Kinda depends on your use case. Like others have said, SSD goes a long way, and if you’ve already got decent speed RAM and 16GB, you should be good to go. I’m looking at moving to 32 GB more because I’ve been trying to mess with CAD/CAM stuff more, and upgrading my GPU isn’t exactly an option in today’s market.
If I recall correctly, you are on Zen2 and you already have 16GB of RAM? If that’s right, I’ll echo what others have said and recommend a good 1-2 TB NVME SSD. Preferably the Samsung 970EVO. Their migration software makes transferring your OS drive onto the new drive dead simple and and then you can format the old drive and use it as a dedicated game drive.
Are you doing 3D modeling? What software, Creo, Katia, Inventor?
I have a few skills in CAD work and been doing some more simple 3D stuff for the printer at my job. Not having a GPU to accelerate the work sucks, so if you start working with this I highly recommend a GPU. Maybe have a loo at an old more computing focused one.
I’m more screwing around with different free software right now, getting a feel for them, along with AutoCAD. Been screwing around with DaVinci Resolve for a while now as well. I have a RX 570 4GB, but I think I’m feeling the limits of the card and my 16GB of RAM. Don’t think my R5 1600 is too much of a problem, though I’d love to get something better.
This isn’t my primary use of the computer though. More something I’ll screw around with, trying to self teach and figure out how it works. Kinda like how I taught myself a bit of Python and HTML5 (along with JavaScript and CSS). Wasn’t fun, and I did it by learning syntacs and structure from wherever I could before attempting to write my own scripts from scratch.
I already have an SSD that has an OS in it, I just need some additional storage and since my board has a 2nd M.2 slot, might as well get an NVMe one.
In terms of speeds? I think I need more from my RAM, 3200MHz is pretty much standard I guess, I might need a 3600MHz to consider it as fast speed or something. Also I think a 32GB RAM can be a huge help to me since there are times I accidentally open a lot of tabs, therefore a lot of memory usage involved, though I shouldn’t do that at all xD.
Yeah that one has been in my eyes for a long time the 970 EVO, was not able to bought it back then due to some budget constraints and I had to settle with the ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro and man it’s a very good one for the budget.
Yeah in regards to upgrading, I think Zen 3 right now is a good deal. I hope in time I can get a 5800X at least since my motherboard is a B550 and I don’t think I would be able to take full advantage withg the Ryzen 9 5900X.
Go for it, the only thing i’d look into is how much is how much storage you need and what kind of work you do, but if you are going more than 1TB either go for an Sata SSD or if you are really going big, mechanical HD are still the way to go in terms of cost per gb. Peronally i have 6 drives in my system a 1tb Gen 4 NVME for my OS and programs, a 512Gb gen 3 nvme for files im currentlly working on, 2X1TB Sata SSD for games and other stuff that i want to be snappy, and 2X6TB Hard drive for storage of RAW files (i also have other back ups but there is a reason i keep it also locally)
As far as ram goes, 32gb is a nice luxury but for most folks (even tab fiends) dont need it, you have to see what’s you daily usage case. I use a fair amount with Photoshop,lightroom,capture one and other editing programs (along side many tabs )
I will keep those in mind, although both upgrades wouldn’t be bad and it’s true most of my tasks that I do at work are not that intensive. Well, it’s true that mechanical hard drives are still a go-to in terms of more storage but I need more speed, so I can see a SATA SSD or an NVMe SSD as a logical step to get. I think at this point I should upgrade both, but I will do it like a step-by-step method if you catch my drift.
Speaking about vacuums, I think I should consider myself getting an electrical air duster since my PC do tend to get dusty and it can be a bit of a pain cleaning it, especially when you have not cleaned your rig for like a year. I did cleaned mine back then with a compressed air can, but I fucked it up by not knowing as I clean it with it, broke my PC case’s board therefore rendering its power switch useless, and I have to do the screwdriver method on the board just to open it. Nowadays not an issue ever since I got a new case for my rig.
omg…Google made an earth shaking announcement today!
I have considered buying one a few times, but no-ESD ones cost a lot and they don’t have as much pressure as canned air. So I just buy a few cans at a time, they aren’t that expensive, like 5-10$ per can and they last for a few months. I try to dust mine every week, or at least I vacuum the dust filter every week and my glass panel is hinged, so I can access it easily.
It’s actually kind of funny how much more expensive the ED500s have gotten. I got mine in late 2010 for $43 on Amazon and it’s still running like a champ. Damn things are $100 now…
The X-Power has a decent reputation, that’d probably be your best inexpensive bet at this point…
I use it, it works great.
You can even find it cheaper on Aliexpress
So glad I have a Micro Center nearby…
Yeah, sadly it would basically be an entire day affair for me to go to one. 4 hour drive (if I don’t stop) one way. Otherwise, I only have Best Buy’s near me. I don’t want to buy from Best Buy, but would rather avoid feeding the Amazon machine more then I really need to.