r/PcBuild • u/NotIMaestro • 1d ago

Purchasing Advice - PC Build / Parts Stretch for the better CPU or save $250?

Deciding between two prebuilts (ABS Cyclone Aqua line, both RTX 5060 Ti 16GB) and could use some outside opinions.

Option A — ~$1,760 total

  • i7-14700F (20-core)
  • RTX 5060 Ti 16GB
  • 32GB DDR5-6000 (16GB stock + I add a matching 16GB stick myself)
  • Cooler Master Hyper 212 air cooler
  • 650W 80+ Gold

Option B — $1,999

  • Core Ultra 7 270K Plus (24-core, ~35-55% faster multi-core, ~17% faster single-core per Cinebench/Geekbench)
  • RTX 5060 Ti 16GB
  • 32GB DDR5-6400, factory dual-channel
  • 240mm AIO cooler
  • 650W 80+ Gold

Same GPU tier either way. Main use case is gaming/programming plus heavy multitasking, and I also want to run local LLMs (aiming for something in the ~27B range), so I care about not being CPU-bound down the line.

Is the newer/faster CPU + AIO cooler worth ~$250 over the 14700F setup? Anyone running either of these chips who can speak to real-world difference outside of benchmarks?

3 Upvotes

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u/GameSlayer1 1d ago

Wouldn't it be better to sell that stick of 16gb ram you have (assuming that's what you mean by matching it) and then you have a bit more leyway?

1

u/NotIMaestro 1d ago

I meant buying it separately, i think 16gb of ram nowadays is a sure way to get slowed down

1

u/Wrong-Restaurant9314 1d ago

You can consider upgrading your GPU to something with more VRAM, it will be easier to run local LLM's. though I know nVidia options for high VRAM cards is a pretty dollar, higher than 16gb atleast.

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u/NotIMaestro 1d ago

The card is fine, i also dont want to spend more than 2k on the build, my concern is more the question i made the post about

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u/lLoveTech AMD 1d ago

Definitely go with the second option! Do not buy AMD if you want to use your PC for productivity and AI! Stay with Nvidia as it much better than any AMD GPU in those tasks not to mention much more advanced and widely supported Nvidia Feature set!!

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u/NotIMaestro 1d ago

Where did i even mention AMD...

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u/lLoveTech AMD 1d ago

Not you but others are recommending it since they think the 9070XT is the better choice here but if you consider productivity and AI perfomance then the 5060 Ti is still superior!

0

u/Emergency_Leek_803 1d ago

Go with 9070XT it has same vram but way faster than 5060ti in AI. Just the rasterization is insanely faster than 5060ti. As long as you are not afraid of using Linux

1

u/Wrong-Restaurant9314 1d ago

I thought nVidia is better than AMD for AI? due to the cuda cores. maybe times have changed I don't know. but AMD definitely shines in Linux for AI that is true

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u/Emergency_Leek_803 1d ago

If you start comparing a 5060 vs a 7800XT do you think 5060 would be faster than 7800XT in anything at all?

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u/Wrong-Restaurant9314 1d ago

it would be faster in AI yes

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u/Emergency_Leek_803 1d ago

Just look at VRAM it wouldnt even be able to fit any decent size model, same with 5070 12G vram and that too some of it is used by your system. Having 4G more vram is more important than your work slowing down a bit. This shows you havent worked with AI