24/07/2026 9:25 am
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im currently staring at my old rig that just isnt cutting it anymore for my ultrawide setup and i honestly feel like im losing my mind trying to pick a new cpu. my budget is around 600 bucks for the chip but i can push it a bit if it means i dont have to upgrade for another four years. im based in the states and i need this thing for high-end gaming mostly at 1440p and some light video editing on the side.
so i was thinking about the 14900k since everyone talks about it being the top dog, but then i read a bunch of threads about the stability issues and thermal throttling which scared me off a little. my logic was that going with the current flagship was the safest bet for longevity, but now im second-guessing that because of all the noise online about intel losing their footing lately. i also looked into the 14700k because a few reviewers mentioned it hits that sweet spot for price-to-performance, but some people on reddit are saying the cooling requirements are basically the same as the i9 so what is even the point of saving a hundred bucks if i need a massive aio anyway?
its just so confusing because one guy says the 14700k is the best value and the next guy says dont even bother with lga1700 anymore and just jump to am5, but i have some leftover ddr5 ram i really want to use and i already have a z790 board sitting in a box that i got for a steal. im trying to get this build done before the end of the month because i really wanna play the new games coming out without my frame rate tanking during every boss fight. do i just grab the 14700k and call it a day or is the 14900k actually worth the headache if i have a decent 360mm cooler? what would you guys actually put in your personal machines right now...
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24/07/2026 10:00 am
Late to the party, but stay away from those i9s. Honestly, just grab an Intel Core i7-14700K 20-Core 5.6GHz and undervolt it. It's way more stable than the flagship headache.
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24/07/2026 9:40 am
Regarding what #1 said about grabbing the Intel Core i7-14700K 20-Core 5.6GHz, I actually went that route a few months back and honestly? It was kinda disappointing for me. I spent so much time tweaking power limits just to keep the chip from hitting 100 degrees during basic rendering. My setup had an MSI MAG CoreLiquid 360R V2 AIO Liquid Cooler and it still felt like I was fighting the silicon every single day. If you already have that Z790 board, maybe look at a used Intel Core i5-13600K 14-Core 5.1GHz instead? It runs way cooler, saves you a ton of cash for a better GPU, and honestly handles 1440p gaming like a champ. Dont stress the flagship trap; the i5 hits that sweet spot way better than the high-end furnace chips do.
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24/07/2026 9:25 am
Honestly man, just grab the Intel Core i7-14700K 20-Core 5.6GHz and move on with your life! Since you already have the Z790 board and the RAM, it makes zero sense to switch platforms now. Everyone is overreacting about the heat. If you slap a solid Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 AIO on that chip, you will be totally fine. I use a similar setup and it keeps things super cool even when I am pushing high frames on an ultrawide. TL;DR: Go with the 14700K. It hits the sweet spot for gaming and video editing without the massive headaches the 14900K brings to the table. The 14900K is basically just bragging rights at this point. Unless you are doing heavy workstation stuff all day, you wont notice the difference in actual gaming. Just make sure you update your BIOS to the latest microcode to keep things stable and you are golden! Don't let the internet scare you off, the 14700K is a beast and you'll be hitting those high refresh rates on your ultrawide no problem. Get that build finished and enjoy those new games, seriously, it is gonna look amazing!
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24/07/2026 9:50 am
@Reply #2 - good point! Honestly, seeing those temps climb during simple tasks is exactly why I lean toward the Intel Core i5-14600K 14-Core 5.3GHz instead of chasing the top-tier chips this cycle. I know you want the flagship, but look, if you're mostly gaming at 1440p, you're gonna be GPU bound way before that i5 hits a wall. The i7 and i9 on this platform are basically overclocked space heaters right now. If you're dead set on sticking with the LGA1700 socket because of your board, the 14600K is way easier to manage:
- It runs significantly cooler so you wont have to stress as much about thermal throttling.
- You save a good chunk of change which you can put towards a better GPU or just keep in your pocket.
- The performance gap in gaming compared to the 14900K is actually pretty negligible at 1440p settings. I get the itch for the shiny new flagship, but imo, the headache of trying to cool a 14900k just isnt worth it unless you really need those extra cores for heavy workstation tasks. If you already have that Z790 board, just drop a mid-range chip in there, set a mild undervolt, and call it a day. Itll be stable, quiet, and honestly, you wont notice the difference in your frame rates during those boss fights. Just my two cents tho!
