Trying to match system to requirements, need advice

[vwcrusher]

About 6 years ago I built the system below:

Intel i7-3770 3.4GHz
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
ASUS P8H77-V MB
16GB DDR3
Samsung 256GB 830 SSD (OS and apps)
1TB WD Black HDD 64MB cache (data)
XFX Pro550W PSU
Xion Onyx XON-303 Mid tower
Auria 27" EQ276W (2560 x 1440) Monitor

Used for: general use (email, web, etc), Adobe Lightroom image editing, gaming.
I plan on upgrading the GPU to either a GTX 1070 ti or 1080, and as such have purchased a Seasonic Focus+ 650W Gold PSU, and Fractal Design Define R6 Mid tower case, based on recommendations from this and other forums.

The question is should I be thinking of upgrading more of the system, e.g., CPU, MB, monitor?

I have stuck with this monitor as it has very good color accuracy, but I also suspect that there are very accurate 4K models available now. I am also curious about overclocking - risk vs reward.

Sure could use some direction and trade offs.....

Thanks!

 

[rgd1101]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from vwcrusher : "Upgrade older SSD and HDD?"

Hi all,

Back about 5-6 years ago I built the system below. I plan on updating over the next few months, and the question is do I need to upgrade disk drives?
I do not know if current models are any faster than what I have.

Thanks

i7-3770 3.4GHz CPU
CM Hyper 212 EVO
ASUS P8H77-V MB
16 GB DDR 3
Samsung 830 256G SSD
1TB WD Caviar Black HDD (7200rpm)
XFX Pro550W PSU

 

[feelinfroggy777]

If it were me, I would hang on to your 3770 for another generation. It is still a capable CPU and moving into a new CPU would require a complete platform upgrade which could get expensive. Additionally, at 1440p resolution, the CPU is less stressed than the GPU which makes a CPU upgrade less impactful. Maybe next year you could look at what AMD's 7nm or Intel's 10nm CPUs look like.

I would say go for a new monitor though. It will make a big difference if you get a 1070ti/1080. I don't know your budget, but I would at least look for a 1440p/144hz monitor. If you can get one with gsync, even better. But gsync comes with an added cost.

This is not a cheap monitor, but it is a really good one that checks all the right boxes.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824106004

 

[vwcrusher]

If it were me, I would hang on to your 3770 for another generation. It is still a capable CPU and moving into a new CPU would require a complete platform upgrade which could get expensive. Additionally, at 1440p resolution, the CPU is less stressed than the GPU which makes a CPU upgrade less impactful. Maybe next year you could look at what AMD's 7nm or Intel's 10nm CPUs look like.

I would say go for a new monitor though. It will make a big difference if you get a 1070ti/1080. I don't know your budget, but I would at least look for a 1440p/144hz monitor. If you can get one with gsync, even better. But gsync comes with an added cost.

This is not a cheap monitor, but it is a really good one that checks all the right boxes.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824106004

Thanks for the reply and advice....I will hang on to the current system, but I do have an additional question regarding storage - are my current SSD and HDD a bottleneck at all given they are 6 years old?

Thanks for the monitor suggestion...the one factor that is important to me is color accuracy, as I use it for image editing in Adobe Lightroom. How important is gsync?

 

[feelinfroggy777]

If it were me, I would hang on to your 3770 for another generation. It is still a capable CPU and moving into a new CPU would require a complete platform upgrade which could get expensive. Additionally, at 1440p resolution, the CPU is less stressed than the GPU which makes a CPU upgrade less impactful. Maybe next year you could look at what AMD's 7nm or Intel's 10nm CPUs look like.

I would say go for a new monitor though. It will make a big difference if you get a 1070ti/1080. I don't know your budget, but I would at least look for a 1440p/144hz monitor. If you can get one with gsync, even better. But gsync comes with an added cost.

This is not a cheap monitor, but it is a really good one that checks all the right boxes.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824106004

Thanks for the reply and advice....I will hang on to the current system, but I do have an additional question regarding storage - are my current SSD and HDD a bottleneck at all given they are 6 years old?

Thanks for the monitor suggestion...the one factor that is important to me is color accuracy, as I use it for image editing in Adobe Lightroom. How important is gsync?

I would probably go ahead and get a new SSD. Your HDD is fine. SSDs have come down significantly in price since you got your 830. Your current board wont allow you to use a NVMe drive, but for your use case, there wont be much real world difference between the NVMe and SATA SSD.

The Samsung 850/860 EVO is one of the most popular SSDs in the world. The 860 was released this year and is really just a refresh of the 850. In the past there was Samsung, and everyone else, but now there are plenty other SSD manufactures that can meet the Samsung performance and cost less. I would look at getting a Corsair MX500. They are very good SATA SSDs and they are a nice price.

As for color accuracy, any of the top end IPS panels are going to have excellent color accuracy. The only real difference in a gaming monitor and a professional monitor is gaming panels typically have a higher refresh rate, response time, and adaptive sync. This is why gaming panels usually cost more than a professional panel as they have more features.

Gsync is a module on the monitor that works with an Nvidia GPU. What it does is match the monitor's refresh rate with the GPU's fps output with minimal lag. What that means is that you will have very smooth game play as the monitor is refreshing in sync with the GPU. This will eliminate screen tearing and makes games look very nice. You can enable vsync in the games, but this will create additional lag and is not preferred by gamers.

