$450 Budget – What can I get?

So, instead of just grabbing a standard SSD, I’m thinking about going with an M.2 drive $100 it’s definitely pricier... Is there actually any real-world benefit here?

I think the speed was somewhere north of 1000 Mbps... I can't recall the exact number, but I figured any decent SSD would handle it just fine enough.

Final version: LINKS
GEIL EVO Spear GSB48GB3000C16ADC RAM, 8 GB, DDR4 3000MHz, 2x4GB kit $210
LG GH24NSD1 DVD±RW Drive, 24x, SATA, Dual layer, black, bulk $33
CRUCIAL BX500 240.0 GB SSD, CT240BX500SSD1, SATA3, 2.5", up to 540/500 MB/s $113
ASRock AB350 Pro4 Motherboard, AMD B370, DDR4, audio, G-LAN, SATA, M.2, PCI-E 3.0, D-Sub, DVI, HDMI, USB 3.0-C, ATX, AM4 socket $223
500W Power Supply, ANTEC VP500PC ES, ATX v2.3, 120mm fan $119
Noctua NF-P12 Fan, 120mm, 1050 rpm $11
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 BOX, AM4 socket, 3.4GHz, 19MB cache, HexaCore, Wraith Stealth $496
LC POWER LC-7035B-ON Case, MIDI, ATX, USB 3.0, black, no PSU included $59
$3,792.68 via online retailer
+ 22" monitor $243
+ GTX 1060 3GB $333
total: $1833

thoughts?

Swap out the SSD for this one

Everything else holds up well for this budget tier.

As for the monitor, I'm looking at this 24" IPS model from AOC for around $120; it seems like a solid value clickhere
A more budget-friendly alternative would be this one.

It’s solid... the only thing I’d probably swap out is the case. You could ditch the included fan and just go with this:

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Rectilinear-Mid-Tower-Case-Black/dp/B08H8M5L9X

A higher-quality case that already comes with one fan ends up costing $20 more in the end.

Ryan James60 said:For the time being, I suspect everything will simply continue as it currently stands. Most computers remain powered on indefinitely, primarily due to a certain pervasive laziness regarding actually shutting them down..

It really only takes two quick clicks or perhaps just a single keystroke to put your PC into sleep mode when you aren't using it; personally, I try to be quite diligent about doing so.

Before I dive in, what would be the most logical GPU upgrade for this setup if I were buying something brand new from a local Best Buy? I’m looking at a few similar options right now, so I figured I’d ask for some input first.

Anything from an RX 580 8GB or a GTX 1060 6GB, all the way up to an RTX 2070 works for me.

In short—it’s a case of "you get what you pay for."

Scrapped the idea of using that online link. They might have the 2600 in stock on their website, but honestly, I don't want the headache. When I swung by the local shop in Chicago, I couldn't grab everything on my list—it seems like buying through a webstore can be a real pain if you need specific stuff. Plus, if you go with shipping, who knows if they actually have all the parts ready? I’ve seen plenty of horror stories online about orders getting split up or delayed when you try to buy a whole build at once.
In the end, I just went to a local computer shop here in town and they had everything sitting right there on the shelf.
MSI MAG B450 motherboard
Intel Core i5-7600K
Some massive heatsink
A wide case so everything looks clean (you can't see any cables at all)
600W power supply
GTX 1060 3GB graphics card
8GB DDR4 3000MHz RAM
240GB ADATA SSD
1TB hard drive (just reused one I already had lying around)
DVD drive
Monitor
All together it came to $1667(not including the graphics card)