PC upgrade - advice needed

[Moonshine9]

Hello,

My current build consists of:
CPU: Phenom II X4 940 (stock)
CPU cooler: Arctic Freezer 13 Pro
Mobo: Asus M3N-HT Deluxe/HDMI
RAM: 4 GB (2x2) Mushkin, PC2-8500
GPU: Gigabyte GTX 550 Ti OC
SPU: Focusrite Saffire LE (1394)
PSU: Seasonic SS 650 HT
HDD: 500 GB, 320 GB, 640 GB (SATA)
Case: Aerocool XPredator X3
OS: W7 Ultimate (86x)
Dual monitor setup in: 1920x1080

My workload:
70% - audio editing (Ableton, Sound Forge)
15% - video editing (Sony Vegas)
15% - gaming

I feel the system is a little too slow for my needs (no issues with the newest games at all, not too happy with the audio editing, totally unhappy when working with videos), so I've been thinking of getting an SSD for my system/program files. However I am not too sure it would solve my problems, as they may be entirely CPU/RAM related. Basically I am trying to figure out the best upgrade option (while spending as less as possible

Path 1:
Intel SSD 520, 180 GB
Cost - 140€

Path 2:
CPU: FX-8320 (160€)
Mobo: GA-990XA-UD3 (94€)
CPU cooler: Scythe 3100 Mugen 3 Rev B (40€)
RAM: 8 GB 1600 MHz Kingston Predator Series (39€)
Cost - 333€

Path 3:
All of the above - 473€ (this might lead to a divorce or, alternatively, a pretty gruesome violent death of me)

Big thanks to everyone for your valuable advice!

 

[clutchc]

The 2nd path would see the greatest improvement on video editing. Video work like that is highly threaded and loves more cores. The extra memory will help too. In fact, I can't think of a single reason to not go with path 2.
Check out the improvement over your Phenom II X4 940:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/698?vs=80

 

[Deemo13]

The only think to keep in mind is that you might have to reinstall your Windows.

 

[clutchc]

+1^
A new board will require a new installation of Win7.
The stock cooler that comes with the FX-8320 is, I believe, the same as the big HS/F that comes with the big Phenom IIs. Copper base plate, 4 heat pipes. Not really a bad cooler. I had it safely take a Ph II X4 965BE up to 3.9GHZ without any temp issues. So there's no reason you can't use the stock cooler... or the one you have now.

 

[Moonshine9]

Those stock coolers are too noisy for my ears, especially in a home recording studio environment. Although I have changed 70mm fans on Phenom stock HS (Akasa and Airen do offer 70mm fans) in the past with nice results, getting acceptable load temp/noise level. So I agree that the stock HS itself is not a failure, but the stock fan is. Therefore it's either spending 7€ on a 70mm fan (which is never going to be totally silent anyways) or dropping 40€ for a good custom cooler which can also provide some headroom for future overclocks... The problem with AC Freezer 13 Pro is that while being literally whisper quiet, its cooling performance is not spectacular (I suspect the 120mm fan does not provide enough CFM). My heavy load temps are very close to the max operating temperature as specified by AMD. I had tried a few thermal compounds, settling with Xigmatek PTI-G4512, but the gain has been marginal. Now I am hitting 57-60°C against 62°C max., which might not be a big deal for some, but it does make me a little antsy. That's the main reason I have not even attempted to overclock.

Another issue is that even to this day, it is very hard to get an explicit answer on how well threaded the current versions of audio editors are (especially Ableton Live Suite 8 as it is my first choice). I have been observing minor improvements since 2009, but nothing special. I do agree on the video part though; FX-8320 and more memory would surely handle all my video work with ease. I just wonder if I could get away with just an SSD purchase, provided most of my workload is audio related.

 

[Moonshine9]

Those stock coolers are too noisy for my ears, especially in a home recording studio environment. Although I have changed 70mm fans on Phenom stock HS (Akasa and Airen do offer 70mm fans) in the past with nice results, getting acceptable load temp/noise level. So I agree that the stock HS itself is not a failure, but the stock fan is. Therefore it's either spending 7€ on a 70mm fan (which is never going to be totally silent anyways) or dropping 40€ for a good custom cooler which can also provide some headroom for future overclocks... The problem with AC Freezer 13 Pro is that while being literally whisper quiet, its cooling performance is not spectacular (I suspect the 120mm fan does not provide enough CFM). My heavy load temps are very close to the max operating temperature as specified by AMD. I had tried a few thermal compounds, settling with Xigmatek PTI-G4512, but the gain has been marginal. Now I am hitting 57-60°C against 62°C max., which might not be a big deal for some, but it does make me a little antsy. That's the main reason I have not even attempted to overclock.

Another issue is that even to this day, it is very hard to get an explicit answer on how well threaded the current versions of audio editors are (especially Ableton Live Suite 8 as it is my first choice). I have been observing minor improvements since 2009, but nothing special. I do agree on the video part though; FX-8320 and more memory would surely handle all my video work with ease. I just wonder if I could get away with just an SSD purchase, provided most of my workload is audio related.

 

[clutchc]

Those stock coolers are too noisy for my ears, especially in a home recording studio environment...

Ah yes, the noise issue. I had forgotten about that. They do have a nasty whine when they get up in RPMs.