[SOLVED] Haven't Replaced Components for Many, Many Years - Seeking Advice

Nov 9, 2020
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Hello,

I have a Desktop that I bought a while back for gaming purposes that I thought it would be fun to upgrade. In particular, I was hoping to make some quality of life upgrades that would make games load faster (so less waiting for levels to load and the like). I might also put in a new graphics card, though it has a GTX 1060 (6 gb) which has been fine. My understanding is that I should invest in a SSD and additional RAM to this effect (it currently has 2x8gb). However, I'm not sure what kind of SSD to purchase. It has an SSD boot drive that is in a fitted slot above a holding case for HDD drives (which is the 1 tb drive where the games are stored). If anyone has a moment to explain what I need to know to purchase an SSD and RAM, it would be hugely appreciated. I have read some articles, but I end up confused about what will work with what I currently have. To the extent it matters, I have a B360-a Pro motherboard and the power supply is 600 megawatts.

Thanks very much and sorry for the interruption,
Ed
 
Solution
I see. So I would have to replaced the Optane module with a bigger one. Could I just buy a big one and get the Windows on it installed on the new one?
You'd replace it with a regular NVMe drive, not another Optane.

And yes, you could.
Significant disruption, and giving up the current pairing of Optane+HDD.

Lots of reconfig, for probably not a lot of actual gain.

Personally, I'd just add another SATA SSD.
Nov 9, 2020
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CPU
Motherboard
PSU
GPU
All current storage devices

Make/model

CPU is Core i5-8400
Motherboard - B360-a pro
PSU is Masterwatt Lite 600
GPU is GTX-1060 (6 gb)
SSD - Crucial MX500 (256 gb) (boot drive)
HDD - Intel Optane+932GBHHD (storage drive)

The make and model is a PowerSpec I bought at MicroCenter. I believe that they just put them together themselves in store.

Does this work?
 
Nov 9, 2020
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Thats a fairly well balanced system.

Unless there is some glaring performance issue you're seeing, in the applications and function you use...I'd be inclined to leave it until you're ready for a whole new platform.

Thanks. I tried a friend's laptop and the games just loaded really fast. For example, Warhammer Total War II battles just started in a matter of seconds, whereas I have to wait a minute or so. Is there any way to achieve that result with this set up?
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Thanks. I tried a friend's laptop and the games just loaded really fast. For example, Warhammer Total War II battles just started in a matter of seconds, whereas I have to wait a minute or so. Is there any way to achieve that result with this set up?
What drive is the game installed on?
If the HDD...it will load slower than if on a solid state drive.


(and you're welcome!)
 
Thanks. Will those just work with my motherboard? That's the one thing that I've been tripped up on. I wasn't sure if adding another would be impossible.
provided you get a SATA SSD, your motherboard won't care and see it as a HDD anyway. Getting a M.2 SSD on it would be a bit tricky due to the need to shuffle the Optane drive around.
Please note that due to your friend's laptop probably using a NVMe SSD with thrice the throughput of a SATA SSD, load times may still be noticeably longer - if it took 5 seconds on his PC to start, yours will probably take 15-20 seconds. That's to be expected.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
provided you get a SATA SSD, your motherboard won't care and see it as a HDD anyway. Getting a M.2 SSD on it would be a bit tricky due to the need to shuffle the Optane drive around.
Please note that due to your friend's laptop probably using a NVMe SSD with thrice the throughput of a SATA SSD, load times may still be noticeably longer - if it took 5 seconds on his PC to start, yours will probably take 15-20 seconds. That's to be expected.
The sequential benchmarks for NVMe are certainly much higher than a SATA III SSD.
User facing performance, especially in games, is not so great.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
I see. So I would have to replaced the Optane module with a bigger one. Could I just buy a big one and get the Windows on it installed on the new one?
You'd replace it with a regular NVMe drive, not another Optane.

And yes, you could.
Significant disruption, and giving up the current pairing of Optane+HDD.

Lots of reconfig, for probably not a lot of actual gain.

Personally, I'd just add another SATA SSD.
 
Solution

Zerk2012

Titan
Ambassador
CPU is Core i5-8400
Motherboard - B360-a pro
PSU is Masterwatt Lite 600
GPU is GTX-1060 (6 gb)
SSD - Crucial MX500 (256 gb) (boot drive)
HDD - Intel Optane+932GBHHD (storage drive)

The make and model is a PowerSpec I bought at MicroCenter. I believe that they just put them together themselves in store.

Does this work?
PSU is Masterwatt Lite 600

That is complete garbage I would not use it in any PC I built even a HTPC much less a gaming PC.