Yes, my budget is in US dollars and was hoping to include a monitor in that budget as well, if possible. After watching a couple of "how to build your own gaming PC" videos on Youtube, I think it's safe to say that I won't be going that route and would rather just buy a prebuilt PC that still meets my standards for running The Sims 4. Thank you in advance for your help and recommendations.
@D-Naeee1 Looking at current options, I see a lot of PCs that I'd call "fine" for anywhere between $650 and $800. But I want to mention this one first because it's a significant step up from those in several ways: its processor and graphics card are both more powerful, and it has 16 GB RAM rather than 8. It's $900 (including free shipping), meaning that plus a monitor would push your budget right up to or just over the line before taxes. So if you'd like to see cheaper options, let me know.
https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Prebuilt-Gaming-PC-GX-9777
And to be clear, those cheaper options could still run Sims 4, all current packs included, on ultra graphics settings, and with some room to spare. It's just that this one is a lot faster.
In the meantime, I'll start looking at monitors.
@D-Naeee1 For monitors, the place to start is with the resolution: you're mainly choosing between 1920x1080 (FHD) and 2560x1440 (QHD). For the former, I wouldn't go above 24" because it starts to look somewhat grainy. QHD monitors are somewhat more expensive, not alarmingly so but usually $200 and up instead of $100 and up, at least for the quality models. Since you're on a budget, I started with FHD options with the highest-quality panel type (in-plane switching, or IPS) in terms of color and viewing angle. Any of these should work well:
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-SB220Q-Ultra-Thin-Frame-Monitor/dp/B07CVL2D2S
https://www.amazon.com/LG-22MN430M-B-FHD-IPS-Monitor/dp/B0859NQH3F
https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-VP229HE-Adaptive-Sync-Frameless-Mountable/dp/B08CYGSF9M
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1457452-REG/lg_22mk430h_b_22_full_hd_ips.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1500996-REG/asus_va229hr_eye_care_monitor.html
https://www.newegg.com/aoc-24b1xhs-24-full-hd/p/N82E16824160482
https://www.newegg.com/black-acer-nitro-gaming-series-vg220q-um-wv0aa-001-21-5/p/0JC-000P-007F6
I realize this is a long list, but the "best" monitor is subjective in some ways, for example maybe you just don't like the stand on one or the way a certain brand's screens look. (For example, Dell makes quality monitors, but I'd never buy one for me because I don't like looking at them.) All of these should perform exactly the same; the only differences are aesthetic.
If you have more questions, about these or in general, please feel free to ask.
I looked at the one you tagged that was $900 and that would be fine, however, I don't know much about the specs or anything so my next question is, are there any disadvantages (EA won't let me say c o n s) for that specific PC?
Edited
The current resolution I have running in The Sims 4 is 2880x1800, I'm not sure if that matters or not. But after reading your comment about QHD monitors having a higher resolution, I'd like a couple of recommendations on those.
Edit: Also, are curved monitors better than the standard monitor?
@D-Naeee1 The computer I linked is basically a custom build but without letting you choose the components. CyberpowerPC does custom builds (for a higher price) and also sells prebuilt systems with the leftover components it hasn't used. This isn't actually a bad thing—the company doesn't even buy the cheapest components you'd find in a prebuilt system from Dell or HP. You'd be getting mid-tier off-the-shelf parts that just happened not to sell, probably the same components you'd be considering if you were building your own PC on a budget.
In terms of performance, an Nvidia RTX 2060 will run everything Sims 4 could ever throw at it on ultra settings without breaking a sweat, even at a QHD resolution. I wouldn't necessarily say the same for a GTX 1650, which should always be fine at FHD resolution but might start to give you frame drops at QHD, if not now then in the future. It's hard to predict, and you might never notice a difference; we really have no idea what Sims 4 will look like in a couple years.
For the other components, the processor could drive a significantly faster graphics card, so you could swap out the card in a few years without needing to buy a whole new computer. 16 GB RAM is nice to have for futureproofing as well, although it's extremely easy to upgrade the memory on almost any desktop. 512 GB is enough storage, and the SSD in this build, whatever model it happens to be, is going to be fine. It's easy to make quality RAM and SSDs, meaning good-quality components are going to be cheap for the end user.
For monitors, curved vs. flat-panel is also about aesthetics. The only time I'd say a curved panel is likely better is if you're using a very large screen, probably above 30", and plan to sit relatively close to it. I have a 27" curved monitor and prefer it to a flat one, but in all honesty I don't think I'd notice half the time, and I've heard other people say the opposite. If you're really curious, go to a local Best Buy and have a look around.
