I'm building my first gaming PC in Italy and have a budget of about €1,300, with a little flexibility if spending more would make a meaningful difference. I'm aiming for high-frame-rate 1440p gaming and would prefer a clean, modern all-black build; RGB is optional. I need built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, at least 16GB of RAM, a 1TB or larger NVMe SSD, a reliable power supply, and a well-ventilated case. I'd also like a platform with a good upgrade path so I won't have to replace the entire system in a few years. I already have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, so the budget is only for the PC itself. Parts should ideally be available from Amazon Italy or other dependable EU retailers. What would you choose, and why?
3 Answers
A value-focused AM5 build can fit close to €1,300 with a Ryzen 5 7500X3D, an inexpensive tower cooler, a Wi-Fi motherboard, 16GB of DDR5-6000, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and a Radeon RX 9060 XT. The X3D processor is particularly useful for high-refresh-rate gaming. However, I’d strongly recommend buying 32GB as a matched 2x16GB kit rather than a single 16GB stick, because dual-channel memory improves consistency and avoids needing to replace the original module later. If the price gap is manageable, choose the 16GB graphics-card version for better longevity.
If high FPS at 1440p is the main goal, I’d save a little more and target around €1,500. That extra money can move the build into a stronger GPU tier without compromising the motherboard, storage, or power supply. An AM5 system would make sense here, since it leaves room for a future CPU upgrade. I wouldn’t choose a Radeon RX 7600 for this target—it’s better suited to 1080p and would require too many compromises at 1440p.
There are several sensible AM5 and Intel LGA1851 configurations at roughly the same price. For this budget, I’d prioritize 32GB of DDR5, a 1TB NVMe drive, and the strongest graphics card you can fit. A Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB is a reasonable baseline, while stretching toward an RX 9070 GRE or RX 9070 should give noticeably better 1440p performance and generally stronger value for this use case. AM5 is the safer long-term upgrade platform, so that would be my first choice unless an Intel bundle is substantially cheaper.
That makes sense. I’d rather start with 32GB if it fits, even if that means choosing a slightly less expensive case or SSD. The 16GB GPU version also seems worthwhile for keeping the system longer.