[SOLVED] Advice on computer upgrade

Dec 21, 2019
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3
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I built my PC two years ago and am looking to upgrade it. Basically, I use it for video streaming, live streaming sports (In HD, but not 4K), some gaming, but no game that is overly demanding... it is also my workstation (documents, spreadsheets, stuff like that). I photo and video edit on the rare occasion as well.

What I have:
Motherboard - Gigabyte Z370P D3
RAM - 1x8gb dddr4 2133
Processor - coffee Lake i3-8100
Memory - 250gb sata 3 ssd + 1tb HDD
Graphics Card - NVIDIA GT 1030
DVD drive
CD/RW Drive

My thoughts: The computer itself is just starting to get a bit sluggish after 2 years of use. As I have a Coffee Lake Processor, and those are being replaced by a new architecture, I thought I would do a partial upgrade now, which would permit me to keep the motherboard and many of the components, which would keep the cost down a bit. I am looking for advice on my selections.

My plan:

Motherboard - the same
Ram - add another 1x8gb to bring it up to 16gb. Reason: The board is dual channel and I have always intended to do so
Processor - upgrade to i5-9400f - They are on sale, and I figure if I want to upgrade and keep this computer running smoothly over the next 3+ years, upgrading the processor would be a good idea. Plus, this is the last line of Coffee Lake processors to come out, so if I want to keep the mobo, this would be possible.
Memory - Either adding 16gb Intel Optane or a 1gb m.2 drive at 3000mb/s - Not sure which is better for my situation. I already have a 250gb ssd for Windows and a 1tb HDD for storage. Am I right in thinking that Intel Optane won't do much in improving a SSD performance, but that upgrading to a decent M.2 drive would?
Graphics Card - unsure - Like I said, my video card demands are not high, so I think I could just hold off on that for now, as it meets my needs.
DVD Drive - might as well keep it.
CD/RW drive - replace with either a 5.25" bay drawer, or a usb 3.0 hub.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I am mostly interested in feedback about the proposed processor upgrade (do I need to) and the hard drive situation (stick with sata ssd and HDD? Upgrade to M.2? Add Intel Optane?

Thanks for the advice.
 
Solution
I built my PC two years ago and am looking to upgrade it. Basically, I use it for video streaming, live streaming sports (In HD, but not 4K), some gaming, but no game that is overly demanding... it is also my workstation (documents, spreadsheets, stuff like that). I photo and video edit on the rare occasion as well.

What I have:
Motherboard - Gigabyte Z370P D3
RAM - 1x8gb dddr4 2133
Processor - coffee Lake i3-8100
Memory - 250gb sata 3 ssd + 1tb HDD
Graphics Card - NVIDIA GT 1030
DVD drive
CD/RW Drive

My thoughts: The computer itself is just starting to get a bit sluggish after 2 years of use. As I have a Coffee Lake Processor, and those are being replaced by a new architecture, I thought I would do a partial upgrade now, which...
I built my PC two years ago and am looking to upgrade it. Basically, I use it for video streaming, live streaming sports (In HD, but not 4K), some gaming, but no game that is overly demanding... it is also my workstation (documents, spreadsheets, stuff like that). I photo and video edit on the rare occasion as well.

What I have:
Motherboard - Gigabyte Z370P D3
RAM - 1x8gb dddr4 2133
Processor - coffee Lake i3-8100
Memory - 250gb sata 3 ssd + 1tb HDD
Graphics Card - NVIDIA GT 1030
DVD drive
CD/RW Drive

My thoughts: The computer itself is just starting to get a bit sluggish after 2 years of use. As I have a Coffee Lake Processor, and those are being replaced by a new architecture, I thought I would do a partial upgrade now, which would permit me to keep the motherboard and many of the components, which would keep the cost down a bit. I am looking for advice on my selections.

My plan:

Motherboard - the same
Ram - add another 1x8gb to bring it up to 16gb. Reason: The board is dual channel and I have always intended to do so
Processor - upgrade to i5-9400f - They are on sale, and I figure if I want to upgrade and keep this computer running smoothly over the next 3+ years, upgrading the processor would be a good idea. Plus, this is the last line of Coffee Lake processors to come out, so if I want to keep the mobo, this would be possible.
Memory - Either adding 16gb Intel Optane or a 1gb m.2 drive at 3000mb/s - Not sure which is better for my situation. I already have a 250gb ssd for Windows and a 1tb HDD for storage. Am I right in thinking that Intel Optane won't do much in improving a SSD performance, but that upgrading to a decent M.2 drive would?
Graphics Card - unsure - Like I said, my video card demands are not high, so I think I could just hold off on that for now, as it meets my needs.
DVD Drive - might as well keep it.
CD/RW drive - replace with either a 5.25" bay drawer, or a usb 3.0 hub.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I am mostly interested in feedback about the proposed processor upgrade (do I need to) and the hard drive situation (stick with sata ssd and HDD? Upgrade to M.2? Add Intel Optane?

Thanks for the advice.
The single biggest upgrade is probably the RAM as 16GB is typically the standard for most systems and dual channel increases bandwidth. The CPU will add 2 cores and will be a good choice. A good cheap NVME will be good but not sure you’ll actually get any noticeable performance boost as you are already using a SSD. Biggest difference there would be file transfers between the two disk drives.
 
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Solution
Dec 21, 2019
28
3
35
The single biggest upgrade is probably the RAM as 16GB is typically the standard for most systems and dual channel increases bandwidth. The CPU will add 2 cores and will be a good choice. A good cheap NVME will be good but not sure you’ll actually get any noticeable performance boost as you are already using a SSD. Biggest difference there would be file transfers between the two disk drives.


Thanks :) I had a feeling that the hard drive upgrade would probably not amount to much in terms of performance. I may concentrate on the processor and ram, as well as replacing my CD drive that I never use. I could always go back at the m.2 idea in a few years in another upgrade, if ever I want to go that route. Thanks again!
 
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