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Upgrading my Build

A

Aut4600

n00b
Joined
Dec 21, 2015
Messages
16
Hello, need some help on what to upgrade since my current system slows down quite a bit when working in Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom, Web

Current System:
GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
i5-2400 @ 3.10GHZ
12GB RAM:
--- 2x G Skill Intl F3-10600CL9-2GBNT 2GB
--- 2x4GB G.SKILL Sniper 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) DirectX 11 N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II 1GB 256-Bit
Samsung DSpinpoint F3 1 TB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 32 MB Cache HD103SJ
+ 640GB Western Digital HD
Crucial M4 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC SSD
Corsair Carbide Series Black 400R Mid Tower Computer Case
Antec NeoECO C NeoECO 620C

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, office, web.. I want to be able to work efficiently between Photoshop and Lightroom while working on big .TIFF/.DNG images. - no gaming in the near future. Illustrator and office is usually also open for work related stuff.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
For upgrades ill put my budget below $600. If a new system has to be built, i might revise the budget. But i want to take as many parts as possible into a new system if needed.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
California

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Not Sure, I'm thinking that the motherboard and CPU needs to be upgraded. maybe RAM? PSU? I'm also looking into adding a 2nd SSD with higher capacity

I don't know exactly what needs to be upgraded. GPU,CPU,MB, PSU? all of them are pretty old to current standards.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.


6) Will you be overclocking?
no
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
24 inch, 1920x1200 max res

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
asap


9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Fast transfer speed between the hard drives.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
64 bit Windows 7 Pro - no plan on upgrading to windows 8 9 10


Thank you in advance! ;)
 
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I think you're running out of RAM. Next time you've got a full work load check Windows Task Manager and see how much of your system memory you're using.

If it's getting maxxed out then I'd suggest getting more RAM.
 
Yes, I would have to agree with Skillz, given your specs, you need to look at what is holding you back and my first GUESS would be RAM footprint.

What are you doing with those programs when you are seeing the actual slowdowns?
 
Hello skillz,


Thanks for your reply. RAM does tend to go high with my apps open. But CPU goes up to 98%. It is my understanding that the Adobe products use mostly the video card processor instead of the CPU?


RAM should be pretty cheap to replace. Can I keep some of my ram sticks? Or is there any new ram upgrades out there that are still compatible with my system?
 
Kyle I'm usually doing a lot of blending work in PS (up to 7 images) .raw .tiff .dng files
 
Aut4600 said:
Hello skillz,


Thanks for your reply. RAM does tend to go high with my apps open. But CPU goes up to 98%. It is my understanding that the Adobe products use mostly the video card processor instead of the CPU?


RAM should be pretty cheap to replace. Can I keep some of my ram sticks? Or is there any new ram upgrades out there that are still compatible with my system?
Click to expand...

Aut4600 said:
Kyle I'm usually doing a lot of blending work in PS (up to 7 images) .raw .tiff .dng files
Click to expand...


So here is the deal...your CPU SHOULD go up to those levels, because those programs are appropriately threaded to use all the CPU available to those during executions. You will have to have appropriate plugins if you want to render on the GPU, or have that set up as per whatever filter or process you are running. Odds are, unless you have configured for this, nothing is being rendered on your GPU.

What kind of RAM usage are you seeing DURING those operations that you see a lot of CPU usage?
 
DDR3 is still easy enough to find. I'd drop the 2GB sticks and replace with 4 or 8GB sticks, keep the 4GB sticks you have for now.

Something tells me this isn't just RAM, but we need to be sure of that before recommending something more drastic like a Skylake rebuild. That's largely because if you go out and buy more RAM for this machine it'll be useless with Skylake, since Skylake / Z170 needs DDR4, and you'd be buying DDR3 for this setup. Go through a normal process, keep task manager open and visible so you can watch RAM usage the whole time. See where it's at when you have issues.

If you do rebuild I'd pony up for the i7 rather than getting the i5, since hyperthreading will actually be helpful to you given your use case.
 
