Question Can I upgrade my PC for better performance?

[sruddy]

I have an Asus PC that I use mainly for photo editing. My programs are mostly LR and PS, but I use Corel Painter and Capture 1 Pro. Anyway my PC starts up using over 30% ram then after a short time using spot healing brush or something similar the ram goes up to 75-80% at which point the program gets very unstable and slow. My PC apparently doesn't have any ram expansion slots and I think I read it can't go over the current 16gb of ram. So is there anyway I can upgrade my existing PC or do I need to bite the bullet and get a new one? Here is my system specs.

Drive C: and D: are on the SSD that was supplied. I have too many images for it so I added the internal E: drive and it's were my working images reside. It is not an SSD drive. My Lightroom catalogs are on G: which is an external SSD. So as you can see if I tried to keep my working images, LR catalogs, OS, and Programs all on one internal drive would use nearly 3TB with no head room at all. I need to come up with a solution that will allow the program to continue to run all day without constant reboots to get the performance back.

 

[mdd1963]

It should certainly hold/support more than 16 GB of RAM, unless you had some basic mainboard with only two slots, and have both already populated?

(No one likes removing/wasting RAM modules in the case of 2 x 8 GB modules or 4 x 4 GB modules to get larger ones, of course....!)

SInce your RAM usage was not actually showing 100% usage, however..

You might also install/run HWMonitor when you are processing images, etc., just to make sure no thermal throttling is occurring with your CPU, as 4790s were known to run warm under a decent processing load....; look for temps hitting 100C if throttling is an issue.....
https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

 

[sruddy]

It should certainly hold/support more than 16 GB of RAM, unless you had some basic mainboard with only two slots, and have both already populated?

(No one likes removing/wasting RAM modules in the case of 2 x 8 GB modules or 4 x 4 GB modules to get larger ones, of course....!)

SInce your RAM usage was not actually showing 100% usage, however..

You might also install/run HWMonitor when you are processing images, etc., just to make sure no thermal throttling is occurring with your CPU, as 4790s were known to run warm under a decent processing load....; look for temps hitting 100C if throttling is an issue.....
https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

Yes I assume the Assus H81M-E/m51AD/DP_MB is a low end POS. see photo below.

So I'm fine with my RAM if I don't get it up to 100%? I haven't seen it over 89% but it seems to get into the low 80's fast.

The fan makes a roaring sound when I'm importing images and it starts generating previews, it also roars when doing heavy editing like use of brush for cloning. I clean the fan occasionally and broke the original fan. The fan you see now is a replacement. I'll try the HW/Monitor, thanks for the link.

 

[sruddy]

I'm really surprised I only have one reply to my thread. Am I asking a stupid question??? Anyone else have any ideas. The PC is not running hot according to HW monitor. Now the power switch broke too. I'm thinking of a new PC and I don't want anymore Asus products the Asus desktop before this one didn't last very long before it started doing the same as this one. I'm considering learning how to build one. I only have good mechanical skills, and none of the technical info that maybe needed to get a build working as needed.

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

you might've unplugged the power switch pins while opening up the pc. When it comes to the memory issue, I cant say anything about capture 1 or corel, but when I use photoshop, i run out of memory as well, and that is due to PS using a "scratch disk" to temporarily store data on your disk after the data fills up your ram, so running out of ram is totally normal in PS....or something like that. If your programs have scratch disks, try increasing the size and that may help.

The fan spinning up and getting loud under heavy editing is normal as it is working hard and getting hot...unless hwmonitor shows it getting too hot.

 

[envy14tpe]

You could replace the CPU cooler with a decent air cooler ($35-50) Then when you upgrade the PC you just reinstall cpu cooler on new system. In meantime, it will greatly ensure temps are good and pull cool air over the RAM, and hot air towards exhaust fan.

Puget systems is good at info on Lightroom. They recommend 16gb RAM, but said 32gb is good if you do large files, 750MB+. https://www.pugetsystems.com/recomm...troom-Classic-CC-141/Hardware-Recommendations

However, your motherboard only supports up to 16gb RAM. So it f you want more you'll have to do it in a new system. Just sell off your old system and buy new.

Maybe upgrade the GPU too. You don't need more than a $250 GPU. Not sure what the one you have is in that pic.

