I'll probably end up skipping Alder Lake no matter how good it is because I'm pretty happy with current Zen2 and older Intel rigs for the time being, but I'm hoping it's as good as possible, it only makes things better for everyone. I expect to finally see some sub $200 Zen3 SKUs hit the streets, which will be awesome. Probably not until the non-K models are released, but if 12600KF @ $250 is true, I could see 12400F for $200ish, which would demand 6C/12T Zen3 to at least match it.
I'm hoping Intel GPUs herald a resurgence of non brutal GPU options as well.
The high end is whatever, a playground for people with funny money to play, I just want to get back to the days I can make a really good gaming rig build for one of my sons, my nephew, a friend, etc for $600-$800 with decent specs.
Right now the best I could do is what .. something like :
Basic Case $50
600W Brand name PSU $60
B560 Mobo $100
I5 11400F $180
16GB DDR4 3000 $55
CM212 or equivalent $30
500GB WD Blue nVME $50
$525, then GPU ..
New prices are utterly broken. Best option to hit reasonable budget are things like
$200 1060 3GB
$225 980 4GB
$250-$280 1060 6GB
$320-$330 980ti 6GB
$375 1070 8GB
😔😭
Bring on Alder, Intel GPU, and let the market see some new price tiers and availability hopefully