Is a £1,500 1440p gaming PC with a Ryzen 5 7500X3D and RTX 5060 Ti a worthwhile upgrade?

The 5060 Ti 16GB is perfectly usable for 1440p, especially if you’re comfortable using DLSS in demanding games. It may not be the strongest value compared with some competing cards, but it should handle competitive titles very well and provide a clear upgrade over a Series S. I’d prioritise getting 32GB of RAM rather than spending the whole budget on a faster processor.

The main thing I’d change is the memory. A single 16GB stick will run, but it gives up dual-channel performance and leaves less headroom for newer games. Try to use a matched 2x16GB DDR5 kit if possible. If that pushes the cost too high, an older AM4 system with a Ryzen 7 5800X3D could be worth considering, although AM5 gives you a better upgrade path.

The rest of the proposed setup sounds reasonable, and the 5060 Ti 16GB isn’t a bad card. I’d just avoid treating 16GB of system memory as the finished configuration. If buying 32GB immediately isn’t possible, adding a matching second stick later would be a sensible birthday or Christmas upgrade. Prices on memory have been unusually high lately, so it’s worth shopping around and checking whether the system must use entirely new parts.

You can fit 32GB of DDR5, an X3D processor, and a considerably stronger graphics card into roughly the same budget with careful part selection. A build centred on a Ryzen 5 7500X3D and Radeon RX 9070 would offer much more raw 1440p performance, while still using a capable AM5 platform. Check current prices carefully, though, because memory and storage costs can vary wildly.