Photography wise - SSD or a complete rebuild?

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rayonline

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# 165631 15-Feb-2015 21:14

Intel Q8200 Quad 2.33, 4GB here. Pretty much just web, Office and photography with Adobe Lightroom. Your view? The max I can upgrade is to 8GB total, 4GB sticks are near impossible to find on DDR2. Another 2x 2GB is around $90. The system is SATA2 should I add in a SSD.

1. Other question is that I see the M.2 200 ish GB is $200, how much are the PCIe cards that holds them?

Stu

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# 1239601 15-Feb-2015 21:23

The Samsung 840 EVO 250GB is $179.90 at Computer Lounge. Runs fine in an old laptop which is only SATA2. About to add one to a desktop about the same age as yours.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

alexx

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# 1239615 15-Feb-2015 21:43

Regarding the M.2 SSD, are you looking at one that is SATA (e.g. Crucial M550) or a PCI-e x2 or even a PCI-e x4 SSD like the Samsung XP-941 device?
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/02/understanding-m-2-the-interface-that-will-speed-up-your-next-ssd/

If you are looking for the PCI-e x4 then this is one option to install it on a desktop machine:
http://www.lycom.com.tw/DT-120.htm

Available in Australia, but I'm not sure if anyone stocks them here in NZ:
https://www.ramcity.com.au/buy/lycom-m.2-pcie-ssd-to-pcie-3.0-x4-adapter/DT-120

Some benchmarks for the Samsung XP-941 with the previous generation Mac Pro (sata-2) can be found here:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1685821

There are interfaces available for the SATA versions of M.2 SSD too, but it looks like most of these use an existing SATA port to drive the SSD, which in your case will be SATA-2.

Edit: fixed link.

#include <standard.disclaimer>

Batman

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# 1239729 16-Feb-2015 09:33

depends.

depends on how serious you are at using lightroom. if you are going to use it to PP hundreds and thousands of the new 5DSR 50MP RAW - new computer no brainer

if you are going to "play with" jpeg files once in a while - your set up is completely fine.

does that help

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

timmmay

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# 1239814 16-Feb-2015 11:08

2 people support this post

As a professional photographer I'll say you need a new computer, and any money spent on the old one is wasted. Lightroom is VERY cpu hungry, especially with high megapixel cameras. A new i5/i7 will be 3-5 times faster, much more responsive. You'll want an SSD with the new computer.

If you're really budget constrained putting an SSD into the old computer will make it a bit faster interactively. The SSD can be moved to the new machine too. Samsung 840/850 are my recommendation.

Batman

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# 1239843 16-Feb-2015 11:27

Or get a old Sata 2 for peanuts

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.