Should I upgrade?

[Nerwin]

Hello! I know its been a long time since I posted here.

 

But I am wondering if its time to upgrade my PC or not. I built in in 2012 and the specs are:

 

• Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4ghz LGA 1155
• 16GB (4gb x 4) G. Skill Ripjaws DDR3 2133
• ASUS P8Z77-V LK Motherboard
• 128GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD
• 640gb WD SATA HDD (I have a 2TB USB 3.0 external drive too)
• Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
• Corsair TX650M PSU
• Fractal Designs Arc Midi

And I'm happily running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. 

 

I'm sure you have noticed that I didn't list any dedicated video card and that is because I am not using one. I am just using the Intel Graphics 4000 because I just do photo and video editing. I don't do any gaming. However, I do have a friend that is giving me his old GTX 670 which I assume is a little faster than the Intel Graphics 4000. Is this a good deal?

 

I'm happy with my computer right now, its quick, stable and runs cool but I'll tell you the honest truth, I just want an excuse to maybe spend a little money. So I thought about upgrading to a i7 CPU but can't seem to find them anywhere since I imagine the LGA 1155 cpus are discontinued. But if upgrading the CPU to a much faster i7 would get me buy a few more years, then I think that would be awesome and cheaper than building a whole new computer. What are your thoughts? 

Edited September 24, 2015 by Nerwin

[Tripredacus]

I just typed this into google:

GTX 760 video editing

And most results seem to indicate that it is not good for video editing. However, those reactions are old and may not reflect vs the Intel 4000 you use now. You may have to test to see if it really will make a difference for you or not.

I found this discussion about this particular comparison. It mentions a bunch of terms and software examples I'm not familiar with but maybe it helps you.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2252020

[Nerwin]

I just typed this into google:

 

GTX 760 video editing

And most results seem to indicate that it is not good for video editing. However, those reactions are old and may not reflect vs the Intel 4000 you use now. You may have to test to see if it really will make a difference for you or not.

I found this discussion about this particular comparison. It mentions a bunch of terms and software examples I'm not familiar with but maybe it helps you.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2252020

 

 

My motherboard has a switch to overclock the integrated video which surprisingly did actually give me a slight boost in video rendering and photo editing performance. 

 

So maybe that GTX 670 wouldn't really benefit me much at all. What would benefit me for smoother video and photo processing? 

 

Would perhaps replacing my internal mechanical storage drive with a SSD would provide me faster editing in lightroom and sony vegas? I think I have photoshop setup to use my SSD as a scratch disk, so probably wont notice much a difference there. But since all my photos and videos are stored on a aging mechanical drive, its probably time to replace it with a SSD. 

Edited September 24, 2015 by Nerwin

[Tripredacus]

I have no experience in this so all I can do is read about the subject. From that link I posted already, these three things are said to be your main concerns:

 

- tons of RAM

- fast disk system (speak: raid0 and/or ssd)

- fast CPU

However, if you read the previous post about why the guy thought about the 670, he looks into the things his specific software uses. Perhaps research what cards are good with the software you are using.

With the requirement of a fast disk, I also wonder about the disk you encode to. Obviously you aren't saving your videos to your SSD right?

[Nerwin]

I have no experience in this so all I can do is read about the subject. From that link I posted already, these three things are said to be your main concerns:

 

- tons of RAM

- fast disk system (speak: raid0 and/or ssd)

- fast CPU

However, if you read the previous post about why the guy thought about the 670, he looks into the things his specific software uses. Perhaps research what cards are good with the software you are using.

With the requirement of a fast disk, I also wonder about the disk you encode to. Obviously you aren't saving your videos to your SSD right?

 

 

When I edit video, I am editing off the SSD and when I'm done, I move it to my storage drive. My SSD is only 128gb, so its pretty much dedicated to the OS and software. But I edit all my pictures off the mechanical drive which is probably where the slow down issues are since its just a Sata II drive. I really want a 1TB SSD, but I just can't dish out $400 right now. So maybe getting a newer Sata III drive will improve photo editing performance. 

[puntoMX]

Hello Nerwin,

 

You're still fine with the system you have there. But, do not edit from the SSD, you will only shorten its life.

 

That said, what software titles are you using? Most video and photo editing software will benefit greatly from a dedicated video card as it will render on the GPU, freeing up the CPU. Also, a GPU does way more flops/calculations-a-second than a CPU. I't not for nothing all those coiners (bitcoin and the bull   ) are using video card to hatch  ​ .

 

I can't believe you didn't have a dedicated video card already!

 

-Ronald

[Nerwin]

Hello Nerwin,

 

You're still fine with the system you have there. But, do not edit from the SSD, you will only shorten its life.

