@simsical-musical I checked a few other sites and didn't find much that was clearly better, or cheaper, than the ones on Amazon. (There were a lot of the same options, of course.) But there are a few options worth mentioning.
This one is a bit smaller, still IPS with the same resolution, in case you decide 27" is a bit too large:
This one is a gaming monitor with a high refresh rate and brightness that's also from a reputable company. It's a bit more expensive than the 144 Hz Acer, and I don't think it's necessarily better, but no harm in taking a look.
This one is a professional-level display, not necessarily any better for gaming but worth considering anyway. Its refresh rate is 75 Hz.
https://www.newegg.com/asus-pa278qv-27-wqhd/p/N82E16824281062?Item=N82E16824281062
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1562006-REG/asus_pa278qv_27_wqhd_ips.html
I'm actually a bit surprised by the low variety, at least in terms of good options, but I guess a lot of people now working from home realized they needed to invest in something higher quality.
@puzzlezaddictIf I'm looking at smaller options on Amazon, are these good ones or no?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JGYM5H6/?coliid=I3Q171BE6F4DSU&colid=TKK0JX3AXVEU&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GG8RVXP/?coliid=I3JX9B4VJ3O7PK&colid=TKK0JX3AXVEU&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088VMY23M/?coliid=I2BU7GYCDZ49LX&colid=TKK0JX3AXVEU&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
Update: I'm especially looking at the curved Sceptre one...
@simsical-musical The first one has a TN panel (as opposed to IPS or VA), the lowest quality in terms of color and viewing angles. The second has a VA panel, which is fine but still not as good as IPS. Additionally, Sceptre is not a brand I would completely trust. Apparently it gets panels that higher-end companies reject for whatever reason, so you could get good quality or not, depending on how lucky you are.
If your priority is a high refresh rate, there really aren't any good options, at least as far as I can see, for under $200. The cheaper ones usually have TN panels, which would be a shock to the system coming from a Mac.
I did see these two at Best Buy, if you want more options:
Please keep in mind though that if you get the computer with the GTX 1650, you're not going to get anywhere near 144 fps unless you turn down the graphics settings. Even a 1660 ti doesn't maintain 144 fps in 1080p, so with a 1650, you might not get any benefit above a 75 Hz monitor. Of course, you might want that monitor for the future, but that's a different question.
Additionally, before you buy a 1080p monitor, please find one you can physically look at in the size you prefer. (If you're comfortable going to a store, Best Buy usually has a variety of monitors hooked up and playing videos on a loop.) Your laptop screen is likely 1080p, but that's a lot more pixels per inch when the screen is so small. Even a 27" 2560x1440 monitor looks a tiny bit grainy to me, although I don't notice it unless I'm paying attention. The point is, you don't want to spend $200 on a monitor that won't look good to you.
Okay, so should I be looking for options with 75hz... I'm not sure I understand the bit at the end, though. If I'm looking for a smaller monitor, will I be sacrificing quality?
@simsical-musical The resolution is literally the number of pixels in the monitor. The larger a screen those pixels are spread out over, the grainier the monitor will look. That doesn't mean that a 24" 1920x1080 monitor will look terrible, but you might find it's too grainy for your taste. The point is, before you spend all that money, see for yourself.
Monitors that run at 75 Hz are significantly cheaper, even when you want an IPS monitor. If you want a smaller 1080p screen, I can probably find good options in the $120 range. If you want a 2560x1440 resolution, the first option I mentioned when you originally asked is a good choice, and I can try to find more as well. Let me know either way.
The I9 uses a FCLGA1151 socket while the B560M-A AC M-ATX Motherboard has an LGA1200 socket so if that was the one you ended up getting then you will need to get another MB for the I9.
That part @puzzlezaddict will be better at answering.
@simsical-musical The most important thing here is to get your temperatures under control. The more powerful processor options your motherboard supports produce more heat than the one I believe you currently have, so swapping out the CPU would only exacerbate the problem.
Unless. How comfortable are you with taking off the CPU cooler and examining it? It's possible that the cooler isn't mounted properly, or that the thermal paste wasn't applied properly, or even that the shape of the piece that contacts the processor's heat spreader isn't perfectly flat, which would make it less efficient. All of these are entirely fixable and for a much lower cost than a better CPU.
First though, please let me know what kind of temperatures you're seeing. Download hwinfo from here:
https://www.hwinfo.com/download/
You don't need to install anything if you don't want to; just choose the Portable version, unzip it, and launch it from Downloads or wherever you want. (If you would like to install, be sure to click the button for hwinfo itself and not for lansweeper.) Restart your computer, and don't open any other apps. Launch hwinfo, choose "sensors only," and click the icon that's a sheet of paper with a + sign to start logging. Save the file to your desktop for easy access later.
Wait five minutes, open Origin, launch Sims 4 and play for 20 minutes or until your computer crashes. Click the same button to end logging, or if your computer shut down, the log should be intact to that point. You can upload it to a third-party free filehosting site and link it here. Please leave it in .csv format, or if you use OneDrive to share, please compress it in .zip format instead.
Next, please remove the side panel of your case, the one that gives you access to the hardware, and repeat the test. This will show whether the issue is mostly airflow, which might be fixable with more fans; or more about the CPU cooler not doing its job.