Also, the i5-9600k is actually really impressive at the apps you listed. And it with RAM would cost $440, plus new motherboard.
CPU: Intel - Core i5-9600K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($259.99 @ Walmart)
Memory: G.Skill - Sniper X 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($180.98 @ Newegg)

Just curious, how many SSD/HDDs do you have? That mobo only seems to support 4 if I'm not mistaken. Most new motherboards can support 6 drives, maybe 5 with a M.2 drive.

 

[sruddy]

you might've unplugged the power switch pins while opening up the pc. When it comes to the memory issue, I cant say anything about capture 1 or corel, but when I use photoshop, i run out of memory as well, and that is due to PS using a "scratch disk" to temporarily store data on your disk after the data fills up your ram, so running out of ram is totally normal in PS....or something like that. If your programs have scratch disks, try increasing the size and that may help.

The fan spinning up and getting loud under heavy editing is normal as it is working hard and getting hot...unless hwmonitor shows it getting too hot.

Thanks for the info M. The plug was still in place so I had to remove the front cover. I discovered a broken switch. I was able to push on the center and get it to turn on. I can't find an original switch so until I build a new machine I'm going to take one off my previous PC and and fix it to the chassis. I'll have to leave the front cover off so I can push the replacement switch on and off.

You could replace the CPU cooler with a decent air cooler ($35-50) Then when you upgrade the PC you just reinstall cpu cooler on new system. In meantime, it will greatly ensure temps are good and pull cool air over the RAM, and hot air towards exhaust fan.

Puget systems is good at info on Lightroom. They recommend 16gb RAM, but said 32gb is good if you do large files, 750MB+. https://www.pugetsystems.com/recomm...troom-Classic-CC-141/Hardware-Recommendations

However, your motherboard only supports up to 16gb RAM. So it f you want more you'll have to do it in a new system. Just sell off your old system and buy new.

Maybe upgrade the GPU too. You don't need more than a $250 GPU. Not sure what the one you have is in that pic.

Also, the i5-9600k is actually really impressive at the apps you listed. And it with RAM would cost $440, plus new motherboard.
CPU: Intel - Core i5-9600K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($259.99 @ Walmart)
Memory: G.Skill - Sniper X 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($180.98 @ Newegg)

Just curious, how many SSD/HDDs do you have? That mobo only seems to support 4 if I'm not mistaken. Most new motherboards can support 6 drives, maybe 5 with a M.2 drive.

Thanks for the info and links.

I think in light of the issues and the power switch crapping out I'm going to attempt building a new unit. I have never done this but feel very confident on the mechanics of it all, however I'm a bit intimidated on any set up and or configuring issues. I'm thinking of the following upgrade path I'm not sure if it's the smartest move so me know what you think. This will have to be done piecemeal.

1. Replace the Nvidia GTX 750 with a GeForce GTX 1060 or 1070Ti I have a 500w power supply and space that should work for either. I just don't know how to choose as there are so many aftermarket brands. I would like a quite option.
2. Replace the case with a full tower unit with power button on top or front top corner. I want it to be quite too.
3. Replace mother board. Not sure if I can use my existing i7 cpu or if I even want to.
4. add more Ram to equal 32GB mother board should have option to expand.

Please add suggestions for these parts as well.

Thanks!

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

You wont be able to use your old cpu or ram as new systems use a different socket and ddr4 memory.

Perhaps specify a budget to work around?

 

[sruddy]

You wont be able to use your old cpu or ram as new systems use a different socket and ddr4 memory.

Perhaps specify a budget to work around?

Ahh thanks for that, I would like to keep it under 2.5K. I also would like all SSD drives installed internally. I can keep all my HDD drives external as backup drives. I currently have two SSD drives I can use, one is a Samsung T5 1TB, and the other is a Samsung EVO 850 1TB. I would like to add 4 more TB of internal SSD. I'm guessing from your info the only thing I maybe able to salvage is the power supply, BD drive, ssd drives, fans, and cabling. I would also like the build with the future in mind so I don't have to start from scratch as time goes on.

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

2.5k is quite the sum. Well, both Intel and Amd will be announcing/releasing their next gen parts around computex, so I'd expect Intel to nix compatibility as they usually do, but atm the i9 9900k is the best consumer cpu to get but who knows if there will be an upgrade path after. But even without an upgrade path, the 9900k is a monster. in both performance and heat production.

