Upgrade Components vs. New Build

[michaelstack]

I built my current desktop 4 years ago and haven't kept up with the latest technology. I'm deciding whether to start over or upgrade select components to prolong the life of my current setup. I primarily use the computer for photo editing (Lightroom/Photoshop) and can many times deal with large panorama files (2-10GB). I'm not sure what specific components I should upgrade if I want to go that route rather than starting over. Any suggestions would be great.
• EVGA LGA 1366 X58
• i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06Ghz LGA 1366 130W (Quad-Core)
• Crucial Ballistix 12GB (6 x 2GB DDR3-1600 - 8-8-8-24)
• BFG Tech GeForce GTX 285 (1GB 512-bit GDDR3)
• WD 500GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s (operating system)
• WD 1TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s (storage)

 

[ingtar33]

replace the motherboard and cpu; get yourself a z87 motherboard and an i5-4670k or i7-4770k cpu. get yourself a cpu cooler like the hyper evo 212; while you get yourself a new r9-290 video card.

buy those things and have fun!

 

[michaelstack]

Ok so basically going with a whole new rig since most of the new motherboards only have 4 memory slots... my old one has 6 so I'll need to buy new RAM, too (otherwise I'll be going from 12GB to 8GB). Is there any issue with the newer technology out there - I'm worried about buying RAM/new components that aren't fully utilized because of limitations on the mobo. I used to have a general understanding of the FSB being the "gatekeeper" to throughput, but this has been replaced with QPI? Basically, I don't want to buy some fancy RAM that I can't take full advantage of. I'm looking at DDR3-1600/1866/2133. Suggestions/pros/cons welcome. Again - mainly for intense photo editing, not a gaming rig.

 

[ingtar33]

ah... well you were asking how to upgrade... there really isn't a cpu upgrade from where you're at unless you replace the motherboard. the gpu you have is probably fine if all you're doing is photo editing. so you can save cash there.

as for the ram, a haswell cpu will work with pretty much any speed ram you can touch. as long as it's ddr3... though there is really benefit to going over ddr3 1866 in speed.