I'm not very tech-savvy and recently started doing freelance design work after being made redundant. I'm using my 2018 Windows desktop for Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects, but it's struggling, and the current 240GB SSD is nearly full. I can't afford a new computer, so I'd like an affordable upgrade that can handle multiple Photoshop artboards and After Effects animation.
My system has an Intel Core i7-8700, 16GB of DDR4-2666 memory, an ASUS H310M-PLUS Gaming motherboard, a 4GB GTX 1050 Ti, a 240GB WD Green 2.5-inch SSD, and a 2TB Seagate hard drive. I'm unsure whether I should prioritize a larger SSD, more RAM, or both. I'd also like to know whether this motherboard supports an M.2 NVMe drive or if I should stick with a 2.5-inch SATA SSD.
2 Answers
The SSD capacity may not be the main reason the applications are struggling. Your 16GB of RAM is usable, but Photoshop and especially After Effects can benefit noticeably from 32GB. I’d make sure you have plenty of free space first, then upgrade the memory when your budget allows. Ideally, use the SSD for active projects and Adobe cache files rather than relying on the mechanical hard drive.
First check whether your motherboard has an available M.2 slot and supports NVMe drives. If it does, a reasonably priced 1TB NVMe SSD would be a good choice for your Windows installation, Adobe applications, scratch space, and project files. If you want the simplest installation, a 1TB or 2TB 2.5-inch SATA SSD will also work and still be a major improvement over a nearly full 240GB drive.
That makes sense. I wasn’t sure whether to upgrade the storage or memory first, so I’ll check the motherboard and available slots before deciding.