In this video I put together a $2,000 PC build around Intel’s new Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and paired it with an ASRock Challenger RX 9070 XT, because on paper this combo looks like it could make a lot of sense versus the super pricey “top dog” gaming chips. Intel and ASRock sponsored the build, but we still did what we always do: pick parts that make sense for price-to-performance and then actually test it in real games and benchmarks. The big theme here is simple—Intel’s Plus refresh is kind of changing the game if you want strong gaming performance but also a CPU that can handle streaming, multitasking, and productivity without spending i9 money. We went with an ASRock Z890 Phantom Gaming (Lightning Wi-Fi) board because it’s a solid value board that doesn’t cost $500, a 360mm AIO that kept temps surprisingly chill, and a clean Montech Sky 3 setup with matching fans for that seamless RGB look. Then we jumped into 1440p testing in Black Myth: Wukong, Battlefield 6, and The Finals, plus Cinebench, CS2, Marvel Rivals, and 3DMark Time Spy. The takeaway: the 270K Plus has great single-core performance, a ridiculous amount of cores/threads for the price, and in most games we felt GPU-bound—which is exactly what we want at 1440p.