Please critique this PC build gift

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karmasoft

Weaksauce
Joined
Nov 20, 2004
Messages
88
Howdy. I am considering repurposing an existing NAS build plus some other bits 'n bobs as a holiday gift for a 14 y/o niece. She would use it for gaming and school work. I haven't got a clue what kind of PC games a 14 y/o girl plays.

The items ticked with "<" are part of the NAS or on-hand, the other stuff I'll buy new. The NAS runs headless and GPU-less now so all I would need to do is slap some stuff in the case and install windows.

But is this worthy or am I being a cheap-ass Uncle by not building her something gaming-y and 2023-y? If the latter please let me know what components you would carry into a new build.


Key Elements
CPUAMD Ryzen 5 3400G <
MotherboardGIGABYTE GA-A320M-S2H<
MemoryTeamgroup T-Force Vulcan Z DDR4 16GB Kit 3000MHz CL16 <
GPUEVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti <
The Rest of It
CaseCooler Master N200<
SSD M.2 (boot + programs)Crucial P2 500GB 3D NAND NVMe PCIe<
SSD (data + storage)Samsung 860 EVO SSD 1TB<
PSUThermaltake Smart 500W 80+ White<
Case FansNoctua NF-S12A PWM
Noctua NF-S12A PWM		<
CPU CoolerNoctua NH-U12S SE-AM4<
DisplayLG 32UL500-W 32 Inch UHD 60hz<
KeyboardGLORIOUS GMMK 2 Small Gaming Keyboard
MouseGLORIOUS Model I Ergonomic Matte White Gaming Mouse
SpeakersBose Companion 2 Series III Multimedia Speakers - for PC<
OSWindows 11 Pro
MiscPCIe cards for USB-C and WiFi
 
All of that stuff you already have on hand?


Personally....I would try to pickup a used 6 core. Like a Zen 2 Ryzen 3600 or something. 3400G is a 4 core and its Zen+. It will probably bottleneck even a 1660ti. I would have a hard time handing that CPU off for gaming.


Additionally, while a solid monitor-----a 4K monitor is the wrong pairing with a 1660ti. That should go with a 1080p monitor. Virtually every game would need to be highly upscaled on that monitor and I just don't think its going to be a good experience. My girlfriend has an Asus laptop with an RTX 2060 and a 4K monitor built into it. And its pretty annoying having to wrangle the settings all the time.

Last summer I built a computer for some kids. Gave them a 1080p/60 Dell monitor from like 2018, which was going in the bin, at work. Otherwise a nice little monitor. When I had the build all done, the 16GB of RGB ram was bugging me----so I went ahead and got another set, for 32GB and 4 rows of RGB >_>
 
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You make a good point about the monitor. 32" is good for my workspace but probably too big for hers now that I'm thinking about it. Also, the gaming target resolution makes sense. What type of monitor should I include in the kit? 27", 2560 x 1440, and 144hz make sense?

Also, after thinking about this overnight, I've firmly decided to up my gift game. Instead of hand-me-downing the NAS bits I'm going to cannibalize my primary rig, and repurpose some of that for her PC. Gives me an excuse to improve my lot as well.
 
As noted above, here is the revised build. Please critique it. Items flagged with "<" are being pulled from my primary rig. Everything else will be new.

Key Elements
CPUAMD Ryzen 5 3600X<
MotherboardMSI PRO B550M-VC WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory4x Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz CL16<
PSUCooler Master V SFX Gold ATX 3.0 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX
GPUPowerColor RX 6700 XT Hellhound<
Display???
The Rest of It
CaseAsus Prime AP201 mATX White
SSD M.2 (boot + programs)Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD 1TB<
Case Fans4x ARCTIC P12 PWM PST A-RGB - 120 mm
CPU CoolerThermalright AXP90-X47 White
KeyboardGLORIOUS GMMK 2 Small Gaming Keyboard
MouseGLORIOUS Model I Ergonomic Matte White Gaming Mouse
SpeakersBose Companion 2 Series III Multimedia Speakers - for PC<
OSWindows 11 Pro
MiscYEELIYA PCIe USB-C Expansion Card
 
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I think 32 inch monitor size is fine. And likely thrilling for a teen. I think anything from 24, 27, or 32 for physical size, would all be good for this.

Outside of esports titles, 6700 XT is a 1440p/60 card nowadays.
 
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