 

That said, what software titles are you using? Most video and photo editing software will benefit greatly from a dedicated video card as it will render on the GPU, freeing up the CPU. Also, a GPU does way more flops/calculations-a-second than a CPU. I't not for nothing all those coiners (bitcoin and the bull   ) are using video card to hatch  ​ .

 

I can't believe you didn't have a dedicated video card already!

 

-Ronald

 

A couple hours ago I purchased a WD 2TB Black Sata 3 to replace my aging WD 640GB Blue Sata 2 that I bought in 2008. I ran some benchmarks on it and boy was it slow, my external usb 3.0 drive was twice as fast! So that was due for an upgrade and I'm hoping that might solve some of the issues I have when editing in Lightroom off from that drive. The write speed was terrible so maybe it was starting die. I don't know.

 

Well the only graphic heavy applications I use are Adobe Lightroom & Photoshop and Sony Vegas Pro. That's really about it. I just recently upgraded from 8gb to 16gb of ram because having photoshop, lightroom and google chrome open pretty much ate up 8 gigs lol.

 

I never considered a dedicated video card before because I never intended to play games on it. I knew at the time Intel Graphics 4000 was actually pretty decent and supports my monitors resolution (1920 x 1200) without a problem.

 

My friend will give me his old video card for nothing if I want it. Its a Asus GTX670-DC2OG-2GD5 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121707). But if its not going to do any good, then there is no point installing it and wasting power and creating more heat. 

[puntoMX]

Get it, install it and sit back, you will palm-slap yourself for hours when you see the diference! 

 

I don't know what version of Vegas you use, but I believe from 11 and up it's using openCL. This is what Sony says about it:

 

 

GPU acceleration

Better playback, faster renders. Take advantage of the power of the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) found in many of today's most popular video display cards for smoother video playback and faster rendering. Vegas Pro 13 leverages the GPU for video effects, transitions, compositing, pan/crop, track motion, and encoding. An optimized hardware configuration that uses an appropriate GPU device dramatically improves timeline performance. Enjoy higher resolution previews with multiple effects in Vegas Pro 13, and crank encoding speeds up by as much as six times over previous versions to popular formats like AVC. Vegas Pro 13 uses OpenCL™-supported devices from AMD, NVIDIA, and Intel to unleash your creative vision.

 

 

[Nerwin]

I use Sony Vegas Pro 13. The latest version I think. I mean if the dedicated video card will perform much better even normal day to day tasks, then I'll grab it from my friend. Its free anywho, if I don't like it..I can remove it.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Nerwin

[puntoMX]

Perfect, let me know the time difference when you render 1080p or 2160p . Image quality to your monitor also improves, zoom in adobe also will improve, and a few things more. It's hard to say whit idle power consumption of the GTX670 is, but it around 10W so 11W from your power outlet. At idle you won't get more noise from your PC.

[Nerwin]

You think my Corsair TX650M will be enough to power it?

[puntoMX]

Yes, it will.

[Nerwin]

Well my friend sent me the video card, but he accidentally sent me the wrong one. Sent a Radeon HD6970 instead. I got a little upset because he told me he was sending a GTX 670 which is a far, far better video card. But he made a honest mistake. But in his defensive, he gave me a expensive video card for nothing. But its not going to work for me, its older technology as well. Doesn't even use PCie 3.0. 

 

So I just had enough and ordered a brand new one. I was trying to save some money, but can't always I guess. I ended up ordering the Nvidia Geforce GTX-750 Ti SC. I hear its a killer card for the money and works very well with adobe products and its decent at some games if I ever wanted to play a game someday on my PC. Atleast this card uses the new Maxwell core. 

[puntoMX]

Errr  ... that HD6970 was great to start with, it does video acceleration for Sony Vegas . PCI-E 3.0 isn't needed.

 

 

Any way, the new cards are power less power hungry and should be less noisy.

[Nerwin]

Errr  ... that HD6970 was great to start with, it does video acceleration for Sony Vegas . PCI-E 3.0 isn't needed.

 

 

Any way, the new cards are power less power hungry and should be less noisy.

 

From what I was reading, AMD video cards are not fully supported by Adobe and cause problems from what other people were saying. I didn't want to take a chance..also like you said the Radeon HD6970 uses a lot more power and probably have louder fans. My system is pretty quiet, kind of want to keep it that way..so hopefully the Nvidia GTX 750 Ti SC does just that..plus I don't have to dig out my extra modular psu cables and because that HD6970 didn't have the right displayports, I'd have to get a new cable. The GTX-750 Ti SC doesn't require extra power, so I don't have to mess with my cable management. I can just install it and be on my way. 

Edited October 8, 2015 by Nerwin