I'm deciding between two deals for a system with an RTX 4070 Ti. The first is an Intel Core Ultra 5 250KF, ASUS TUF Gaming Z890-Plus WiFi, and Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 bundle for £280, although I would still need to buy DDR5 memory. The second is an Intel Core i5-14600K with 32GB of 2x16GB DDR4-4000 CL17 for £240, but I would need to purchase an LGA1700 motherboard. I'll use the PC for video editing, rendering, and gaming. Which option offers the better overall value and upgrade path?
2 Answers
The Core Ultra bundle gives you a newer platform and likely a better future upgrade path, but you need to include the cost of DDR5 before comparing the deals. For video editing and rendering, 32GB of RAM is a much better starting point than 16GB, so make sure the memory budget doesn’t force you into single-channel RAM. If you choose the newer platform, buying one 16GB stick now and adding a matching stick later could work, but running two sticks from the start is preferable.
Before buying the Core Ultra bundle, verify that the specific motherboard and memory kit support the processor’s advertised boost features and run at their rated settings. Also compare the total price with 32GB of DDR5 included. If the final cost is significantly higher than the 14600K setup, the older platform with 32GB may be the more practical choice right now. Choose the 250KF mainly if you value the newer socket and expect to upgrade later.
The problem is that even a basic 16GB DDR5 stick seems to cost around £80 here, and some of the cheaper listings are laptop SO-DIMMs rather than desktop memory.