In regard to the future, News sites specify ddr5 coming this year, but that means that even if you were to wait for intel's next gen, it'll probably still use ddr4.
So there will probably be an inevitability that you'll have to start from scratch the next time you want to upgrade. 🙁

So, for a 9900k system with a bunch of drives, any z390 motherboard, full size, that suits your fancy.
Definitely a m.2 nvme ssd like a 970 evo or a crucial p1($150-200) for boot and workflow, 1tb ssd's are ~$135 a piece with 2tb at $300 a piece, or a 4tb ssd for $700.





Honestly, I think I'm ill suited to answer with a 2.5k rig, especially with most of the money going to ssd storage, I'm more of a real tight budget kinda fellow.
But here's my estimate anyways lol https://pcpartpicker.com/list/QRWpsZ
the rtx 2060 is like a 1070ti but with 6gb vs 8gb
you can go cheaper with a gtx 1660ti(=1070)
rando case

The main problem I see is that most boards only support 6 sata ports and m.2 nvme will use up to 2, so only 4 remain, you'll probably have to add a sata 3.0 controller card if you have too many drives.

 

[sruddy]

2.5k is quite the sum. Well, both Intel and Amd will be announcing/releasing their next gen parts around computex, so I'd expect Intel to nix compatibility as they usually do, but atm the i9 9900k is the best consumer cpu to get but who knows if there will be an upgrade path after. But even without an upgrade path, the 9900k is a monster. in both performance and heat production.

In regard to the future, News sites specify ddr5 coming this year, but that means that even if you were to wait for intel's next gen, it'll probably still use ddr4.
So there will probably be an inevitability that you'll have to start from scratch the next time you want to upgrade. 🙁

So, for a 9900k system with a bunch of drives, any z390 motherboard, full size, that suits your fancy.
Definitely a m.2 nvme ssd like a 970 evo or a crucial p1($150-200) for boot and workflow, 1tb ssd's are ~$135 a piece with 2tb at $300 a piece, or a 4tb ssd for $700.





Honestly, I think I'm ill suited to answer with a 2.5k rig, especially with most of the money going to ssd storage, I'm more of a real tight budget kinda fellow.
But here's my estimate anyways lol https://pcpartpicker.com/list/QRWpsZ
the rtx 2060 is like a 1070ti but with 6gb vs 8gb
you can go cheaper with a gtx 1660ti(=1070)
rando case

The main problem I see is that most boards only support 6 sata ports and m.2 nvme will use up to 2, so only 4 remain, you'll probably have to add a sata 3.0 controller card if you have too many drives.

That gives me a lot to mull over! I'm thinking a bit more ahead now for the video card upgrade. I would like 4K support as I definitely will be upgrading the display sooner than any part of the new build. I'm liking this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JGJCX1...colid=2UAY16PCV5OO&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it or this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JGJCX1...colid=2UAY16PCV5OO&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it If I purchase one will it work in my current PC with a PCI express x 16 Either one will work but I'm wondering which will be quieter the 2 or 3 fan version. I wish they were the type that pushes air out of the case instead of inside but I'm trying to get the best bang for close to $500.

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

Pretty much any gpu will have 4k support, the old design of blowing heat out of the case has always been inferior in performance, so they finally went with a non blower style, the heat circulated in the case can simply be mitigated with proper airflow and a good exhaust fan. The 2070 should work well with your current pc, I'm just a tad bit worried if the 500w psu can cope, as a psu ages, the wattage decreases, so idk how much it can actually handle atm. also nvidias min suggested is 550w

 

[sruddy]

Pretty much any gpu will have 4k support, the old design of blowing heat out of the case has always been inferior in performance, so they finally went with a non blower style, the heat circulated in the case can simply be mitigated with proper airflow and a good exhaust fan. The 2070 should work well with your current pc, I'm just a tad bit worried if the 500w psu can cope, as a psu ages, the wattage decreases, so idk how much it can actually handle atm. also nvidias min suggested is 550w

Great! maybe I'll buy the card and bigger power supply while I'm making my mind up on the CPU and motherboard. Ill take a look at your suggestions. I didn't know about the parts picker so i'll have fun checking that out too! Thanks for your continued support it's greatly appreciated.

 

[sruddy]

Here is what I ended up ordering. My System $1K over budget! It's easy to get carried away, I hope I didn't make any terrible choices financially.

