[SOLVED] Overwhelmed by choices of GPU. Can you help me chose? GTX 1660?

[EdLandau]

I just want to build myself a reliable work machine. My Titan laptop is now 6 years ago and I want a desktop now (hopefully better and quieter thermal solutions). I’m not a 3D gamer but want to drive two 4K displays and maybe play a game my kids recommend here and there. I am NOT a gamer. By priorities are: Reliability and QUIET. I do mostly Chrome work (Google Sheets, docs, etc.), some Photoshop / Lightroom / Illustrator but not much. I “think” I need more than just “integrated graphics” so I can play an occasional game and occasional SolidWorks viewing?

I was thinking of an i9-9900 on an MSI ACE Z390 motherboard using NVMe drives / 64GB. I have seen The Guru of 3D articles: https://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_geforce_gtx_1660_super_gaming_x_review,7.html and https://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_geforce_gtx_1660_super_gaming_x_review,9.html ... and also like this GPU comparison table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wGRZ-5sl7G9DhIgwW36g2KnrwVfZqBW7GDKHOd2vbaM/edit#gid=0 (from this article: https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...-a-sortable-database-of-desktop-gpus.3163659/)


I’m still confused though…

Can someone recommend a good GPU which:

• Support 2 Display ports and can drive two 4K monitors doing “productivity” workloads like spreadsheets, Visual Studio, Adobe Illustrator etc., and
• Is super quiet? No fan at idle would be ideal. I'm willing to pay more for lower noise levels.

I was looking at the GTX1660S and the RTX 570?
My current laptop has a 5 year old 6GB GTX1060. Can't tell if my CPU or GPU are causing hiccups in silly 2D games.. slither.io for example (don't laugh at me )... and I hate the fan that is constantly running (even when sitting on a coolmaster pad).

Thanks for your help.
-Ed

 

[hang-the-9]

A i9 CPU and 64 gb of RAM for "some Photoshop" is well over what is needed.

Ryzen 5 3600, 16 gb RAM and a 2060 super for 4k non-demanding games will be good.

 

[EdLandau]

I like "lots" of tabs open . But thank you for the Ryzen 5 3600 suggestion. Both the 3600 and 9900 are 65W CPUs... interesting.
However... for the GPU:
Are you suggestion an RTX 2060 super? The 2060 ($400) twice the price and higher performance than a GTX 1660S ($220). Are you suggesting this because it is quiet?? Valid suggestion if that's that case...

Thanks again,
-Ed

 

[hang-the-9]

I like "lots" of tabs open . But thank you for the Ryzen 5 3600 suggestion. Both the 3600 and 9900 are 65W CPUs... interesting.
However... for the GPU:
Are you suggestion an RTX 2060 super? The 2060 ($400) twice the price and higher performance than a GTX 1660S ($220). Are you suggesting this because it is quiet?? Valid suggestion if that's that case...

Thanks again,
-Ed

Video card is due to the 4k screens, if you want to play games at 4k, even at lower settings, you want a card faster than the 1660 super. Since you were going to spend over $500 on a CPU, $300+ on 64gb of RAM and almost $300 on a motherboard, none of which you really need, you should use the money on a better video card for 4k instead, and you will still be spending much less than you would have on your original planned system.

If you don't care about gaming on the 4k screens at 4k resolution, then a 1660 super is fine to use for 1080 gaming and will run the 4k screens in Windows without issues.

For quiet, you will want to get a case made for quiet operation, but keep in mind any case made for that will also have lower cooling capability.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF04OpSm4CA

https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Maste...ncio+S400&qid=1590768807&s=electronics&sr=1-1
https://www.amazon.com/Fractal-Desi...4DFAAVGRQC6&psc=1&refRID=TVCMNHF414DFAAVGRQC6