[SOLVED] Is my desktop slower than a newer laptop? Advice on new pc and upgrades?

Oblivion2500

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Jan 1, 2017
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I'm a game developer that is a 3d environment artist and game designer. I also do some programming as well. I mainly use my current desktop pc for that but I also use my pc for gaming, photo editing w/ lightroom/photoshop, video editing w/ blender or adobe premiere pro, and some music creation. I work a lot with Adobe CC, Unreal Engine, Blender, Maya, and ZBrush. So basically in one summary: a gaming workstation computer (it's also my only computer I have).
Here are my current specs:
  • CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor
  • CPU Cooler: Corsair H115i 104.65 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
  • Motherboard: MSI Z270I Gaming Pro Carbon AC Mini ITX LGA1151
  • Memory: G.Skill V Series 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory
  • Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Gaming X
  • Storage #1 (OS & Apps): Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5" SATA SSD
  • Storage #2 (Games): Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" SATA SSD
  • Storage #3 (Data/Files): Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200rpm HDD
  • Case: NZXT Manta Mini ITX Desktop Case (Black w/o window)
  • PSU: Corsair AX 860w 80+ Platinum Certified Modular ATX
  • Monitors (x2): Asus VS239-P 23" 1920x1080 IPS
I need a new computer eventually but that won't happen right now since my pc is still decent and it's also impossible to find a new graphic card. There are also many emerging new technologies worth waiting for (USB 4, Thunderbolt 4, RTX 4000, new CPUs, etc). However, my current pc is also slowing down a lot due to the graphic card not being able to handle Unreal Engine 4 or the new Unreal Engine 5, which doesn't feature RTX or ray-tracing features, and working with my game dev projects is very tasking at this point. One person from the Unreal forum pointed out that my hard drive is causing a lot of performance issues since all my files data and projects are on the hard drive and constantly loading from it (UE5 requires an SSD with 100GB for the base install + another 100GB for the sample project, just FYI). I am also running out of space on all 3 of my storage drives. My OS/App drive is low on space since adobe and unreal engine take up a lot of space and I'm always clearing cache too often which slows down my work since I have to recompile again and again. My CPU is so slow for compiling code and shaders. Its also slow for video editing and exporting. This computer still makes a decent gaming machine but not so great for a workstation...
Now here's my dilemma and question:
  1. Should I just upgrade and replace all the storage drives with the following?
  • Storage #1 (Apps/OS): Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB M.2-2280 NVME SSD
  • Storage #2 (Games): Samsung 860 EVO 1TB 2.5" SATA SSD
  • Storage #3 (Work Files - UE4, Blender, Video Editing Files, ETC): Samsung 860 Pro 2 TB 2.5" SATA SSD
  • Storage #4 (Long-Term Storage, Misc, etc): Western Digital Black 6TB 3.5" HDD
OR

Should I just sell the whole machine and get a gaming workstation laptop like the new razer blade 15 w/ 3080, MSI Creators Laptop, Alienware, Aorus, or ASUS gaming laptops? Would a laptop at this point be faster than my pc with the RTX cards, gen 4 SSD, and 8-core CPUs? Also, what laptop do you recommend? I'm still worried that razer blade laptops still have that battery expanding issue today.

Now, laptops are expensive and I do need lots of storage for video editing and game dev. Upgrading the gen 4 m.2 SSD would be crazy expensive. I would much rather get a cheap gaming laptop (for portability since I have to travel for work sometimes) and just replace my desktop with a brand new desktop next year or so. However, storage is a big issue, and performance from the CPU and Graphics Card is bothersome sometimes when working with Unreal Engine (not a big deal).
Should I invest in a good gaming workstation laptop or just upgrade my storage drives for now and wait till things are better and just replace the whole thing when the time comes?

Also, the storage drives that I listed for the upgrade are on sale for father's day (2 more days). So that's $200 off (which brings the total from $900 to 700).
 
Solution
I'd just upgrade the storage until you can get what you want in a desktop. A fast, modern laptop should be faster though.

Although I'd just do a 2TB 970 Evo (OS/Apps/Games), 2x1TB 870 Evo or 860 Pro (RAID 0, Work Files) and 6TB HDD (Other).
I'd just upgrade the storage until you can get what you want in a desktop. A fast, modern laptop should be faster though.

Although I'd just do a 2TB 970 Evo (OS/Apps/Games), 2x1TB 870 Evo or 860 Pro (RAID 0, Work Files) and 6TB HDD (Other).
 
Solution