Memory upgrade for animation work

rushic

Member
Hello all,

I'm looking to boost performance a bit on a 2+ Yr old pcs desktop, for working with After Effects and Toonboom Harmony/other 2d animation packages.

I'm thinking the cheapest option might be swapping out memory

16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 8GB)

Doubling up with 2 16gb sticks. Pondering upgrading the current gfx card too

2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 1030

At present, things like Toonboom and moho run fine, but after effects can get a bit chuggy in playback with lots of layers on the go.

Any suggestions, similar experiences much appreciated!

Cheers, Russell
 

sck451

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
This is a PC Specialist system, I presume? Can you post your full build? (Things like CPU, motherboard etc make a big difference to what the best upgrades are, though I'd guess 32GB of speedy RAM and something like a 3060 would be a massive, massive improvement. With the way AE has changed in the last few years, a good graphics card is now crucial. The 1030 is most certainly not a good graphics card.
 

rushic

Member
Hi, thanks for the reply. Yes it's a PCS build, here's my spec

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 200R COMPACT GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor i7-7800X (3.5GHz) 8.25MB Cache
Motherboard
GIGABYTE X299 UD4 PRO: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6 GB/s - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 1030 - DVI, HDMI
1st Storage Drive
240GB ADATA SU630 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 450MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler Black Edition
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
1x 120mm Black Case Fan
Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy™ FX OEM
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Monitor
AOC 21.5" E2270SWDN LED Monitor. 1920 x 1080, 5MS, VGA, DVI

I was kind of aware that the gfx card wasn't the greatest! On the memory side of things, part of my concern was making sure I get a product compatible with my build so I can do a straightforward like for like swap. I don't mind spending up to £7/800 on a gfx card

Cheers, Russell
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
You're going to really struggle to upgrade that build unfortunately as it wasn't very well configured to begin with. As you have the spare budget available I would honestly attempt to sell the system and start a new build from scratch. You could have a much better performing system all around that way.

Otherwise, unfortunately, you're looking at CPU cooler, RAM, PSU and GPU. The case isn't ideal as the system will run very hot in it, the CPU cooler will just be screaming out for help when you're using CPU intensive software so I would also consider adding a couple of fans.

It's a shame you didn't seek advice from the forum at the time as we could have saved you money and a ton of hassle.
 

rushic

Member
Thankyou for the candid response, I should indeed have sought some advice. I think I'll be able to get by for now (in the middle of various projects), but will be back for advice on a more suitable system.

Thanks again for the advice.
 
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