In contrast, graphics cards R/W's are constant and intensive, and that is why it matters a lot in that case.

SSD's on the other hand bring great benefit. I usually compare it to going from a single-core CPU to a multi-core one. Synthetic benchmarks don't properly translate the gain in user experience that upgrade brings. HDDs are the most frequent bottleneck in the system, and an SSD gives a sense of responsiveness that really improves the user experience.
 
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Hannabal

Hannabal

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Feb 12, 2014
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Okay awesome guys!! Looks like I will go with a ssd. I was looking at the Samsung 840 series. Am I going to see a noticable difference in the pro to evo series?
 
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dwatterworth

dwatterworth

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With heavy and rapid photo and video editing while doing other processes, you would see a good increase with the 840 Pro. I use a 256gb 840 Pro for use in a photo editing / architectural workstation machine. I see decreased viewport/model image rendering when manipulating larger models or files over my secondary machine at work which uses a faster processor but slower Intel 520 series SSD.
The 840 is supposedly more robust and rated for higher daily read/write amounts for higher endurance as well. I don't think you can go wrong either way unless you are dealing with huge amounts of data for large amounts of time on a daily basis.
 
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Hannabal

Hannabal

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Feb 12, 2014
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Thanks dw!
I will have to do some more reading about ssd's tonight and make my decision! You have any suggestions for a drive comparable to the Samsung 840 evo?
 
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dwatterworth

dwatterworth

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I haven't run across an ssd that was as reliable, no. I've used ocz, Intel and corsair in previous builds and have had at least some fail. I've since used more Samsung ssd drives in more builds than any other ssd and no failures.

Ive heard the Kingston extreme drive are pretty reliable as well but limited experience with them so far.
 
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Hannabal

Hannabal

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Feb 12, 2014
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Okay cool! I ended up going for the 250gb 840 Evo. Cost me an arm and a leg but I figure it will be the last system hard drive I will have to buy for 5+ years so its worth it.... Lol. I live in Canada and the best deal I could find was $175 after tax/shipping. Thanks again for all your insight dw
 
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