I'm putting together a PC for my brother with a budget of around €2,000, possibly a little more. It will mainly be used for gaming, but he'll also run AutoCAD and similar professional software. I'm currently considering an Intel Core i5-14600K with a Z790 motherboard, 32GB of DDR5-6000 memory, a 1TB NVMe SSD, an RTX 5070, an 850W power supply, and the Montech KING 95 PRO case. The current total is about €2,014, although some local Croatian prices differ significantly from the listed estimates. I'll also reuse an HDD and SSD from his old computer. Would it make sense to choose a newer socket for better upgrade potential, or should I change the platform or other parts?
3 Answers
You could also compare Intel’s newer Core Ultra 7 270K Plus if it is available locally at roughly the same price. It may offer a more current platform than the 14600K, although the motherboard and total platform cost matter more than the CPU price alone. The Phantom Spirit cooler and 850W power supply are sensible choices for this class of build.
For gaming, an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D paired with an RX 9070 XT would be a strong option. The 9070 XT offers similar overall performance to the RTX 5070 while providing 16GB of VRAM, which should age better for higher-resolution gaming. Just confirm that the specific software and any GPU features needed for AutoCAD work well with AMD.
Before choosing parts, make sure the prices are based on Croatia or nearby European retailers. The exact market makes a big difference, and imported pricing can make an otherwise good build look much more expensive. Since this is primarily a gaming PC with some AutoCAD use, it would also be worth comparing an AM5 build for a better future upgrade path than the current Intel platform.
Thanks, I’ll update the parts list using local euro pricing and compare it with an AM5 alternative.