Build Advice Future Proof Upgrade Advice Needed. Triple Monitor Business Machine

[Keystone4132]

I would like the community’s opinion on which if any components I should replace/upgrade so that my system is fast, reliable and future proof for at least the next 3 years. Thanks for reading my post.


Approximate Purchase Date: Black Friday/Cyber Monday

Budget Range: Unlimited. Money is not an issue if there is a clear benefit to replacing/adding a component.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: I am an investor and spend my days evaluating investments.

• Fast Windows startup
• Reliability
• Programs open quickly. Performance is not impacted by multi-tasking.
• Browsing: not unusual to have 10-50 tabs open across 3 monitors.
• ‘Think or Swim’ stock trading app open all day. (TDAmeritrade)
• Photography: Lightroom/Photoshop (Adobe Creative Cloud)
• Excel spreadsheets with extensive financial models
• Quicken: 200MB file. Large database can be slow.
• Email/Word processing

Are you buying a monitor: Not planning to upgrade monitors.

Parts to Upgrade: This is the reason for my post. I am open to upgrading any or all of my system. See www.pcpartpicker.com link below for the current system configuration.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes. Currently have Windows 7, which is going off support.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: www.pcpartpicker.com

Location: Dallas, TX

Parts Preferences: No

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No. I have a triple monitor setup now, but each monitor is a separate window

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200

Additional Comments: I am not a gamer. I do not stream video. I do use Microsoft Office, Think or Swim trading software, Lightroom/Photoshop, and Quicken. Chrome is my default browser.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I would like the community’s opinion on which if any components I should replace/upgrade so that my system is fast (for above uses), reliable and future proof for at least the next 3 years.

I evaluate my system every 3-4 years and buy parts as needed over Black Friday/Cyber Mondays. I purchased components in 2011, 2013, and 2016. I want my system to be up to date and reliable for the next 3 years. I will be upgrading to Windows 10.


Issues I’d like to address:
32G DDR3. Am I getting the full benefit?
Hang/Slowing. My machine can hang if I have multiple programs open: Think or Swim open along with Excel and numerous browser tabs.
Black Screen. I occasionally get intermittent black screen or screens, that last for 5-10 seconds (especially after Windows Updates).
Lightroom. When I am in Lightroom processing photos, I minimize the number of other programs I have open because it can slow things down.
Aging Storage. I have some older SSD/HDDs. I am open to replacing them.

Dates Purchased
2011: PSU, CPU Cooler, SSD 128G, HDD 1TB, Case, Optical Drive
2013: NAS, (2) HDD 4TB
2016: CPU, MoBo, GPU, Monitors/DPCables, SSD 850G, HDD 3TB, Win7

Current System Configurations:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/vFVwzN

CPU	Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz LGA 1150 Quad-Core Processor	BX80646I74790K	2/5/2016
CPU Cooler	COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus	RR-B10-212P-G1	7/22/2011
MoBo	Asus Z97-A/usb 3.1 LGA 1150 ATX	Z97-A/USB 3.1	2/5/2016
Memory - DDR3	Corsair (8Gx4=32G Total)	CMZ32GX3M4X1866C10	3/28/2017
SSD Drive	Samsung SSD 850 PRO 512GB	MZ-7KE512BW	1/17/2016
SSD Drive	Crucial M4 128 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	CT128M4SSD2	7/22/2011
HDD	Western Digital BLACK SERIES 3 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	WD3003FZEX	1/17/2016
HDD	Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	HD103SJ	7/22/2011
GPU	Sapphire Nitro R9 380 4G GDDR5 PCI-E	Model Number: 11242-13-20G	2/8/2016
Case	Lian Li PC-Z60B ATX Mid Tower Case	PC-Z60B	7/22/2011
USB Card Reader	Atech PRO-77U USB 3.0 Card Reader	PRO-77U	1/22/2016
PSU	Corsair Professional 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	CMPSU-650HX	7/22/2011
Optical Drive	Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer	DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS	7/22/2011
OS	Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM 64-bit		2/5/2016
Monitor	Dell U2415 24.1" 1920x1200 60 Hz Monitor	U2415	1/30/2016
Monitor	Dell U2415 24.1" 1920x1200 60 Hz Monitor	U2415	1/30/2016
Monitor	Dell U2415 24.1" 1920x1200 60 Hz Monitor	U2415	1/30/2016
Monitor	Dell U2415 24.1" 1920x1200 60 Hz Monitor	U2415	1/30/2016
DisplayPort Cables	(2) Accell DP to DP 1.2 - VESA-Certified DisplayPort 1.2 Cable - 10 Feet, HBR2, 4K UHD @60Hz, 1920x1080@240Hz	B142C-010B	2/14/2016
DisplayPort Cables	(2) Accell DP to DP 1.2 - VESA-Certified DisplayPort 1.2 Cable - 3 Feet, HBR2, 4K UHD @60Hz, 1920x1080@240Hz	B142C-003B	2/14/2016
Keyboard	Logitech K780 Wireless Slim Keyboard	K780
Mouse	Logitech G900 CHAOS SPECTRUM Wireless Optical Mouse	G900	2/7/2017
NAS	Synology DiskStation 2-Bay (Diskless) Network Attached Storage DS213+	DS213+	8/22/2013
HDD	Seagate SATA 6Gb/s 3.5-Inch 4TB Desktop HDD (for NAS)	ST4000DM000	8/22/2013
HDD	Seagate SATA 6Gb/s 3.5-Inch 4TB Desktop HDD (for NAS)	ST4000DM000	8/22/2013

 

[tennis2]

Are you saying your current system isn't meeting these listed needs?

I NEED a complete system overhaul, and I'm just not that excited about the state of hardware this year/ right now. I'm probably going to let BF come and go.

 

[Keystone4132]

Thanks for your reply.

My system works fine with the exception of the items I mentioned. The goal is to make updates that will keep it running at top performance for the next 3 years. I have to upgrade to Win10 as MSFT will stop supporting Win 7 shortly, and want to take care of any hardware changes while I was working on my system. I have an 8-year-old PSU and some aging HDD/SSDs. I want to be proactive in maintenance/upgrades rather than have the system fail at an inconvenient time (which is always the case).

I hear you on the state of hardware.

 

[Keystone4132]

bump

 

[WongKeyHeng]

Welp, You may have to get a new setup altogether...
the problem of black screen is gpu. get gtx 1080
cpu upgrades get a 7700k
get ddr4 2133mhz ram up to 64gb
get a mobo that supports all that
if you are upgrading hard drive, you could get a Seagate Constellaiton es.2 sed ST33000651NS hdd (its 3tb) get 3 of em