What should I upgrade?

sennn · Sep 21, 2014

Hi!

Looking for help in what should I upgrade in my system, as it's starting to run too slow for editing, which doesn't really help in holding deadlines etc. The max I want to spend on the upgrade is around 400-450 USD (could spend a little bit more if it was really worth it).
The main usage of the system is heavy use of after effects/premier pro, and gaming sometimes (but there is no performance problem on that side).

My current setup is:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-p67X-UD3-B3
CPU: Intel i7 2600k @ stock, with stock cooler (was thinking about just upgrading the cooler and ocing but don't want stability problems)
RAM: Kingston HyperX KHX1600C10D3/8GX (16 gb kit)
VGA: Asus GeForce GTX660 DirectCU II OC 2GB (running 3 monitors + a hdtv which is rarely used)
Drives:
SSDs: Samsung SSD 840 EVO 120 gb for system, Samsung 830 60 gb for afx/premier cache files
HDDs: 2x 1 TB 1x 600 GB
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-600CXV2EU

Videographer · Sep 21, 2014

You actually have a good system. Your choices would be something like a whole new motherboard and cpu, probably a h87 chipset just to save on budget with a i7 4790 or similar Xeon such as a 1240 v3 or slightly higher. That will give perhaps 20% at best more speed though. I would also look into an ssd purely for project files such as a 840 evo 250gb. Beyond that I think your looking at a raid setup or a render farm. Is it rendering that is the problem or just general use?

menetlaus · Sep 21, 2014

can you elaborate on "editing" what are you doing? photoshop/video editing or similar?

Videographer · Sep 21, 2014

Its in the original post heavy use of after effects and premier. After effects is a pita

sennn · Sep 21, 2014

Videographer :

Yea this is why I'm in such doubt about what I could even upgrade.
Rendering times are not that big of a problem, it's mostly general editing use that tends to slow down to annoying speeds.
Would it be better to go with a xeon over the i7?

Videographer · Sep 21, 2014

The Xeon isn't better just sometimes cheaper for the same performance. They are pretty much the same chip in a different box. I7 has a gpu built in Xeon has virtualization support and a lower wattage. Both perform the same

If it is just general use then you need to look at why, but you have an ssd already, you have a reasonable amount of ram, your renders are ok. So its just the cpu you can upgrade, but its not going to be a huge change in honesty. No point replacing the gpu or the hard drives if the rendering is ok

sennn · Sep 21, 2014

menetlaus :

video editing, mainly in after effects, just cause somehow it stills manages to run faster than premier pro a lot of times.

barto · Sep 21, 2014

Have you done any testing to see which component is holding back your work? Personally, I still see the i7 2600k a very strong CPU. I would do some tests before jumping into a new CPU and motherboard.

sennn · Sep 21, 2014

Videographer :

I see, well the xeon would be a better deal than. Would it be worth spending a little bit more and getting a more expensive xeon or it wouldn't make a difference? (or even a slightly more expensive i7, like around $350-400 just for the cpu)

barto :

Haven't, tbh I don't even have an idea how could I.
Since I have this main config I have swapped the GPU from a gtx430 to a gtx550 than the gtx660, and 4 months ago there was a problem with it so I had to warranty it, that's when they replaced it with the OC version.
Also the RAM was swapped for a new kit at the same time, as they started to act up and refused to boot.

Joseph DeGarmo · Sep 21, 2014

For what tasks you do, a socket LGA 2011 chip will have a decent increase in performance. The previous-generation 4820k with 10 MB L3 cache and x79 motherboard will be a little over your budget and having four RAM sticks for quad-channel is needed, but it should be worth it. Going with a Haswell-E build is way more expensive, though, due to the DDR4 RAM requirement.

sennn · Sep 21, 2014

Joseph DeGarmo :

Thanks, I can and willing to go a little over the budget if it's worth it. Could you tell me a good affordable motherboard + ram for this setup?

Videographer · Sep 21, 2014

Socket 2011 is more than a little over budget, the x99 5th gen cpu alone will be more than your budget. The extra cores aren't needed because there is no render problems just general sluggishness, which wants one or two fast threads rather than 12 slower ones.

Xeon 1240 v3 is good enough, the others are faster but not worth the extra cash. It's tricky to say ifnits even worth getting a new CPU tho the one you have isn't bad

sennn · Sep 21, 2014

Videographer :

He was mentioning the 4820k, which price even considering the more expensive boards, is still in price range. Just the question is if it's worth it.

Videographer · Sep 21, 2014

That's up to you. The 2600k is pretty good. The 4770 and 4820 are closely matched depending on the application. 4820 will render quicker in 3d and video, 4770 is faster clocked. Neither is going to be a shock compared to what you have, for that you'd need something much much more expensive. Video is all about disk access so I think a project ssd would be a good place to start

sennn · Sep 21, 2014

Videographer :

Yep, damn you intel for not upgrading your cpus drasticly over the last 3-4 years...
Still undeicided about which one I should go for, considired that I could probably sell the 2600k for good value which would make my budget a little bit bigger (could resell the i7 + board for about 250$), but I guess it still not enough for a setup that would give a big speed boost.

Videographer · Sep 21, 2014

Take a look at these comparisons, they aren't real world benchmarks but they do show how close these processors are

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-2600K-vs-Intel-4790K

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-I7-4820k-vs-Intel-4790KIntel-Core-I7-4820k-vs-Intel-4790K

Really isn't much in it between the two gen 4 parts and neither beat the old 2600 by much although they do run cooler. Take it with a pinch of salt but it hopefully puts things into perspective

sennn · Sep 22, 2014

Videographer :

I see, well looking at these I might be better off with the 4790k, and slap a project ssd like you said next to it.
If we consider render times too, how much difference would it make?

sennn · Sep 22, 2014

Last question: what kind of performance increase would I get from investing in a better cooler instead and OCing to moderate levels, I don't have experience with OC and don't want stability issues, so nothing extreme.
Plus adding a media ssd, and maybe expand the ram to 32 gb, so afx could properly use multicore rendering.

As it seems it's might better to wait atleast half a year and save up to get a 5960x or a xeon of the same price range.

Videographer · Sep 22, 2014

You can get a small OC benefit by adding a Cooler Master 212 Evo cooler. It will take some testing to make sure it is still stable. I'm not sure how much AE needs 32GB RAM, 16GB is generally plenty

You might be right saving up for a much higher system, not much on the market is a huge boost compared to what you have right now

sennn · Sep 22, 2014

Videographer :

Thanks for all the help.
AE needs all the RAM it can get, as it's multicore rendering is using 0.75/thread at it's lowest setting. Currently I have a heavy project open with multicore disabled and it still eats up all the RAM it can get (10 GB atm). But probably first I will just get a cooler and an ssd, and maybe later more RAM.

What should I upgrade?

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