I'm planning a new PC for 1440p gaming, video editing, and other creative work. I'm willing to spend a little extra on appearance, and I'd like some components—especially the power supply—to remain useful for future upgrades.
Current parts:
- Intel Core i5-14600K
- ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III Pro A-RGB 360mm liquid cooler
- Gigabyte B760 Gaming X DDR4 motherboard
- Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-3200 CL16, reused from my current build
- WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB NVMe SSD, reused from my PS5
- XFX Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB
- Lian Li Vector V100R case
- MSI MAG A850GL PCIe 5 850W Gold modular PSU
The listed total is about $1,622, although some parts are being reused and the retailer prices are only for comparison. My current computer is an HP prebuilt with an i5-9400 and GTX 1650. I originally chose the DDR4 platform because the memory was a recent gift and my old motherboard did not support XMP. Should I change anything for better performance, value, upgradeability, or aesthetics?
3 Answers
The PS5 SSD should work in a standard PC as long as it is a normal M.2 NVMe drive. The main thing to check is whether it includes a heatsink and whether that heatsink fits under the motherboard’s M.2 cover. Also, make sure the motherboard has the wireless features you need. This model may require a separate Wi-Fi and Bluetooth adapter, so a board with built-in Wi-Fi could be worth considering.
I’d seriously consider selling the DDR4 kit and switching to a DDR5 platform, ideally with an AM5 processor. That gives you a better upgrade path than investing in a new LGA1700 build, and DDR5 is a more natural match for a new system. However, if the memory was a gift and keeping the initial cost down matters, reusing it is reasonable—just understand that you’re prioritizing savings now over platform longevity.
The biggest change I’d consider is the graphics card. If the budget allows, moving up to an RX 9070-class card would provide a much larger performance improvement than spending more on cosmetic upgrades. It should be a considerably better fit for high-refresh 1440p gaming and creative workloads. I’d also look at the Montech Century II 850W, which is a stronger value than the selected power supply. The 1050W version could make sense if you want substantial headroom for a future high-end GPU.
That makes sense. I’m probably closer to a $1,200 out-of-pocket budget because the RAM and SSD are being reused. I mainly wanted to use the DDR4 since it was a recent gift, but I’ll compare the cost of moving to a newer platform and a stronger GPU.
The actual budget is probably around $1,200 since the RAM and SSD are reused. Keeping the DDR4 was intentional because I wanted to use the gift memory, although I’m open to changing platforms if the performance and upgrade path justify the extra cost.