How can I make my PC decrease render times?

[Jacob999]

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury White 2 x 4GB DDR3-1600
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB G1
Case: NZXT S340 (White)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 850W 80+ Gold (I know, 850W?!?! It was on sale cheaper than 500W alternatives!)

So this is my PC, a little unbalanced, but what can I do (without a complete system overhaul) to increase my render times for programs like after effects? I am quite limited on my budget, but I would like to be made aware of the possible options I have. I think the most obvious is to upgrade RAM, but I'm not sure how large of an effect that will have. Perhaps the best performance per dollar would be achieved by a new mobo paired with a new gen CPU and a SSD?

What are your thoughts? What would you do?

Thanks guys, Jacob.

 

[Supahos]

Get a 4790k on ebay is probably the best thing you can do, then sell your cpu when you get new one upand running, could do the same with your memory, buy 16 Gb kit, sell your 8gb. Total upgrade cost shouldn't be much over $125 and it'll make a pretty big difference

 

[innocent bystander]

My recommended list (in that order)

1. Make sure you are using your GPU to give AE a boost (https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/using/rendering-opengl.html)
2. Get an SSD (it will make your system more responsive all around)
3. Get more RAM (16GB for your use).
4. Upgrade CPU but don't go next gen. Just keep your mobo and get a Haswell i7. Multithreading will boost your rendering performance.

 

[Jacob999]

Get a 4790k on ebay is probably the best thing you can do, then sell your cpu when you get new one upand running, could do the same with your memory, buy 16 Gb kit, sell your 8gb. Total upgrade cost shouldn't be much over $125 and it'll make a pretty big difference

I'm just a little weary of not having warranty on my parts. But this is actually a really good idea, definitely going to look into this. Thanks dude!

 

[Supahos]

Lol the ssd will do nothing to help render times, why would you put that as second when he's asking for render time decrease? Rest is pretty solid advice though

 

[Supahos]

If you're that worries about warranty you can still buy new 4790ks for about $40-50 more than used on eBay, so act accordingly

 

[k1114]

Ray tracing is the only part the gpu helps with rendering which is probably not something he's using. The opengl parts are the preview window so for the most part you can say that ae is just a cpu renderer. So the biggest boost would be a better cpu. Staying with the same mobo is the cheapest option. If you have the budget, only x99 would be a decent step up. Second would be more ram. At least 16gb and you can see the ram usage easily in ae but you can also just add 2x8gb for 24gb. Lastly would be ssd as it doesn't help nearly as much as the others. If you don't want to reinstall the os, you can set it in ae for cache and output, and you can also put the media on it.