[SOLVED] Help pick a used/budget GPU for a teenager's first Desktop

[NaClKnight]

My neighbors are commissioning me to build a White RGB and a Hello Kitty themed PC for their daughter's 15th birthday. This will be her first desktop.

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/NaClKnight/saved/#view=rDC6Bm

Their total budget was $550-700 for a PC, mouse, and keyboard. I've already secured a B550 MB and an AMD Ryzen 3600 to go into this build after getting a great deal on some used parts

She already has a 1080p, 75Hz monitor and plays games like the Sims, Minecraft, and Roblox

We live in California and there are several used GPUs for sale near me for ~$100 and i am debating which one will work best for her.

RX 5500 XT 8GB - $100
GTX 1660 - $120
RX 580 8GB - $75
GTX 1060 6GB - $90

I'm biased towards AMD so I'm leaning towards the 5500 XT considering the games, framerate and resolution, but my wife suggests that this teen will be fine with a cheaper GPU, especially the 1060

Given these constraints, which GPU would you pick?

 

[Math Geek]

for $10 more the 5500xt is a good bit better than the 1060 and well worth it.

of everything you listed, i'd go with the 5500xt myself.

 

[NaClKnight]

for $10 more the 5500xt is a good bit better than the 1060 and well worth it.

of everything you listed, i'd go with the 5500xt myself.

Thanks! Yeah i always want to put in the best part at the price range but the teen's parents would no doubt appreciate me saving money where i can

i was originally leaning towards the 580 until i read that Forsworn won't run on it. I worry that there will be more games soon that Polaris simply doesn't support

 

[Math Geek]

looking closer at the parts list, the only thing i'd change is the cooler for the cpu. the wrath cooler, though capable, is rather loud and gets annoying real fast. the 3600 already comes with one anyway, so buying another one is a waste.

i have a 3600 and 3600x in my house and i quickly replaced the wrath cooler for both of them within a couple weeks. any cheap budget cooler will work fine and i went with the be quiet Pure rock 2, but the pure rock slim 2 will do the job as well for less cash.

just my 2 cents worth for your consideration

 

[NaClKnight]

looking closer at the parts list, the only thing i'd change is the cooler for the cpu. the wrath cooler, though capable, is rather loud and gets annoying real fast. the 3600 already comes with one anyway, so buying another one is a waste.

i have a 3600 and 3600x in my house and i quickly replaced the wrath cooler for both of them within a couple weeks. any cheap budget cooler will work fine and i went with the be quiet Pure rock 2, but the pure rock slim 2 will do the job as well for less cash.

just my 2 cents worth for your consideration

Thanks again! I bought the 3600 used and it didn't come with a cooler, so i found a cheap Wraith Prism to throw on there. If it gets annoying during benchmarks/tests I have a Wraith Stealth i can swap in, or do like you mentioned and find any cheap budget cooler to swap in instead.

The cooler and the storage were my lingering concerns. Originally i wanted to throw an ID-Cooling Pinkflow AIO in this build. i can fit it in the case, but I can't fit it into her parents' budget haha.

if there's any room in the budget I'll probably spring for another 1TB of HDD storage and a quieter cooler

 

[punkncat]

The 1660 is the stronger card of the bunch, in spite of the memory being less than the 5500XT.

 

[NaClKnight]

The 1660 is the stronger card of the bunch, in spite of the memory being less than the 5500XT.

that's true, but I'm not sure this particular gamer will even notice the difference given the kinds of games they play.

i doubt she'll be moving up to 2k resolution or 120Hz monitors any time soon

 

[punkncat]

If you don't mind me asking...I notice you saying this is a Hello Kitty theme white color build. Looking at the parts list I sort of expected to see one of the wonky off brand Japanese cases with the character art already on it. Are you planning on adding vinyl graphics to the case yourself, or some other decor which will include the Hello Kitty part of the build?

 

[NaClKnight]

If you don't mind me asking...I notice you saying this is a Hello Kitty theme white color build. Looking at the parts list I sort of expected to see one of the wonky off brand Japanese cases with the character art already on it. Are you planning on adding vinyl graphics to the case yourself, or some other decor which will include the Hello Kitty part of the build?

I had that same question and decided to go the 3D route and bought some hello kitty toys from a local store for $10 total

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Ignore the 1070 GPU in there. it was a placeholder and was used on a different build

 

[punkncat]

Thanks, curious more than anything. I am sure the young lady will be astounded by the build.

 

[lordmogul]

If you decide to go for a different cooler for noise reasons, around the 30-40 €/$/£ is usually where well performing and inexpensive coolers sit.
Below that can be a gamble, some are fine, some are more plastic bling than cooling, but once you go above 30, maybe 35, you'll find cool, quiet, and reliable units.

 

[NaClKnight]

If you decide to go for a different cooler for noise reasons, around the 30-40 €/$/£ is usually where well performing and inexpensive coolers sit.
Below that can be a gamble, some are fine, some are more plastic bling than cooling, but once you go above 30, maybe 35, you'll find cool, quiet, and reliable units.

Thanks!

If you have any recommendations I'm happy to hear them. RGB is welcome but not required.

At this price range I'm exclusively considering air coolers, and i haven't bought an air cooler in many years. My last three builds have also either used the stock AMD Wraith Stealth or an AIO water cooler.

 

[lordmogul]

The classic recommendation many years was the Hyper 212 Evo, but since then the market has much more options. And yes, at that price point you'll habe a hard time finding any water cooler that can keep up with the air coolers in the range.
Didn't had to buy any in the last couple years, but there are reviews out there that should give you an idea. Just search for budget CPU cooler reviews.

 

[sonofjesse]

Go NVIDA lot better driver support 1660 has my vote!!

 

[NaClKnight]

Go NVIDA lot better driver support 1660 has my vote!!

Thanks for the vote. i ended up picking up the RX 5500 XT. At that price it just made sense and she won't miss the extra power given that she only plays at 1080p 75Hz


Also I've never had a driver issue with AMD so the theoretical better driver support in NVidia cards is unconvincing

 

[ohio_buckeye]

No major issues with amd drivers either. I’ve gotten to where I may even prefer their drivers a bit. Everything seems to be where I can find it with some tinkering anyway.

 

[Math Geek]

yah the whole "amd drivers have issues" thing is like 15 years old now and has no relevance except for nvidia followers to have something to repeat ad nauseam when pushing nvidia products.

in fact i do believe nvidia is the one who has had broken drivers a number of times lately and not amd. is it time to start saying that about nvidia drivers now for the next 15 years or so??