New computer build questions.

[Diocide]

So I built what was going to be a Hackintosh almost 6 years ago now.

The whole Hackintosh thing didn’t work out, so I made the switch over to Windows 10 and the machine still works great for everyday stuff and music recording.

My issue is I’ve slowly started to do more video editing with Davinci and even the very simple projects really bog down. It functions, but It really is pushing me to make up a new machine.

My question is two fold;

Since my HDs, case and PSU are all still working fine (I bought above average stuff) would it make sense to just buy a new MOBO, CPU and RAM, and just install them into my existing setup? Are there any negatives to going that route?

What do you guys recommend for a decent mobo and CPU that’s out right now? Like I said, my demands aren’t huge. Mostly eagle CAD, Studio One, GIMP and some light davinci stuff. I only use one monitor and never play games.

Suggestions?

[fretless]

I would keep that just for the DAW and get something new for the video , you'll need a bad ass for that . RAM is temperamental and does not work in every MB . Your MB will have a qualified list of what you can use so it usually cannot be swapped around without throwing shit into a tailspin .

[_ej_]

I mean, I just swapped literally just my motherboard so I had thunderbolt and had zero issues. Didn't even have to reload Windows

Whats your budget man?

[GuitarBilly]

What's your current specs?
Is your current system maxed out? What's the maximum RAM and CPU your mobo can support?
Sometimes just upgrading RAM or getting a faster CPU is enough.

[Diocide]

What's your current specs?
Is your current system maxed out? What's the maximum RAM and CPU your mobo can support?
Sometimes just upgrading RAM or getting a faster CPU is enough.

I actually found the Newegg order with all my stuff lol.

GIGABYTE GA-Z87M-D3H 1.0 LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE250BW 2.5" 250GB SATA 6Gb/s 1x nm Samsung Toggle DDR 2.0 3-Bit MLC NAND Flash Memory (400Mbps) Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Intel Core i5-4690K Devil's Canyon Quad-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 1150 88W BX80646I54690K Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4600

Ballistix Sport XT 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model BLS2K8G3D169DS3

[GuitarBilly]

I think a simple upgrade to 32gb RAM and a dedicated video card would allow you to render your videos just fine.

[nightflameauto]

Video work can sometimes peg out hard drive speeds. Consider an upgrade to SSD for your video drive as well as maxing out RAM and you'll probably see a difference.

[Diocide]

I think a simple upgrade to 32gb RAM and a dedicated video card would allow you to render your videos just fine.

That’s what I’m starting to gather. Along with possibly picking up a serial ATA hard drive to go with it. I can’t believe how much they’ve come down in price. I paid 250 bucks for a 250 GB Samsung when I built this thing. Now you can get a terabyte for $100.

[Marc G]

Video work can sometimes peg out hard drive speeds. Consider an upgrade to SSD for your video drive as well as maxing out RAM and you'll probably see a difference.

this will make ALL the difference.... I upgraded one of our servers in the office today from a regular SATA drive to a SSD drive and the performance boost was noticeable right away.... along with what Billy suggested with a new dedicate video card you could have a killer machine... the catch would be if the newer video cards will work with a Mobo from 6 years ago.... but... it's worth looking in to IMO

[Diocide]

Alrighty. So another 16gb of ram and a 1tb SSD will be around 250$. I guess I’ll do that for now and see what happens.

Any recommendations for an GPU to look for? Do people sell their old ones normally?

[_ej_]

I have one you might be able to have. a buddy mentioned he might want it so I have to double check with him.

Make sure you get the right type of ram, I'm guessing DDR3 from the age of your processor.

Im sure you can find used GPUs.

I would keep your current HDD as a backup and backup regularly. SSDs have a limited number or rewrites. I have mine as a boot drive and use my 7200rpm drive for everything else. You might want to use the SSD for boot and video but use the other drive for storage and games and stuff

[Diocide]

I have one you might be able to have. a buddy mentioned he might want it so I have to double check with him.

Make sure you get the right type of ram, I'm guessing DDR3 from the age of your processor.

Im sure you can find used GPUs.

I would keep your current HDD as a backup and backup regularly. SSDs have a limited number or rewrites. I have mine as a boot drive and use my 7200rpm drive for everything else. You might want to use the SSD for boot and video but use the other drive for storage and games and stuff

Yep, it’s ddr3.

