Build New or Upgrade current... Help?

So I am currently using an Asus M11bb-b06 PC with Windows 8.1. It has a 3.7ghz AMD A10 processor with the integrated Radeon graphics , 8gb ram, with a 1TB hdd. this machine suffers when trying to edit in LR5 and simply listen to music at the same time. So i have been considering doing a heavy upgrade or just build a new one form scratch. Please review my 2 considerations and let me know which one might be better. Personally I absolutely hate lag and wait times, but i also hate spending all of my money. so my attempt is to get teh best of both worlds.

Upgrade option:
add: 8gb crucial ddr3 1600mhz ram http://www.amazon.com …&psc=1&smid=ATV​PDKIKX0DER
add: MSI Computer Corp. Video Graphics Card R9 270 GAMING 2G http://www.amazon.com …&psc=1&smid=ATV​PDKIKX0DER
add: EVGA 600B 80PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V/EPS12V Active PFC 600W Power Supply 100-B1-0600-KR (if necessary) http://www.amazon.com …&psc=1&smid=ATV​PDKIKX0DER
add: Crucial MX100 256GB SSD http://www.amazon.com …&psc=1&smid=ATV​PDKIKX0DER

this will cost me ~$350 + the $500 i originally paid for the machine= ~$850


Build Option:
Intel Core i7-4790K Haswell Quad-Core 4.0GHz $339
ASRock Z97M Pro4 LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $99
Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB memory $142
Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 SSD: $108
2x Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB (Raided) $54 each
GIGABYTE GV-N75TOC-2GI G-SYNC video/graphics card ~$150
Fractal Design Integra R2 650W ATX12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Power Supply $70
RAIDMAX Hyperion MATX-102WBU Black/Blue Aluminum / Plastic / Steel Micro ATX Computer Case $70

Adding a cpu cooler and OS will run me ~$1250

I know i may not have added all compatible componenets, but you kind of get the idea I hope.

First of all, you don't need an i7, an i5 will probably be more than fine. Check some benches and get a cheaper i5 version if you aren't doing anything beyond Lightroom.

Second is that you don't need a GPU for Lightroom or PS. It would have minimal to no influence. If your CPU and MB have onboard video, you can omit this item entirely.

The only two upgrades you could toss into your machine now and see performance difference would be a SSD and the 16GB RAM that you could potentially use later for your complete PC rebuild if you wanted.

Personally I'd opt to go for the simple upgrades first and see where that takes you. (RAM and SSD) Then if you aren't satisfied you can always upgrade your case+CPU/MB+PSU after with the new components you already purchased. Also, you don't necessarily need to get a CPU cooler unless your overclocking or want something quieter. Some of the processors come with a heatsink and fan like the one you mentioned. Also bargain hunt for some of those items.

Honestly, a 1250 machine is quite the machine and I think you could build a much more powerful machine or with less money.

Read up some of the previous builds on http://www.tomshardwar​e.com/t/build-your-own/ and see what you could do and tweak.

How about just add some memory and an SSD and your system performance would improve to no end.

Inside windows, load up task manager and force it to stay ontop. set it to show your memory and CPU performance. Then start running your tasks that you say cause everything to slow down.

If you see that your memory is maxing out and going into swap, then you know that adding more memory will help out with the performance as ram is always faster than a swap file.

If you see that your CPU's are maxing out, then you can know that an actual computer upgrade is probably going to improve your performance.

The SSD is just a given. It has been said time and time again here that SSD just makes lightroom run faster.

IMHO build, but scale back slightly. AMD are good value but performance is wanting in many cases, no point upgrading.

I agree that an i5 is better value, the only thing that will suffer is batch conversion will be slightly slower, only an issue if you do it 4+ hours a day. Interactive performance will be good. 120GB SSD would be enough, but nice to have the 250GB - consider Samsung 850, excellent SSDs. Why only 1TB drives, 2TB not much more expensive, but they're pretty cheap. Video card is unnecessary - if you get one at all make it a 810/820 level - you get a few minor advantages but they're likely theoretical. You don't need a 600W power supply, good brand 400W would be more than enough. Make sure the RAM is on the compatibility list for the motherboard - this is important for stability. 16GB is nice to have, but 8GB will do the job - you just get more disk caching with 16GB, which is handy if you work with large sets of images. Make sure you have a decent case with space to put in more drives easily. Aftermarket CPU cooler not necessary, use the one in the box. You may be able to reuse your current OS if you purchased it separately and aren't selling the old machine with it.

Question about the listening to music part. Is that the only issue? Is it while streaming music?

The reason I ask is that I have a very fast system, but when I stream music in Chrome, the music skips when my CPU spikes even for a second. If I stream in IE, it does not.

Some thoughts here

First, it seems the Asus is not that old of a system. Perhaps you can use the existing case and power supply to get started, knocking around $140 off your build.

Second, as mentioned above, you will likely find the integrated graphics in the Haswell processor to be more than adequate for your needs unless you are doing large batch processing. Saving you the $150 for the graphics card and allowing your system to run comfortably off your existing 350W PS.

Third and finally, if you want I/O performance you should go with WD Black drives and not mirror them. Use one drive as your primary storage and setup automatic backup with the second drive using something like CrashPlan (which is free when performing local backups). The other advantage of automatic backup is you save multiple versions, so if you accidentally delete or mess up a file you can recover it from backup. With mirroring, anything you do to the data on drive 1 is simultaneously replicated on drive 2. I would also suggest that 1TB of primary storage isn't enough, but maybe your storage needs aren't as big as mine.

1st and foremost - PUT AN SSD IN IT!

Do not go cheap on the SSD - get a Samsung Evo 840 or 850. Go as big as you can as with an SSD they reserve a lot of space for their own use. I have a 500gb and it has about 419gb useable after I over provisioned it. The Samsung Evo's are by far and away the best SSD's out there.

It will blow you away how much better a PC is with the SSD.

Beyond that your PC should be pretty decent - if you add RAM - be careful. Make sure you have 4 slots and that all the sticks match. If they don't you may run into issues. 8gb should suffice, though 16gb would be sweet.

The only reason you would need a new power supply is if you went with a monster video card......

Brules wrote in post #17396726
1st and foremost - PUT AN SSD IN IT!

Do not go cheap on the SSD - get a Samsung Evo 840 or 850. Go as big as you can as with an SSD they reserve a lot of space for their own use. I have a 500gb and it has about 419gb useable after I over provisioned it. The Samsung Evo's are by far and away the best SSD's out there.

It will blow you away how much better a PC is with the SSD.

I'm unsure what you mean about SSD space. I have a 120GB SSD, I have 120GB of usable space. A 120GB SSD probably has an extra few hundred MB of spare flash in case any goes bad.

My Windows 7 install uses 50GB of disk space, including CS6, some development tools, a lot of random programs, a XBMC cache, a bit of iTunes music, but not swap/scratch (they're on a different SSD). A 60GB SSD is just big enough, 120GB is big enough for most people IMHO. Games take up a lot of space though.

Overprovisioning on my SSD takes up 10%, NTFS takes up some more. Out of 500gb my partition is actually 418gb.

Over provisioning is usually over and above the size you purchase. NTFS uses a very small amount. Sounds like it could be the whole 1000 vs 1024 thing causing a problem for you. My 120GB drive (128,026,447,871 bytes) has 119GB usable.