Thanks everyone for all the help & great information! I'll watch the RAM usage more closely tomorrow. I did notice the ram usage earlier at about 7700mb when CPU went up to 98%. This happened when I was merging 3 images together in PS. PS stopped responding for a few seconds - that's when I noticed the CPU/RAM usage
 
Aut4600 said:
Thanks everyone for all the help & great information! I'll watch the RAM usage more closely tomorrow. I did notice the ram usage earlier at about 7700mb when CPU went up to 98%. This happened when I was merging 3 images together in PS. PS stopped responding for a few seconds - that's when I noticed the CPU/RAM usage
Click to expand...


Oh yeah, you are bumping the RAM footprint almost assuredly. All kinds of inexpensive 1333MHz sticks out there you can grab.

https://pchound.com/part/memory/?query=1333&sort=["price_gb",false]&x=0
 
Also, where do you have your scratch disk located at? On the SSD or on the HD?
 
Which version of Photoshop?

Check to see if the GPU is being used for anything. Go to:
Edit | Preferences | Performance

Make sure Graphics Processor is checked (also make sure it's recognizes your GPU)
How much RAM do you have allocated to allow PS to use? My guess is the default which is probably around 50 - 60% of your total RAM. Slider the little slider over until it reaches the highest side of the Ideal Range.

In that same window you can choose your scratch disk location. I would make sure it's on the SSD.
 
There is an i5 - 2500k on the buy sell for $140. Match that with a hyper 212 and oc it to 4.2 and you'll probably do fine for another year.
 
trentchau said:
There is an i5 - 2500k on the buy sell for $140. Match that with a hyper 212 and oc it to 4.2 and you'll probably do fine for another year.
Click to expand...

trentchau said:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1042045951#post1042045951

Is the thread. A deal at $125
Click to expand...

He is a newbie that hasn't even been here two days and has way less than the required post count. Bad advice to recommend him to buy used hardware here on the forums. Most people wouldn't even deal with him since he's so new anyway.
 
Noted. I've had great experience with all post there so probably blinded to the experience.

I still think any i5-2500k or 2600k would be a decent upgrade for a year. Which isn't bad for sub $200
 
Thanks everyone for responding!

I have no clue about OC. would my PSU even be enough?

I checked my settings and GPU processor is on and recognized in Photoshop 2015 CC. Scratch disk is my SSD. I just noticed that my SSD is 80% full. But that shouldn't be the issue since I would get a "scratch disk is full" warning?

PS is allowed to use 7961mb RAM. I just ordered 2x8GB RAM since it's so super cheap
 
Aut4600 said:
Thanks everyone for responding!

I have no clue about OC. would my PSU even be enough?

I checked my settings and GPU processor is on and recognized in Photoshop 2015 CC. Scratch disk is my SSD. I just noticed that my SSD is 80% full. But that shouldn't be the issue since I would get a "scratch disk is full" warning?

PS is allowed to use 7961mb RAM. I just ordered 2x8GB RAM since it's so super cheap
Click to expand...

The additional memory should help...

As for your disk situation...

Uhm. You ARE going to start seeing performance degradation on any NTFS filesystem above 80% full.

Additionally, you ARE going to see I/O contention on the drive due to having your OS swap and scratch disk on the same drive. Not to mention the OS/Program I/O load.

Finally, you're contributing to the early wear of the drive by keeping it that full AND that busy.

Suggestion: Get another, larger, SSD, clone your current system over to it. Keep your OS paging file on the new drive. Use the original SSD as your scratch disk.
 
Get at least 16gb of memory. If you'd like drop that 2gb stick and grab 2 more 4GB sticks. If you can find a used i7 2600, grab that, save yourself money. Plug and play. I believe it is your RAM slowing you down, but those 8 threads are nice for your application
 
Thanks everyone. The new RAM is a cheap upgrade so I'll hope that helps for now. If so, then I'll save up for the upcoming year and build a completely new system. :)
 
As a photographer who works on fairly large files and a large amounts, I don't know if 12 gigs of ram is exactly the culprit to be honest. How long have you had the current windows install?

Yeah I have 32-64 gigs of ram now, but I also churn away at files on a little I5-4590 with 8 gigs of ram and the performance isn't too bad. Ram is a cheap solution but please keep us up to date about how your system is going after the upgrade, I'm genuinely curious.

By the way have a link to your port op? Mine is trentchau.500px.com, would love to see some of your work.
 
Hello,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I did get my RAM per mail and installed today. I ordered 2xCorsair 8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 1333 MHz (PC3 10666).

