$220 On RAM and OS? (Maybe SSD)

[TheBallistico]

So I have $220 to spend on some RAM and an OS, This is my current setup:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 922
Motherboard: MSI 1150 H87 G43
PSU: Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 700-Watt
Video Card: GTX EVGA 660 Superclocked
3TB of Storage...

So I need 2 things: Ram and an OS, If possible SSD, Ive got $220 to spend on it, what should I get?
I use my computer for Photo and Video editing and some gaming.
Whats a good OS? I dont use touch screen for W8 but I almost feel obligated to get the newest OS..
With Ram I know that More=Better for my kind of work but I dont know whats a good brand or a reasonable size.
Is an SSD needed? Is it worth it if im on a budget?

The PC n00b needs help, if you could give him some he would appreciate it! Thank you for any answer

EDIT: I have a processor it is a i5 4670 (Non K) I knew something was missing lol

 

[Hazle]

just so we're clear; you've already gotten a processor, right? if you haven't, we got a problem.

i don't think you're going to have enough for an SSD, at least as a Boot + common applications drive. a Windows OS is going to set you back around $90, so you need to look for a deal on a 16GB kit DDR3 ram, or stick with 8GB.

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/os/#sort=a4
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/pny-memory-md16384kd31600x9
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/a-data-memory-ax3u1600w4g9db

note; RAM prices changes daily. make sure to double check them before purchasing.

 

[ssddx]

$79 windows 7 64 on ebay
$72 2x4gb 1600mhz ram on newegg

that leave $69 for a ssd. it just so happens a kingston 120gb runs about that much.

normally i would suggest 16gb ram for video editing or photoshop however depending on how serious you are at it it may or may not be worthwhile.if you decide to go for 16 then you would need to drop the ssd and just get ram instead. you might go a few dollars over though.

a ssd would decrease system start up and increase system responsiveness. generally a good idea if you want snappy performance.

kingston isnt my first choice for a ssd but its cheap and it should work as long as you dont plan on using it as your scratch drive (use the hdd for that)

 

[TheBallistico]

just so we're clear; you've already gotten a processor, right? if you haven't, we got a problem.

i don't think you're going to have enough for an SSD, at least as a Boot + common applications drive. a Windows OS is going to set you back around $90, so you need to look for a deal on a 16GB kit DDR3 ram, or stick with 8GB.

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/os/#sort=a4
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/pny-memory-md16384kd31600x9
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/a-data-memory-ax3u1600w4g9db

note; RAM prices changes daily. make sure to double check them before purchasing.

I do have a Intel i5 4670, thanks for pointing out how I didnt list it.
Should I pick up Win7/8 and get the 16GB that you listed and skip the SSD for now?
OR do you think a ~$60 SSD would be a better investment and just get an 8GB?

 

[ssddx]

that all depends on how serious you are at video editing. if you work with large files and are very serious into it then getting 16gb of ram might be the better choice.

if you only do some video editing for fun and a few extra minutes of processing doesnt matter then go with a ssd to speed your system up a bit. programs will launch faster, your system will feel more responsive and your system will start and shut down faster.

its honestly your choice and the answer depends on how serious you are at editing.

 

[TheBallistico]

that all depends on how serious you are at video editing. if you work with large files and are very serious into it then getting 16gb of ram might be the better choice.

if you only do some video editing for fun and a few extra minutes of processing doesnt matter then go with a ssd to speed your system up a bit. programs will launch faster, your system will feel more responsive and your system will start and shut down faster.

its honestly your choice and the answer depends on how serious you are at editing.

Alright, first of all thank you <3 Secondly Graphic design is my job but video editing is a hobby and from what I know Photoshop doesnt take advantage of RAM as well as After effects does, so I will go with getting an SSD along with 8Gb of RAM,
1) Does this look like a good deal http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-Desktop-Memory-CMZ8GX3M1A1600C10/dp/B005T63BJM/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1391289747&sr=8-5&keywords=RAM

2) Any good ~$60 SSD's out there? Whats you favourite brand? (Links if you have any)

 

[Hazle]

i'm a patient man, so i can do well without an SSD. you may differ, so that's up for you to decide.

most of the decent 120gb SSDs start at around $70. below that are usually around 60GB, which is barely enough for an OS + updates & commonly used applications. they're normally used as cache drives.

if i were in your shoe, if you really want the SSD, i'd look into getting a cheaper i5-4430 if you haven't already gotten that 4670. you'll suffer some minor performance loss, but nothing to sweat about. with that bit of money you saved up, get a decent 120gb for around $80-85,an OS & 2x4GB of DDR3-1600/1866 (whichever is cheapest at the time) hopefully for no more than $75. give it a month or two and get another set of 2x4GB. at least upgrading RAM is a lot easier than getting an SSD later and cloning/re-installing the OS.

EDIT: BTW, check and see if you got a Microcenter nearby. certain i5 cpu models there are especially cheaper than anywhere else. pick-up only, though.

 

[ssddx]

this is what i would suggest:

$79 (i actually just bought one the other week)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Windows-7-Home-Premium-SP1-Full-32-64-Bit-x32-x64-Version-CD-COA-NEW-/141135208854?pt=US_Operating_Systems_Software&hash=item20dc506196

$73
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/a-data-memory-ax3u1600w4g9db
OR.....
$75
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cmx8gx3m2a1600c9

69
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-internal-hard-drive-sv300s37a120g

that would be $221-$223

if it was me i would probably go with the corsair.
the ssd is not my first choice (i buy nothing but samsung for my own systems) but it will work.

everything is also in budget.

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graphic design (photoshop) can sometimes take advantage of ram. everything depends on how many projects you have open and the size of your project files. for instance if you were trying to do work on a 30,000x30,000px image then having lots of ram might very well help out. however if you are working on rather reasonably sized images its not likely to use up even 8gb. also how much you are multitasking while using photoshop and what sort of filters you run can affect this.

if you work on large images having lots of ram can speed things up. if you dont then its a waste.

that is why i said it all depends on what you need to do with the system. for instance i dabble in photoshop (since i used to be good enough to freelance) and have opened up images as large as 40,000x40,000 px with only 6gb of good ram. while i experienced some slowdown this is to be expected when you are dealing with a 2gb file (and an older 2.6ghz i7-920). for anything average sized even 6gb is fine so 8 should be plenty. often 16 is just recommended just in case you have many projects open at once which happen to be rather large.

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TLDR:

8 is likely fine unless you dabble in excessive file sizes or have many large projects open at once.


edit:

in response to hazle...

your motherboard doesnt support 1866 ram... so dont bother. it only supports up to 1600.

i think you are in budget for 8gb so no need to change the cpu.

i already covered info on how much ram and about the ssds.

 

[TheBallistico]

Thank you for the answers I appreciate it a lot, I decided to go with
8 GB of Ram (2 4GB)
120 GB SSD that was suggested and
Windows 8 which I found for $70.
Thanks for helping a noob out <3