I didn't get the Windows 10 Pro yet and am wondering were to get it. One place I went, I got all the way to check out, and they wanted me to give them permission to give everyone and their mother my email for marketing purposes. Needless to say, I didn't go for that.

Thanks very much to envy14tpe as I used the hardware recommendations from Puget Systems LR Article that was linked.

Also thanks to maxamillionfeettal for doing a sample build at pcpartpicker I used several of your parts and then went on to create my own account and build. I found the parts picker invaluable, especially the compatibility feature.

My biggest fear, on how to get all the parts configured correctly and get the OS installed, is yet to come !

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

Wow......that's quite the sum. If you're already purchasing parts from newegg or amazon, you just get windows there, or just pay the premium and go to Microsoft's store directly, or a brink n mortar office store. Personally, I don't recommend just buying keys from key re-seller sites, have had more then a couple keys become invalid after some time 😡, but one may get lucky.

I don't see anything wrong with the build.
(other then the cost 😆 )

 

[sruddy]

I'm about finished installing my programs and have a few questions. So far my hardwired ethernet speed is slower than my wifi speed. I have two porst but I'm pretty sure they are the same and I I have tried both.I just had my internet service provider here and he said it must be a hardware issue as the wired speed to my wifes pc is fine and my wifi speed actually matches my wife's wired speed. Any clues of what I can do? I tried a lan driver update but get a message saying I have the latest drivers installed.

Second is I have two backup HDD drives and would like to install them in my case. Problem is I am using 1 x M2 which cuts my sata ports down to 4 and I'm using all of them for my systems ssd drives. There are two 3.0 ports on the cases i/o panel but I don't necessarily want to run a cable out of the case leading to them and don't know if I can tap into them.

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

The first port is a normal gigabit Ethernet , the second is a low power variant, what that means, idk. You try a different cable/modem port?


You have plenty of pci-e slots, just buy a pci-e sata controller. I have one, they work great, albeit messes with cable management.

 

[sruddy]

The first port is a normal gigabit Ethernet , the second is a low power variant, what that means, idk. You try a different cable/modem port?


You have plenty of pci-e slots, just buy a pci-e sata controller. I have one, they work great, albeit messes with cable management.

Nice! I didn’t know about that option. I like how the one I found has two internal ports.

The only thing I don’t like about the build is the GPU fan noise. I was not expecting it. I might try installing it directly in the slot which will make it horizontal. It could be the case is just a resonant one too. I can’t get the fans to run slower than 24. I wish they made it adjustable according to temperature.

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

If you install msi afterburner, you can make a fan speed profile dependent on temp.

 

[sruddy]

If you install msi afterburner, you can make a fan speed profile dependent on temp.

It appears to be freeware. What’s the safest place to download it?

Also I am doing a large Lightroom image file import and it’s pegging my cpu. I thought with all the cores I could use the internet or some other program while I’m waiting on the import but no way. Are there some motherboard or dips settings that would make my proformance better?

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

Lightroom will always peg the cpu at 100%, it will use everything it has available to it whether it be 4 cores or 18. You can set processor affinity in task manager, task manager, then details tab, right click lightroom, click 'set affinity' and check the cores you want it to use. maybe that'll help.


Just download afterburner direct from msi here at the bottom of the page.

 

[sruddy]

Lightroom will always peg the cpu at 100%, it will use everything it has available to it whether it be 4 cores or 18. You can set processor affinity in task manager, task manager, then details tab, right click lightroom, click 'set affinity' and check the cores you want it to use. maybe that'll help.


Just download afterburner direct from msi here at the bottom of the page.

Sweet, Thanks!!!! I just ordered the Sata Control Card. It's low profile so, if I take off the back panel mount, I maybe able to mount it behind the GPU . I know everyone says horizontal mounting makes the gpu run hotter but I don't think I'll be doing anything that will make it run hard.

 

[sruddy]

I just installed the PCIe sata controller. It's small so I got it to fit behind the GPU. Here are some photos of the build Thanks again for all the info. I couldn't have done it without you.

 

[mortemas]

That's the most beautiful user-posted photos of their build that I have seen! Nice job! No keystoning. Fixed in software?

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

Wow wow wow, now that's a sexy stock photo if i've ever seen one lol.

I can see how the side mounting would have heat issues, considering that there is prolly a lack of airflow over the fans and more airflow over the backplate.
Tbh, that side mount really tidies things up, personally I'd just deal with the heat if it's gonna look that good lol.