New PC build + monitor for $1,200?

Hey everyone! My brother is looking to build a new PC, so he asked me to pop in here and get some advice.

He’s looking for a full setup, including a monitor, geared specifically for 1080p gaming at 144Hz. His budget is $2667.

He’s pretty set on an Intel Core i5-10400, a Dell S2421HS monitor, and a 500GB SSD (though if a 1TB isn't much more, he'd love that instead). He definitely wants an Nvidia card, and as for the case, he doesn't care about aesthetics—just make sure it works well!

Since I know parts can be a bit hit-or-miss with availability lately, do you think it's smarter to wait until spring, or should he just grab whatever is in stock at Best Buy or Micro Center right now?

Thanks in advance!

Hold on a second. It’s probably not the best time to be buying right now. I guess the Intel Core i5 series is noticeably better for gaming than the old 10th gen stuff compared to what was out before.

I doubt we'll see an Intel Core i5 drop into this price bracket anytime soon. For now, you can put together something decent along these lines

1 * Intel Core i5-10400 6C/12T (4.2GHz,36MB,65W,LGA1200) box with stock cooler
SKU: 100-100000031BOX - $622
1 * ASRock Main Board Desktop B450M STEEL LEGEND 90-MXB9Y0-A0UAYZ
SKU: ASR-0006 - $270
2 * Crucial DRAM 8GB DDR4-3200 UDIMM, EAN: 649528903549
SKU: CT8G4DFRA32A - $192
1 * INTEL SSD 665P 1TB M.2 80mm PCIe 3.0 x4 3D3 QLC Re SSDPEKNW010T9X1999HHA
SKU: INT-0601 - $294
1 * Zalman Z3 NEO Midi-Tower ATX case, no PSU, black
SKU: 50803 - $157
1 * Fortron Hexa 85+ PRO 550W, 80+ Bronze PPA5505500 power supply
SKU: fsp-nap-hex85p-550 - $198
1 * Dell S2421HS LED 24", IPS, DP, 2xHDMI, HAS, 144Hz, 4xUSB3.0
SKU: dell-s2421hs - $570

Total: $2303
Total with discount: $2073 bestbuy.com

+ RTX 1650 refurbished with a 2-year warranty

Grand total is roughly ~$2700. Even if things were better back in the day, I don't think much would change how much better an RTX 1650 performs in a build priced at $2167.

That’s honestly pretty rough. Most of these components feel like they’re straight from the bottom tier of the market. If you could save a few hundred bucks by picking up a cheaper monitor, wouldn't it make more sense to redirect that extra cash toward...

wanderingbison9 said:Terrible. These components are basically bottom-of-the-barrel. You could've saved a few hundred bucks on the monitor and put that money toward...?

I don't get it. What do you mean they're bad classes?

It doesn't matter. Up until yesterday, these components were a total steal and you could shove them into any build, but now that the next generation just dropped, suddenly everything looks outdated. Stick to a workstation build if you're doing heavy rendering. 😉

wiredotter14 said:I'm not quite following—what do you mean when you say the tiers are bad?

It’s not that the categories themselves are bad, it’s just how they break down when you look closely. For instance, the Intel Core i5-10400 is really just an entry-level chip from the previous generation, and if you look at the GPU landscape, once you move past the RTX 1650, there are still four distinct levels of Nvidia hardware above it while there's only one level below... so in that specific sense, I was just thinking of it as being near the bottom of the barrel, if that makes sense? $2667...

@Adam Moore3/">@@Adam Moore3: I wasn't criticizing your choices at all; I'm sure you picked out the best possible options within that budget...

If you can hold out until spring, just do it. It’s hard to imagine things getting any worse than they are now. Plus, who knows? Maybe NVIDIA will drop a 3050Ti by then, or maybe the 3060 might actually hit a decent budget price point.
At the current market rates, picking up an Intel Core i5-10400 makes way more sense than going with the Ryzen 5 3600, so I'd definitely weigh that option. As for the monitor, I couldn't agree more—that Dell S2421HS is the only way to go.

Hey everyone, thanks so much for all the advice! I think I'm going to hold off and just be patient until spring rolls around. There's really no point in rushing things while the situation is what it is right now.

wanderingbison9 said:@Adam Moore3/">@@Adam Moore3: I wasn't criticizing your selection; you definitely picked the best options available...

My bad, it just came across that way—pretty much baseless, too.
If there isn't some massive, game-changing deal involved, then it really isn't worth it. 🎉