Need some advice

Looking to upgrade a few components to my main desktop, but I am on a budget and can only afford one over the other

Which one of these do you think is a more practical approach at this time.

An SSD?

or

A new Graphics Card?

I currently have three mechanical drives in operation - 10,000 RPM/300GB (C: ), 7,200 RPM/500GB (D: ) and a 7,200 RPM/500GB (E: ), All working fine. As for the Graphics Card, I currently have a working EVGA GTX 550 Ti FPB GDDR5 1GB.

Do you think I should hold off on an SSD and get a more current Graphics Card, or do you think I should go for an SSD and hold off on the Graphics Card?

I ask, because I am having such a hard time deciding.

Just in case you're wondering, I game, create and edit Graphics.

Both are extremely beneficial to the above, which is why this makes it hard for me.

I need your advice, what would you do?

 

Easy decision for me. SSD. What size is your OS partition? How much free space is in the partition?

 

OS Partition = 300 GB advertised, 279 GB practical, Currently Utilizing 19.3 GB on the partition, which comes out to 259 GB of free hard drive space remaining.

It's a Western Digital Velociraptor 10,000 RPM drive

 

Fine. Then you only need a 120 GB SSD. You could copy your OS partition from the 300 GB HD to the 120 GB HD, after compaction.

 

I'd say it depends on which component is the bottleneck during your gaming and work.

For many small jobs, a SSD is probably better; but for huge projects, you'll probably need a better GPU. At least that's what I think.

Do note that many modern games require (or at least recommend) a stronger GPU, but I know none that needs SSD over 10,000 RPM.

 

Thanks Bryan

If I were to get an SSD, I have been considering this...
http://www.amazon.com/ADATA-Premier...s&ie=UTF8&qid=1383884154&sr=1-27&keywords=ssd

 

My current bottleneck is my hard drive

But, my GPU is definitely starting to age a little and am starting to notice that current generation games are requiring more powerful cards than what I have now.

As for my graphic art and design, my current graphics card performs quite well in this area.

 

Looks good.

 

j_l's right. it all depends. if you're a die hard gamer, then gpu's the way to go for you. if not, then otherwise.

 

Well, I wouldn't say I am a die hard gamer, but enough to where I might play a game an 1 hour every other day.

I did a comparison of the card I have now with the card I am looking into, and game-debate says that the newer card will boost my gaming performance by 29%, which in my opinion is a significant boost.

Here is a comparison of both cards:
http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/inde...-msi-1gb-oc-edition-vs-geforce-gtx-550-ti-fpb

 

can you say the same for the disk drive replacement? if no, then you should def'ly go for the gpu.

 

Well, my system already performs quite well, applications do open fairly quickly as is, even on my mechanical drives.

I do know that the SSD will make thing's even more speedier than what it is now, but I do game and I do a lot of graphic art and design, so I am starting to think maybe the GPU might be the better choice, at least for now.

If you were in my situation, what would be your choice?

 

i must say i would def'ly go for the gpu in that case.

 

Thank you imdb, I think you're right

 

If it fits in your budget, how about a weaker GPU you can SLI and a small SSD for system+programs? Games and data can be on the other drives.

 

you're welcome.

 

For now, $110 to $120 is my current spending limit, due to of course bills and feeding my kiddo.

I don't think I can find a decent graphics card that is below $110, as well as an SSD.

Thank you for the suggestion though, it is definitely a good approach.

 

I found this a while back might be useful
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

 

Nice find Jryder, this will help

Thank you

 

Well, After thinking about it for awhile, this is what I might end up doing.

My GTX 550 Ti is still working with the games that I currently own, as well as a nice library of games that I don't. So, I might hold off on a new GPU, at least until the R7 260x drops in price or even until my GPU literally won't run newer games anymore.

Plus the card still works great for my graphic design projects.

As for my mechanical drives, they work, but they have been through a lot of re-formats, as well as OS installs, program installs, uninstalls, testing, etc., So they all have been through a lot and I really don't know the remaining lifespan for those.

Which bring's me to a final decision of buying an SSD, Which in turn will increase my worflow and provide a more reliable solution all together.

So, here is the SSD I think I'll get.

http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Hype...e=UTF8&colid=OJTUCSYV0ZWC&coliid=I1DXFRAOR7GQ

I was going to go for the ADATA brand, until I saw the Hyper X 120, which has been reported to be an even better SSD.

So, what do you think, a more logical approach?

 

We have the same graphics card I agree it works pretty good for the latest games. I have been thinking the same thing about getting a ssd so I can see the logic!

You're welcome, glad to help!

 

Since I'll most likely be getting the SSD, I'm already learning quite a bit about the prevention of writes to the drive.

If anyone else is thinking about an SSD, I found a nice article, explaining certain steps to take while using one.

Here is the article:

http://www.techradar.com/news/compu...ps-to-optimise-your-drives-performance-943984

 

What GTX 550 version do you own?

I have the EVGA GTX 550 Ti FPB edition, 1Gb GDDR5

 

Graphics card or SSD? This is easy. Neither!

Increase your RAM to at least 8Gb - 16Gb since you are a gamer.

If already there, I would upgrade the graphics - but understand that may require a new PSU to support it. If you do need a larger PSU, get a good one that is 80-Plus certified. I like Antec and Corsair PSUs.

While an SSD will certainly increase performance and provide astonishing boot times, once the file is loaded into RAM, drive performance becomes less a factor - especially with graphics intensive programs. And the more RAM you have, the sooner the drive steps out of the way.

SSDs are still pretty expensive per Gb - the longer you wait to go SSD, the more the prices will come down too.

 

I read somewhere that Amazon is selling a graphics processing online service. You need graphics processing, you can access a high-power processor and pay for the time you use it.

This may be the future. Graphics cards, 800 W PSUs ... these things will be probably only used in small niche markets in a few years.