I keep thinking about a new build. ...

[1voyager2]

...But, every time I begin looking around at my options, I don't see anything that makes me twitch.
I don't see enough gains over what I have now to make it worth while.
I built my present PC 5 years ago.
By the usual thinking, that is getting a bit long in the tooth and overdue for replacement.
ASUS P8Z77-V
i7 3770k
Crucial MX300 750GB [Upgraded dead 240GB SSD]
+ several Seagate SATA II HDDs Upgraded to:
HGST SATA III's
16GB Kingston HyperX 1600
TPM card
Corsair RM 850 watt PS [Upgraded dead 750W PS]
Radeon R7 260X Graphics Card [Upgraded dead Graphics card]
Corsair 600T case
2X Samsung 245BW Monitors - Replaced by:
2X Dell U2412M

PCI/PCIe Upgrades:
1394 Firewire PCI Card [For my old Nikon Film Scanner]
4 port SATA III PCIe Card
3 port USB 3.0 PCIe Card

I have occasionally OC'd the CPU up to 4.0+ MHz. But, took it back to letting the Turbo mode do what it wants.
I don't game much other than Solitaire or Mahjongg and occasionally putting a flight Sim on to use an A10C to kill a few tanks with, or one of the others for a bit of aerial combat.
I did buy a new HOTAS recently for that.
I like it.
But, it is sitting and gathering dust right now.

My primary use is to support my photography addiction by running the Adobe and other apps that I use for it, and to support my need for speed.
I hate waiting for things to happen.
The waits right now aren't all that bad compared to what it was 15 or even 10 years ago.
The UEFI BIOS and SSDs have made life a dream.

I could upgrade USB 3.0 to 3.1, but not yet.
I just don't see any need to build from scratch again yet, very little to be gained.

Or, am I missing something?

 

[ao_ika_red]

For a starter, you can upgrade your gpu first. 1050ti or 1060 would be a noticeable upgrade from 260x. But, for a full system, I don't know....
Some would say that some time in the future DDR4 price will be normalised so you're better hold on to your current system, but others would say that if you have enough cash, just do it.

 

[whm1974]

For a starter, you can upgrade your gpu first. 1050ti or 1060 would be a noticeable upgrade from 260x. But, for a full system, I don't know....
Some would say that some time in the future DDR4 price will be normalised so you're better hold on to your current system, but others would say that if you have enough cash, just do it.

I would say that the OP current system is good enough for now, other then upgrading the dGPU. My system has similar specs, but I'm waiting a few more years.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

For a starter, you can upgrade your gpu first. 1050ti or 1060 would be a noticeable upgrade from 260x. But, for a full system, I don't know....
Some would say that some time in the future DDR4 price will be normalised so you're better hold on to your current system, but others would say that if you have enough cash, just do it.

How is an upgraded GPU going to help OP with Adobe Photoshop? GPU's are retarded overpriced right now due to mining demand. RAM prices are also kinda high right now. I think your advice to stick with existing system is on the money.

For the OP's uses a 3770 does a good job and 16gb is sufficient RAM for his tasks. He already has a nice size SSD. The only gains he would see in Adobe Photoshop might be some slightly faster picture load times with an M2 SSD. Probably barely perceptible. Same thing with a new i7. Sure it might be slightly faster at photo edits but not worth the extra money. Better to wait another 6 months and see if he can save a couple hundred on his build.

 

[1voyager2]

Thanks guys for your responses on this.
I still do not see a need to upgrade my graphics card to a more expensive card.
Since getting the driver problem with this card worked out, it seems to have been doing the job needed.
It does at least some GPU acceleration for the Adobe apps.
Most of my video utilities do not seem to be able to use that feature yet.
The more expensive cards may give more in that area if the utilities are upgraded.

my feeling is still to continue on with the present setup until something much better comes along that can't be added by a PCIe card.
Although, all the slots are either full or blocked right now.