While gsync is not mandatory, it is a really nice feature to have for gaming. So if you want the best gaming experience, then it may be worth the extra money.

 

[vwcrusher]

If it were me, I would hang on to your 3770 for another generation. It is still a capable CPU and moving into a new CPU would require a complete platform upgrade which could get expensive. Additionally, at 1440p resolution, the CPU is less stressed than the GPU which makes a CPU upgrade less impactful. Maybe next year you could look at what AMD's 7nm or Intel's 10nm CPUs look like.

I would say go for a new monitor though. It will make a big difference if you get a 1070ti/1080. I don't know your budget, but I would at least look for a 1440p/144hz monitor. If you can get one with gsync, even better. But gsync comes with an added cost.

This is not a cheap monitor, but it is a really good one that checks all the right boxes.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824106004

Thanks for the reply and advice....I will hang on to the current system, but I do have an additional question regarding storage - are my current SSD and HDD a bottleneck at all given they are 6 years old?

Thanks for the monitor suggestion...the one factor that is important to me is color accuracy, as I use it for image editing in Adobe Lightroom. How important is gsync?

I would probably go ahead and get a new SSD. Your HDD is fine. SSDs have come down significantly in price since you got your 830. Your current board wont allow you to use a NVMe drive, but for your use case, there wont be much real world difference between the NVMe and SATA SSD.

The Samsung 850/860 EVO is one of the most popular SSDs in the world. The 860 was released this year and is really just a refresh of the 850. In the past there was Samsung, and everyone else, but now there are plenty other SSD manufactures that can meet the Samsung performance and cost less. I would look at getting a Corsair MX500. They are very good SATA SSDs and they are a nice price.

As for color accuracy, any of the top end IPS panels are going to have excellent color accuracy. The only real difference in a gaming monitor and a professional monitor is gaming panels typically have a higher refresh rate, response time, and adaptive sync. This is why gaming panels usually cost more than a professional panel as they have more features.

Gsync is a module on the monitor that works with an Nvidia GPU. What it does is match the monitor's refresh rate with the GPU's fps output with minimal lag. What that means is that you will have very smooth game play as the monitor is refreshing in sync with the GPU. This will eliminate screen tearing and makes games look very nice. You can enable vsync in the games, but this will create additional lag and is not preferred by gamers.

While gsync is not mandatory, it is a really nice feature to have for gaming. So if you want the best gaming experience, then it may be worth the extra money.

Ok, new SSD....is this the one you are suggesting?
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820156172&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Solid+State+Disk-_-N82E16820156172&gclid=Cj0KCQjwof3cBRD9ARIsAP8x70Oc1YoUkW198JAif2y97-Xq0hoxsxFbNjHX__qjI2t0HJ1N2wT2a0QaAlreEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

In order to utilize this SSD, I will need to transfer all the data (W10 and all applications) over to it.
There used to be a utility called 'ghost' that enabled this, but I am talking some years ago.
Is there any current utility that you know of that can do this, or do I need another PC to accomplish this?

Thanks for the primer on IPS monitors; It seems that a gaming screen that specifically is IPS and has those characteristics you noted.
I did look up the monitor you linked and frankly, according to Newegg reviews, it isn't thought of very highly especially at that price point. Are there any others that you might suggest?

And thank you very much for your help!

 

[vwcrusher]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from vwcrusher : "Upgrade SSD to newer model?"

It was suggested that I upgrade my current SSD to a newer model.
My current system:

Intel i7-3770 3.4GHz
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
ASUS P8H77-V MB
16GB DDR3
Samsung 256GB 830 SSD (OS and apps)
1TB WD Black HDD 64MB cache (data)
XFX Pro550W PSU
Xion Onyx XON-303 Mid tower
Auria 27" EQ276W (2560 x 1440) 60Hz Monitor

Note: am in the process of upgrading GPU to either a GTX 1070 ti or 1080, new PSU is Seasonic Focus+ 650w Gold, new case is Fractal Design R6. The upgrade plan will include more system components next year.

The question is whether I should upgrade the SSD as it is an older model and could be a bottleneck. If that is the recommendation what is the procedure for transferring W10 and all the applications to the new drive?

Thank you.

do not upgrade the SSD it is not the bottleneck you will see no improvement if you need more capacity just add a bigger ssd or hard drive

do not upgrade the SSD it is not the bottleneck you will see no improvement if you need more capacity just add a bigger ssd or hard drive

Thank you may I ask why?; also, as I stated in my request my plan is to upgrade the GPU and then determine if the system requires more updates.....the use includes photo editing via Adobe Lightroom and gaming.

Are there any other recommendations?

Bottleneck? huh? no. If it works and speeds are fine, which I'm sure they are. Just keep it. Only reason to upgrade a SSD is if you want more volume. I went from 250gb to 1tb. Speed was same but everything I wanted fit on it.

Bottleneck? huh? no. If it works and speeds are fine, which I'm sure they are. Just keep it. Only reason to upgrade a SSD is if you want more volume. I went from 250gb to 1tb. Speed was same but everything I wanted fit on it.

Thanks for the reply; another question: based on my current system and upgrade path (GPU), what are your thoughts on the 'weakest' area of my system that will need addressing? I am thinking in term of intended use (Lightroom and gaming)?

Appreciate the guidance.....