Photoshop: 5yr old PC enuf?

[kitatech]

So after 5 years I upgraded memory to 16gb from 8 and added a 1TB HDD to the two 500gb drives (all 7200rpm)....with two 32gb scratch disks on drives other than OS...
The PC runs ultra quiet and cool...no complaints there...old photoshop programs load in 4sec. as does the newest addition of Elements14 that runs @ 64bits so to use 10gb of RAM, much more RAM than the old PS 32bit limit of 3gb....I don't do much more than basic PS processing (little multi-layer processing) and the PS efficiency is @ 100%....the graphic card is a basic 1gb ATI 5450 that runs a 23" IPS monitor at its native resolution, 1920x1080.

Here's the screen shot of its performance characteristics....

The new RAM is running @ 1.67v and the CPU is clocking @ 24-26 giving me a core speed of 3.2-3.4 Mhz....

And so....I ask....would updating to Skylake next year improve performance, and if so how?

Thank you for your input....

 

[ronbo613]

I run Photoshop CS6 on the computer in my sig every day along with Premiere CS6 and the rest of the Adobe Creative Suite. It's a work computer and it works fine.

Upgading to a faster processor and more RAM will do the jobs a little quicker.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

So after 5 years I upgraded memory to 16gb from 8 and added a 1TB HDD to the two 500gb drives (all 7200rpm)....with two 32gb scratch disks on drives other than OS...

If you're still running HDDs, get yourself a nice 512GB-1TB SSD. Something like the Crucial BX100/200 or Samsung 850EVO. Be prepared for a major boost in perceived performance.

And so....I ask....would updating to Skylake next year improve performance, and if so how?

Yes, it'll increase performance compared to an 860. Whether it's enough to be worthwhile is another question. It also depends on if you're looking at absolute performance or performance/W...

 

[kitatech]

Thanks Ron....nice to know other 860s are still "on the road" and running strong. My concern was for it "legs" and how much I can depend on the components to remain stable as they age....as well as the increased performance...

With the new components I'll have a while to see whether they hold up and whether they hold me up if I get more complex processing.

 

[ronbo613]

If you use an SSD boot drive with your programs, like Photoshop, on it and have a separate "work" drive for your scratch discs and save files, that definitely helps. I have an SSD boot drive and a 7200rpm hard drive as a work drive, additional hard drives for backup.

Eventually, everyone buys a new computer, but like with most tech stuff, you want it right away, but most times it's better to wait as long as you can. Make sure your rig doesn't overheat and it should last a few more years.

 

[kitatech]

If you use an SSD boot drive with your programs, like Photoshop, on it and have a separate "work" drive for your scratch discs and save files, that definitely helps. I have an SSD boot drive and a 7200rpm hard drive as a work drive, additional hard drives for backup.

Eventually, everyone buys a new computer, but like with most tech stuff, you want it right away, but most times it's better to wait as long as you can. Make sure your rig doesn't overheat and it should last a few more years.

Heat is why I downloaded CPUID to monitor operations...sofarsogood as far as heat goes...and I was surprised to see the voltage @ 1.67 bumping the clock to 26 regularly with no heat issues anywhere...and the fans still purring along nicely.

 

[smitbret]

For photoshop, you probably won't get much perceived benefit from any CPU upgrade. I'm with everyone else. Get an SSD instead. That would be very noticeable.

 

[VirtualLarry]

and I was surprised to see the voltage @ 1.67 bumping the clock to 26 regularly with no heat issues anywhere...and the fans still purring along nicely.

Opinions, folks? Is he really running 1.67V for vcore?

 

[kitatech]

Opinions, folks? Is he really running 1.67V for vcore?

Yeah, I wondered too....I specifically went with 1.35v memory when I upgraded, as that was the rating of the four OEM 2gb sticks they replaced...and spec'd by HP...and surprised, yes...Crucial had said that 1.5v memory was spec'd for the mb...so doubtful, I don't know...

I'm just reading the CPUID chart....am I reading it wrong?