My PC has started slowing down noticeably during editing and other heavy workloads. It currently runs Windows 10 with an Intel Core i7-6700, 16GB of RAM, a GeForce GTX 960 2GB, and a 2TB hard drive. I'm looking for recommendations on which parts to upgrade first, or whether it makes more sense to replace the system entirely. My budget and the type of editing may affect the best choice.
3 Answers
The first easy upgrade would be adding an SSD, especially if Windows and your editing software are currently running from the hard drive. It will make startup, loading, and general system responsiveness feel dramatically faster. After that, consider a stronger graphics card such as a GTX 1660 or RX 6600 if your editing programs benefit from GPU acceleration.
If your budget allows, a complete system rebuild is probably the best long-term option. The current platform is several generations old, so replacing the CPU, motherboard, and graphics card together will give you a much bigger improvement than upgrading just one part. You may be able to reuse the RAM temporarily if the new platform supports it, but check compatibility first.
The right choice depends heavily on your budget and what kind of editing you do. For a modest budget, start with an SSD and possibly increase the RAM if your projects regularly use most of the 16GB. If you can spend more, it would be better to build a new system around a newer AMD Ryzen 5000-series processor or an Intel 12th–14th generation platform rather than putting much money into the old system.
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