I'm planning my first serious gaming PC with a budget of about €2,000, using prices from Italy. My main goals are high-FPS 1440p gaming on a 240–260 Hz monitor, competitive Fortnite, AAA games, and possibly streaming. Gaming performance matters most, followed by longevity, thermals/noise, and then aesthetics. I like the look of the Lian Li O11 Dynamic Mini V2, so I'm willing to spend somewhat more on the case, AIO, and RGB fans, but I don't want those choices to hurt performance too much.
The current parts list is an Intel Core i5-14600KF, Gigabyte B760 Gaming X DDR4 motherboard, 32 GB of DDR4-3200 CL16, an XFX Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Swift Gaming at about €829, an Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 A-RGB, a 1 TB Crucial P310 NVMe SSD plus a reused 500 GB SATA SSD, an NZXT C750 Gold Core 750W ATX 3.1 power supply, the Lian Li case, and six Arctic reverse-blade A-RGB fans.
I'm unsure whether the 14600KF and DDR4 platform still make sense at these prices, or whether I should move to DDR5 and potentially an AMD gaming platform. I'm also considering whether the RX 9070 XT Swift is good value compared with the roughly €899 Mercury version, or whether another GPU would offer better performance for the money. I'd appreciate feedback on the overall balance, the cooler and case spending, SSD and PSU choices, whether 750W is enough, and any parts you would replace while keeping the total near €2,000.
2 Answers
The 14600KF is a capable choice for high-refresh gaming and has plenty of cores for streaming, so it isn’t an obviously bad purchase. The main question is whether the price difference versus a DDR5 or X3D-based system is small enough to justify keeping DDR4. I’d prioritize the GPU and avoid paying a large premium for a factory GPU variant unless the Mercury has a substantially better cooler, noise level, or warranty; the real FPS difference between versions is usually tiny. The 9070 XT Swift seems like the more sensible option if it keeps the build within budget.
At this budget, I’d seriously compare the total cost of a DDR5 build before committing to DDR4. A 32 GB DDR5 kit can often fit within €2,000, especially if you find a prebuilt or a better-priced bundle that still includes a high-end GPU. DDR4-3200 CL16 will work, but it gives you less upgrade flexibility and can leave some gaming performance on the table in CPU-limited situations. The 14600KF is still a strong processor, though its platform does not really offer a better upgrade path than AM4 just because it is newer.
I looked at Italian retailers, and many systems near €2,000 cut corners elsewhere—for example, using 16 GB of RAM or a much weaker GPU. That makes the custom build more competitive than some of the available prebuilts.