Sweet! Let me know about that GPU! I’d love to see what difference (if any) it makes before building a new setup.

[_ej_]

I have one you might be able to have. a buddy mentioned he might want it so I have to double check with him.

Make sure you get the right type of ram, I'm guessing DDR3 from the age of your processor.

Im sure you can find used GPUs.

I would keep your current HDD as a backup and backup regularly. SSDs have a limited number or rewrites. I have mine as a boot drive and use my 7200rpm drive for everything else. You might want to use the SSD for boot and video but use the other drive for storage and games and stuff

Yep, it’s ddr3.

Sweet! Let me know about that GPU! I’d love to see what difference (if any) it makes before building a new setup.

Whats your PSU?

[Diocide]

I have one you might be able to have. a buddy mentioned he might want it so I have to double check with him.

Make sure you get the right type of ram, I'm guessing DDR3 from the age of your processor.

Im sure you can find used GPUs.

I would keep your current HDD as a backup and backup regularly. SSDs have a limited number or rewrites. I have mine as a boot drive and use my 7200rpm drive for everything else. You might want to use the SSD for boot and video but use the other drive for storage and games and stuff

Yep, it’s ddr3.

Sweet! Let me know about that GPU! I’d love to see what difference (if any) it makes before building a new setup.

Whats your PSU?

Corsair CS550

[_ej_]

I would check and make sure you'll have enough power to run the GPU.

Plug your specs into here and it'll let you know.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/

[Meelosh]

^he's right about checking on your PSU.
-A dedicated video card may give you the performance gain you're looking for. If you decide to upgrade other components, you can continue using the video card.

Upgrading the motherboard/CPU/ram to more modern components will give you:
-DDR4 RAM that can run at much faster speeds
-A CPU with more cores can give better performance at video editing (AMD Ryzen series is good at this and with good prices)
-The option to use an NVMe SSD which can read/write at speeds much faster than what SATA drives are capable of. (I'm actually not sure if your current motherboard can use this already)

6 years is a good amount of time to be running the same system; it would not be outlandish to upgrade. If you've got some spare money, go for it, life is short. It can kinda suck when your gear gets in the way of creativity.

[Diocide]

I would check and make sure you'll have enough power to run the GPU.

Plug your specs into here and it'll let you know.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/

What model is the GPU you have? The 550 seems like it should handle most GPUs.

[_ej_]

I would check and make sure you'll have enough power to run the GPU.

Plug your specs into here and it'll let you know.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/

What model is the GPU you have? The 550 seems like it should handle most GPUs.

I don't remember what GPU i used to have but I know I had some issues when I was running an i7 and the GPU with a 350watt PSU. I was just saying it might be good to check

Also, sorry but my bud still wants my old GPU.

[Diocide]

[redeyes]

The SSD will likely be the most noticeable upgrade.

Your 840 EVO is a complete piece of shit and has likely degraded to the point its slower than a normal spinning hard drive. That model was bugged and slows down way way more than it should.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/9196/sam ... 40-evo-fix (those fixes don't really work)

[IndyWS6]

For the most part (given the luxury of being able to purchase one), I don't know why anyone would consider anything but SS for the drives with the O/S and applications. Given the relative ease, I've been running SSD's in RAID for those functions for years. Quality SATA drive(s) for storage of documents, pictures, videos, etc. - especially considering the capacity vs. price ratios, makes perfect sense....

[Diocide]

The SSD will likely be the most noticeable upgrade.

Your 840 EVO is a complete piece of shit and has likely degraded to the point its slower than a normal spinning hard drive. That model was bugged and slows down way way more than it should.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/9196/sam ... 40-evo-fix (those fixes don't really work)

That’s pretty wild. I never knew there were issues with them. Lol. I guess ignorance is bliss.

[Diocide]

For the most part (given the luxury of being able to purchase one), I don't know why anyone would consider anything but SS for the drives with the O/S and applications. Given the relative ease, I've been running SSD's in RAID for those functions for years. Quality SATA drive(s) for storage of documents, pictures, videos, etc. - especially considering the capacity vs. price ratios, makes perfect sense....

Sure. But when I built this system everyone told me they HDD were better for music production since the limitation of rewrites on the SSD. Obviously that’s changed over time.

I’m tempted to just pick up two, 1TB SSDs and use one for OS and programs and the other for everything else.