Everything went downhill. The goal was to have 24GB RAM. 2x4GB Gskill + the 2x8GB corsair. I was able to boot up into Windows and system was stable for 10-20mins but system kept crashing. (No blue screen)

My guess was that g.skill and corsair don't get along so I removed the g.skill ram. With only the corsair installed, I wasn't even able to boot up windows because now I'm getting a blue screen followed by an instant reboot. I did install the old RAM again (without corsair) but I'm still getting the blue screen.

Did I get the wrong RAM? Is my system fried?


Trentchau, I'm currently building a Flickr :) I'll share when my system is back up and running. Love your 500px. You got some amazing skills! I shoot more nature, urban street.
 
Aut4600 said:
Hello,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I did get my RAM per mail and installed today. I ordered 2xCorsair 8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 1333 MHz (PC3 10666).

Everything went downhill. The goal was to have 24GB RAM. 2x4GB Gskill + the 2x8GB corsair. I was able to boot up into Windows and system was stable for 10-20mins but system kept crashing. (No blue screen)

My guess was that g.skill and corsair don't get along so I removed the g.skill ram. With only the corsair installed, I wasn't even able to boot up windows because now I'm getting a blue screen followed by an instant reboot. I did install the old RAM again (without corsair) but I'm still getting the blue screen.

Did I get the wrong RAM? Is my system fried?


Trentchau, I'm currently building a Flickr :) I'll share when my system is back up and running. Love your 500px. You got some amazing skills! I shoot more nature, urban street.
Click to expand...

Well quick question. It's winter, dry weather, did you discharge static before you put the ram in?

If you are getting a blue screen do also check to make sure you didn't unseat any cables while jostling around inside the computer. You can also try reseating your hard drives cable but that shouldn't really be the issue.

I hope nothing fluky happened.
 
I worked on one of those anti static plastic mats (on top of a carpet floor) and I did the normal discharge via the case while leaving the system plugged in. I hope I didn't fry anything. :(

I did check all the cables and I made sure not to "mess" around inside. I'll check the HDD cables again tomorrow!
I was wondering if a Fresh win7 would help but I have important files on the SSD that I can't lose.
 
I did. Same outcome. Checked all cables and connections and cleaned out all the dust.

Not sure what else I could try. Resetting/removing the CMOS battery?


Maybe it is a sign to build a new system now ...
 
Yeah, pull the CMOS battery for a few minutes, then try to boot with one stick of RAM. If you can get in to BIOS, make sure your RAM settings are correct -- proper speeds, voltage, etc.
 
Hi,

Removed the CMOS battery twice for a few minutes and switched up RAM. Tried everything.
Also removed all HDDs except the main SSD with the OS but I'm still getting the blue screen! :-(
 
OP,
Not all boards can actually run with all 4 banks populated stably. One would not imagine it to be a big thing these days, and the manufacturers certainly help that sentiment along - but it's not surprising that the board is balking.

Did you try with just the 2 8GB GSkill sticks and ensure they were in dual channel mode / slots?

Edit: Make sure the power is off (PSU switch off) to the board, and give the board time to drain any residual power when you're pulling the CMOS.
 
Last edited:
atp1916 said:
OP,
Not all boards can actually run with all 4 banks populated stably. One would not imagine it to be a big thing these days, and the manufacturers certainly help that sentiment along - but it's not surprising that the board is balking.

Did you try with just the 2 8GB GSkill sticks and ensure they were in dual channel mode / slots?

Edit: Make sure the power is off (PSU switch off) to the board, and give the board time to drain any residual power when you're pulling the CMOS.
Click to expand...

Hi atp1916,

Yes I did try the 2x8 sticks in dual channel slots with the same instant blue screen at "starting Windows". Also the system reboots right away so I'm unable to see the actual blue screen error code.

Frustrating :(

I'm removing the cmos battery one more time and let the MB drain for at least one hour.
 
Ah, well you shouldn't need a full hour - but rather just a few solid minutes (2-3) should do the trick.



Edit - You should be able to mash F8 to get to the list of start-up options that would give you access to Safe Mode. If you can get into Safe Mode (boot through to the desktop), then I would be quite confident in positing that the ram isn't the issue. I say this because if the memory was the true culprit, it would (should?) cause the same blue screen / error / reboot because ram doesn't care what mode your OS is operating in.