Here are some quality monitors with a 2560x1440 resolution:
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16824117009
https://www.newegg.com/samsung-ls27b610eqnxza-27/p/N82E16824027091
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1643655-REG/lenovo_65fbgcc1us_23_8_ips_qhd_l24q30.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1697051-REG/samsung_ls27b610eqnxza_s61b_27_75hz_qhd.html
https://www.amazon.com/LG-24QP500-B-FreeSync-Virtually-Borderless/dp/B08YJWYMD5
https://www.amazon.com/Sceptre-DisplayPort-Build-Speakers-E275W-QPT/dp/B08XD4HMDG
https://www.amazon.com/ViewSonic-VA2719-2K-SMHD-Frameless-Monitor-Inputs/dp/B0749R9Q3J
https://www.amazon.com/Philips-325E8-2560x1440-DisplayPort-Replacement/dp/B09CLPGS4D
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-KA272U-biipx-Zero-Frame-Technology/dp/B08JQSBNYH
https://www.amazon.com/Sceptre-2560x1440-DisplayPort-Adjustable-E325B-QPN168/dp/B08VTW474P
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-EB321HQU-Cbidpx-Monitor-Display/dp/B07X6KJKNZ
Again, there are a lot of links, but you might cross off half of them right away. You'll notice they're all more expensive than the FHD options, and most are 27", although I added a few larger ones at the end.
Your list of QHD monitors seems reasonably priced so I can just narrow it down and pick one. However, if I choose not to go with a QHD monitor an FHD monitor from your list above would be just fine with your recommended PC and with my resolution settings? Also, just out of curiosity, what gaming PC do you have, and thank you again for helping me out with such detailed recommendations. 🙂
@D-Naeee1 I'm not totally sure what you're asking in terms of resolution. The FHD monitors can only run at up to 1920x1080, and the QHD monitors' max is 2560x1440. Above that, the only standard resolutions are 3440x1440, which feels very wide, and 3840x2160 (4k), which is hard on a graphics card because of all those extra pixels. (The demands don't increase linearly, but it's still a large extra load.) I will say that my 27" QHD panel only looks grainy if I get a little too close to it and stare; I don't notice it at all in gaming.
All of these monitors would work fine with any computer. The matter of resolution is really about framerates, as in, if you want to play at a 2560x1440 resolution, you probably also want high-enough fps for the game to look smooth. So I usually don't suggest a high-res monitor unless someone's also going to buy a GPU that can handle the load. A 2060 is more than enough, in fact it's overkill. But the only cheaper computers come with a significantly-slower 1650, so the 2060 is the first good upgrade above that.
My gaming PC has an i7-9700K and an RTX 2070 that I'm going to replace with a 3080 ti (when I get around to it), plus 32 GB RAM (totally unnecessary; I've never used more than about 12) and two SSDs for 2.5 TB storage (also overkill, but the 2 TB drive is more than half full and I have more games to download). I built this with the intention of playing much more demanding games than Sims 4, and it's mostly handled things quite well. I really only get low fps when I run a game with Raytracing enabled, for example Control or Shadow of the Tomb Raider, but I've also put off running a couple other games until I upgrade.
This is the kind of computer you build if you want to play the newest games and don't mind spending money but also want to get one system that'll last for a long time. I deliberately built more power into it than I could even use everywhere but the GPU, and that means I can now add almost any new card currently on the market without upgrading anything else. But for someone who's only interested in playing Sims games, it would be a waste of money.
Sims 4 runs at about 170 fps under ideal conditions but shows drops into the 120 range at times. The graphics card isn't running anywhere near max when this happens, and neither is the processor; I'm pretty sure this is just a limitation of the game engine.
Okay, so to sum everything up getting the recommended PC that you linked above would do just fine with running The Sims 4 with a QHD monitor. Thanks for your help and maybe one day I'll learn enough to upgrade and build my own gaming PC.
@D-Naeee1 You're welcome. If you're thinking about being able to build a PC sometime in the future, I'd suggest opening this one up and just taking a look. Seeing the components in person is very different than watching a video, and you wouldn't need to add or remove anything to get a good sense of the layout.
It's also worth checking the connectors to make sure everything is secure. These can come loose in shipping and prevent the computer from booting or cause random shutdowns or the like, even when everything else is intact. There's no real fix for this, although a certain company once tried using glue, which I'm sure you can imagine turned out to be a terrible idea. Point is, you could save yourself some troubleshooting time and a massive headache by finding the loose cable before it causes any problems.
And if you have more questions once the computer is set up, please feel free to keep asking.
Quick question so I bought a dell desktop and have yet to buy a monitor but what sort of cable do I need to connect the two like a HDMI? Cause if I don’t need a VGA cable I might as well buy a monitor with just hdmi ports
@genevahassan17 Your desktop likely has HDMI and DP ports, but check the manual. You just need a monitor that's compatible with one of the ports on the computer; it doesn't matter which kind you use unless you're running a very high resolution and refresh rate. HDMI should be fine though. The monitor may come with its own cable as well.
