[SOLVED] Upgrade ram or ssd as video editor?

[poisoncobra]

Hello everyone,
I am new to tom’s hardware, I have a mediocre laptop that I use frequently for editing videos and gaming.
https://www.msi.com/Laptop/GP63-Leopard-8RE/Specification
Above is the link to the specification of it.
I don’t have a whole lot of money to spend on the upgrades but I want to boost the performance for mainly video editing. I have currently small ssd and 1tb hhd that is extremely slow.
Would upgrading the ssd to say 1tb from 128gb so I can fit more than just windows os on it or upgrading to have more ram from 16gb ddr4 be more beneficial?
Also I know almost nothing about pc upgrades and I do not have practical experience in this, so any tips would be greatly appreciated. Could you kindly also recommend me a fast but not too expensive ssd/ ram to get if you recommend me to get.

thank you so much in advance

ken

 

[logainofhades]

For overall system responsiveness/faster load times, I would remove the 1tb HDD, and replace it with a 1tb sata SSD. Keep all your games, and files, on the 1tb SSD, and leave the 128gb only for OS.

 

[poisoncobra]

For overall system responsiveness/faster load times, I would remove the 1tb HDD, and replace it with a 1tb sata SSD. Keep all your games, and files, on the 1tb SSD, and leave the 128gb only for OS.

thank you for your fast response, that is a really smart idea, I didn't even think of that tbh, I originally thought of putting in 1tb ssd in place of the 128gb one and just leave the slow hhd in it too.

 

[logainofhades]

My gaming laptop has a 256gb M.2, that it came with. I took out the 7200rpm 1tb HDD, and put in a 1tb Crucial MX500.

 

[Nemesia]

128GB for an OS drive? Not recommended. That's asking for issues later. 256GB minimum.

You can use the 128GB but do not install anything on it except Windows.

 

[poisoncobra]

128GB for an OS drive? Not recommended. That's asking for issues later. 256GB minimum.

You can use the 128GB but do not install anything on it except Windows.

Thanks for your response, what issues could it arise? So if I get 1tb ssd, you think I should just put it instead of 128gb and keep the 1tb hhd too?

 

[poisoncobra]

My gaming laptop has a 256gb M.2, that it came with. I took out the 7200rpm 1tb HDD, and put in a 1tb Crucial MX500.

How was the performance after putting it in?

 

[Nemesia]

Thanks for your response, what issues could it arise? So if I get 1tb ssd, you think I should just put it instead of 128gb and keep the 1tb hhd too?

Some issues could arise later on. Such as you filling up the drive too much and the drive starting to speed crawl or if a big Windows Updates is released and you having your SSD too filled up. Windows won't like that at all and give you issues.

You can use that 128GB like it was suggested. Just be sure that only the OS is installed and that you never install any programs on that SSD. Ever.

 

[poisoncobra]

Some issues could arise later on. Such as you filling up the drive too much and the drive starting to speed crawl or if a big Windows Updates is released and you having your SSD too filled up. Windows won't like that at all and give you issues.

You can use that 128GB like it was suggested. Just be sure that only the OS is installed and that you never install any programs on that SSD. Ever.

Thank you so much for your advice. Would I need to Reinstall windows all over again if I currently have windows on that small ssd and I replace the hhd with the big ssd
And can I format all the drives when I use Microsoft media creation tool/ installation tool?

 

[geofelt]

I might suggest simply replacing the 128 gb ssd with a 1tb ssd.
I would remove the 1tb HDD and buy an external usb enclosure for it.
Use the HDD as an external backup. I
These days 128gb ssd is too small for windows. Many things default to the C drive.
When that drive fills up to 90% it will start to lose performance and endurance.
Past that, it is harder to manage two drives and allocate files than it is on one simple address space.

I am a fan of the samsung ssd migration aid.
I have used it to upgrade many laptops without issue.
You have two m.2 slots for pcie or sata as well as a 2.5" sata slot(where I assume your HDD resides.
You could use any of them for the upgrade.
A 2.5" ssd like the samsung 860 QVO could do the job. About $110.
https://www.newegg.com/samsung-860-qvo-series-1tb/p/N82E16820147738

If you have the budget, a 970 EVO or EVO + will be about $170
https://www.newegg.com/samsung-970-evo-1tb/p/N82E16820147691
PCIE sequential performance is some 5x faster.
That is not as good as it sounds since most activity will be small random I/O.
You can download the aid and instructions here:

Tool & Software Download | Samsung Semiconductor Global

Download various software related to your product, including Samsung Magician, designed for use with Samsung's memory products, and find related information.

www.samsung.com

You just install the new ssd. Samsung has an optimized pcie driver which should also be installed.
Run the app.
When done, you just change the boot order and remove the old C drive.

On your question for video editing, more ram may well be a good option depending on the app you use.
Some apps like photoshop can use ram as a workfile for a good increase in performance.