I know you also said that you had not messed with any of the cables, but in the process of resetting your bios you did ensure that your boot order was/is correct and that the SATA mode was/is set correctly for your boot drive?

On the older boards, the default SATA setting may be "IDE" and i cannot recount how many times i've seen that one setting be the root cause for failures to boot.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the help :) I appreciate it.

I changed the setting from IDE to AHCI which allowed me to boot up into Windows! This is with the 2x 8GB corsair ram installed. Thanks for the tip, I never thought of that.

I was able to surf the web and open Lightroom for about 15min before the system did another instant reboot. (No blue screen). The last two reboots, windows just gets stuck when viewing the desktop and won't recover by itself.

Should I just go ahead and format the SSD and do a fresh win7 install? Hate to loose some files on that drive...
 
If your plan was to build a new system anyways, you can go ahead and buy a new ssd and install windows to that drive. Then you can put your old ssd on it to copy the files over.

Or you can just do a quick install on an old drive to make sure it boots up fine, copy your files over or back them up, and then ghost your windows drive to your ssd.
 
OP, you listed a 560 Ti card in your specs and, if i remember correctly, those cards were trouble because of stock voltage which was too low.

Now, you also say that 'windows just gets stuck when viewing the desktop and won't recover by itself' - call me crazy, but i think it's your GPU not cooperating.

I'd install Afterburner and up your voltage to say 1.000v. If the rig fails again, up your voltage in hundredths and try again.

Your original issue may have been this 560 Ti all along...


P.s. Try all 4 sticks of ram in there! :D
 
Thanks everyone!

I've never updated the firmware of the SSD. I'll give it a try tonight!

I'm thinking of getting the Samsung Evo 500GB for a fresh OS install.
 
Hi everyone & happy new year!

So I've been working on the issues again, updated the SSD firmware, filled up all 4 slots with RAM. I was actually able to do some work in PS/LR for about 40mins before it again shut down without warning and rebooted. I downloaded afterburner but it won't let me change the voltage, OR system will freeze and a forced reboot is needed.

I've also received my new SSD per mail and was planning to do a fresh Win7 install but after much thinking I decided to just go with a new i7 build and start fresh.
On my current system, Adobe PS/LR will never run delay free/efficient and it's just time to upgrade I think.

I'm still planning on fixing my current system someday but I need something better and reliable for now.

The skylake i7-2700 seems to be top of the line right and I'm planning on keeping the new build for a few years!

Please help me put something together with my (updated) budget. Would love to salvage the HDDs, DVD drive, case(?) from my current system. See below:
Current System:
GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 ATX
i5-2400 @ 3.10GHZ
RAM:
--- 2x8GB Corsair DDR3
--- 2x G Skill Intl F3-10600CL9-2GBNT 2GB
--- 2x4GB G.SKILL Sniper 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) DirectX 11 N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II 1GB 256-Bit
Samsung DSpinpoint F3 1 TB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 32 MB Cache HD103SJ
+ 640GB Western Digital HD
Crucial M4 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC SSD
Corsair Carbide Series Black 400R Mid Tower Computer Case
Antec NeoECO C NeoECO 620C

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, office, web.. I want to be able to work efficiently between Photoshop and Lightroom while working on big .TIFF/.DNG images. - NO GAMING. Illustrator and office is usually also open for work related stuff.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Updating my Budget to $900. I understand that the i7 2700 and probably a GTX 970 is already close to $800. So if needed I can stretch out my budget to +$1100....

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
California

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, RAM, VIDEO CARD, MOTHERBOARD, CPU COOLER (?) POWER SUPPLY (?), CASE (?)

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Samsung DSpinpoint F3 1 TB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 32 MB Cache HD103SJ
+ 640GB Western Digital HD
Crucial M4 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC SSD
Corsair Carbide Series Black 400R Mid Tower Computer Case
Brand new Samsung EVO 850 - 500GB SSD

6) Will you be overclocking?
no

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
24 inch, 1920x1200 max res

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Now

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Fast transfer speed between the hard drives.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
64 bit Windows 7 Pro - no plan on upgrading to windows 8 9 10

Please let me know if I can use some old parts in my new build. I'm very happy with my current case, so if I could save $$ that would be great! :D

Thanks everyone for your assistance. :) you guys are awesome!
 
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