Upgrading Custom PC: Unsure what parts to upgrade first

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moripeji

Jul 15, 2018
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Hey, everyone! So, this is my first time (ever) posting. Back around Christmas of 2016, I built my first ever PC (but I had CyberPowerPC truly build it for me), and I thought it was pretty future-proof for gaming and animation (currently a film/ 3D animation student, so high-powered software like Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Maya, Final Cut, Blender, Origin, etc. all need to work without too much lag-- not to mention constant streaming and Steam gaming). But, now that two years have passed, I think it's time to upgrade.

Here's my current build:

OS: Windows 10 64-bit

CPU: Intel Core i7-7800x (3.50GHz with approximately 4.3GHz overclocking)

Motherboard: ASUS TUF X299 MARK 2 ATX

RAM: 16GB (4GB x 4) DDR4/3000MHz Quad channel

Graphics card: GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 (Pascal)

Power Supply: 600 Watts

Hard Drive: 240GB WD Green SSD + 2TB SATA III HD

Cooling system: CyberpowerPC Asetek 550LC 120mm Liquid Cooling CPU cooler + extra case fans

So, I'm thinking that the first thing(s) I'd like to upgrade is the ram (hoping to switch to 32GB in an 8GB x 4 setup), and because I save all of my high-powered software on the SSD for maximum performance, I'm thinking of upgrading to a 1TB or 2TB (if I can find an afforable one) SSD in the place of my HD. In a perfect world, I'd be able to upgrade my graphics chip to a 1080Ti, but I'm preeeetty sure there will be a bigger and better one out around Christmas this year, so I think I may hold off on that. I'd like to upgrade my CPU, too, but I'm not sure if the upgrades are super worth it right now (my CPU seems to be doing just fine). But, what do you all think? What should I truly upgrade first for maximum (budget-friendly) powerhouse performance? Also, do you have any compatible parts you could recommend? I was looking at Corsair Vengeance for RAM and really any compatible SSD out there, but you all probably know better than I do. My budget is already being stretched, but I have to keep my total cost of upgrades under $1,000 for sure.

So, thank you for all your help in advance, and I'm sorry if I sound like a total newbie (please, go easy on me)! I know a lot about parts in themselves, but I've never /actually/ thought about compatibility and upgrading re: my own computer until this year as my PC started to lag a bit. I'm super grateful for any and all recommendations and tips you may have! Also, if you notice a huge problem with any of my build (or something else that should be upgraded that I haven't thought of, let me know that as well!) Also bonus points if any part recommendations are on Amazon (prime shipping = major plus as I'd like to get these upgraded parts in and ready for the August semester).

Alright, thanks everyone!

Edit: I'm located in the U.S., if it matters!
 
Solution
geofelt
If you upgrade ram, do not assume that you can simply add another 16gb.
Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
A motherboard must manage all the ram using the same specs of voltage, cas and speed.
The internal workings are designed for the capacity of the kit.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards, can be very sensitive to this.
This is more difficult when more sticks are involved.
That is why ram vendors will NOT support ram that is not bought in one kit.

If you do buy more disparate sticks, they must be the same speed, voltage and cas numbers.
Even then your chances of working are less than 100%

What is your plan "B" if the new stick/s do not...
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Gam3r01

Gam3r01

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Jan 12, 2013
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You said your system is performing well enough so there is no reason to upgrade most of the large components (CPU, RAM, GPU). The RAM upgrade, while it seems nice, is only worth it if you are currently running out of RAM. Even if you hover around 90% usage, you still would not benefit from additional RAM.

The large SSD seems like a solid investment, and the only thing I would change at this time, other than the no name PSU, which could be a point of upgrade in the future.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
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If you upgrade ram, do not assume that you can simply add another 16gb.
Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
A motherboard must manage all the ram using the same specs of voltage, cas and speed.
The internal workings are designed for the capacity of the kit.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards, can be very sensitive to this.
This is more difficult when more sticks are involved.
That is why ram vendors will NOT support ram that is not bought in one kit.

If you do buy more disparate sticks, they must be the same speed, voltage and cas numbers.
Even then your chances of working are less than 100%

What is your plan "B" if the new stick/s do not work?

Sometimes increasing the ram voltage in the bios will make things work.

If you want 32gb, my suggestion is to buy a 4 x 8gb kit that matches your current specs.
Then, try adding in your old 16gb,
If it works, good; you now have extra ram.
If not, sell the old ram or keep it as a spare.

Your motherboard supports a m.2 pcie ssd.
The sequential performance of a pcie ssd is some 5x that of sata.
I like Samsung for performance and reliability.
Look for a 970 EVO in the size you need.
The extra endurance of the PRO versions are not likely to ba factor with large devices.



 
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Solution
cryoburner

cryoburner

Judicious
Oct 8, 2011
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As Gam3r01 said, your system is still rather high-end, and I don't see any real point in upgrading at this time unless some component is holding back performance in some way.

As far as gaming performance goes, the only upgrade that might really be worthwhile would be a graphics card upgrade, at least if you are using a monitor with a resolution of 1440p or higher, or with a 144Hz refresh rate. If you are on a 1080p 60Hz screen though, even your GTX 1070 should still be enough to maintain over 60fps at ultra settings in pretty much any game. And if you do consider a graphics card upgrade, it would probably be best to wait a bit, since the current generation of graphics cards is over two years old at this point, and Nvidia should be launching a new generation over the coming months. It's suspected that they will likely launch the GTX 1180 around the end of next month, which will probably be at least a bit faster than a 1080 Ti.

Storing games on an SSD would improve load times, but will generally have little effect on performance once a game is loaded. And for bulk storage of files, SSDs are still rather expensive and typically provide limited performance benefits for the storage of things like video, unless perhaps you are actively working on editing those files. A larger SSD than what you have could be a reasonable upgrade though.

As was said about RAM, only upgrade it if you are already topping it out. If you don't ever see your memory use in Windows task manager getting up around 16GB, then adding more won't provide any immediate benefit, and RAM is currently priced rather high. Games certainly don't require that much RAM yet, though it's possible that certain video editing tasks could potentially benefit from it.

I don't really see much point in upgrading the CPU, unless you are regularly using software like CPU-based 3D renderers that could make use of additional cores to speed up render times. If they are GPU-based renderers though, the graphics card upgrade would again be what you would want.
 
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