I'm choosing between two gaming PC configurations for 1440p. Option A uses an i5-14400F, B760 motherboard, and 32GB DDR4-3200, costing €1,490 with an RX 9070 GRE or €1,600 with an RX 9070. Option B uses a Ryzen 5 7500F, B850 motherboard, and 32GB DDR5-6000, costing €1,770 with an RX 9070 GRE or €1,890 with an RX 9070.
Both systems would include a Thermalright PS120 EVO cooler, Acer Predator GM7 1TB SSD, MSI MAG A850GL 850W Gold power supply, and Corsair Frame 4000D case. The main use is high-rank Valorant at 1440p and 360Hz, along with heavily modded Minecraft using shaders and modern AAA games.
The cheaper Intel build would let me spend more on the graphics card or keep the savings. With the Ryzen platform, I could potentially upgrade to a future Zen 6 X3D processor later. With Intel, I would probably keep the system for another year or two before replacing the CPU, motherboard, and memory together. Is the extra cost of the newer platform worthwhile, or would the cheaper build with the stronger GPU be the better choice?
5 Answers
It may also be worth comparing the 14600K or 14600KF if the price difference is small. That would give the Intel build more CPU headroom, though it still wouldn’t solve the limited upgrade path. If you’re buying memory new, used DDR4 or DDR5 can sometimes reduce the total cost, while I’d generally prioritize buying the processor and motherboard new.
If €1,890 is outside your budget, don’t stretch just to get the top combination. Staying under €1,700 with the Intel build and RX 9070 may provide better value right now, especially at 1440p where the graphics card matters heavily in most AAA games. Just be aware that the platform has less room for future upgrades.
For a completely new build, I’d choose the Ryzen and DDR5 platform if the budget allows. The 7500F setup is already faster than the 14400F with DDR4 in many games, and it gives you a much better upgrade path. The Intel option makes more sense if you already own the DDR4 memory or motherboard. Otherwise, you’d likely need to replace the CPU, board, and RAM together later.
The PS120 EVO is fine if you prefer its black appearance, but the standard non-SE version can perform just as well or slightly better and may cost less. Since the visual difference matters to you and it’s only about €8 more, keeping the EVO is perfectly reasonable.
You could reduce the initial cost of the Ryzen system by starting with one 16GB memory module and adding a matching second module later. That would let you get onto the newer platform sooner, although running a single stick temporarily will reduce performance, so I’d only do this if the second module can be added fairly soon.
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