Processor or ram upgrade ?

So I love video editing and intense effects but my PC isn't the strongest on the market but it has the perfect motherboard I need at the moment that's supports the latest Intel Processors and has 2 ram slots. But the problem is I don't know which one I should upgrade first and that will make my video rendering faster. more ram or a better Processor ???

my Specs at the moment:

Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.

System Model: H61M-S2V-B3

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-2100 CPU @ 3.10GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.1GHz

Memory: 4096MB RAM

DirectX Version: DirectX 11

Graphic card: AMD Radeon HD 6670

thanks !

Comments

  • from reviews I seen the Core i7 is the best having 4% performance over the core i5, I like very much the 2500k.

    Obv having a stronger cpu help, dont go AMD lol, having more ram also helps, soo basically it all relies on budget.

  • If you're choosing just one, upgrade the CPU. Memory is cheap these days so you shouldn't overlook doing both, but that Core i3 will struggle to provide any kind of meaningful render times. They're made for simple, everyday computing, not intense data crunching that video rendering requires.

    You should get into at least a quad core Core i5 but a quad core Core i7 would be better due to the higher clock speeds and larger cache. Depends on your budget of course as i7s typically cost more. But with that lowly i3, anything better would improve your render times.

    And just an FYI: Despite what you list above for the number of CPUs, the Core i3s are only dual core CPUs. They take advantage of Hyper Threading Technology (HTT) to provide two more virtual cores to provide a bit more processing power. i5s and i7s also have HTT so it will seem like they're 8-core CPUs.

  • Minimum System Requirements

    Processor: Intel / AMD compatible at 1500 MHz or higher

    RAM: 512 MB or higher

    Sound: Windows compatible sound card

    Windows Media Player 11 or higher for WMV video playback

    Apple iTunes installed to upload to iPod touch, iPhone & iPhone 3G

    DirectX: Microsoft DirectX 9.0c or later

    Administrative permissions for program installation and activation

    Internet connection to activate

    Windows 7 Recommended System Requirements

    Processor: Intel / AMD compatible at 3 GHz single core/1.8 GHz dual core

    RAM: 1 GB or higher

    Video: Windows 7 compatible video card

    Sound: Windows 7 compatible sound card

  • While RAM is very important in video editing I would recommend a CPU upgrade. You be the judge. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete and select task manager. When editing/rendering your video watch your CPU and RAM usage.

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