Intel Core i9-12900K, AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Fall To New Lows And More Killer CPU Deals
You're probably aware that both AMD and Intel are on track to launch a new generation of processors this year—Zen 4 and Raptor Lake, respectively. We still don't know when exactly they'll debut or how much they'll cost, but if you're not in the waiting mood, there are some stellar deals to be had on current generation CPUs.
One of them is the 12th Gen Core i9-12900K. It's on sale for $559.99 at Amazon. It's the same price at Newegg, plus you can shave an additional $20 off with coupon code FTPBU537 if going that route, bringing the tally down to $539.99. This CPU has never sold for less that we're aware of, and we considered it a deal when it was marked down to $594 just a month ago.
For the most part, CPU prices have continually fallen over the past several weeks and months. If you're wanting to build an Alder Lake system, here's where things stand...
- Core i9-12900KS: $734.99 (save $115)
- Core i9-12900K: $539.99 after coupon (save $58.98)
- Core i9-12900KF: $549.97 (save $126.28)
- Core i7-12700K: $349.99 (save $146.26)
- Core i5-12600K: $259.99 (save $82.51)
- Core i5-12500: $219.99 (save $28.76)
- Core i5-12400: $193.95 (save $43.53)
- Core i3-12100: $129.98 (save $25.02)
In addition to the Core i9-12900K, the Core i7-12700K and Core i5-12600K stand out as particularly good bargains. Just last month, the Core i7-12700K was selling for $384.99, which at the time was $111.26 below it's list price. Now it's down to $349.99. And the Core i5-12600K was going for $277.96 in early June, and is now down to $259.99.
Bear in mind that Raptor Lake will be drop-in compatible with Alder Lake platforms. That means you could build an Alder Lake system now and upgrade to Raptor Lake later on with just a CPU swap (and BIOS update), if the mood arises. However, note that Intel will also roll out new 700 series chipsets later this year.
Save Big On AMD Zen 3 Processors
If you prefer to build an AMD Ryzen system, there are some good bargains to be had as well. In particular, the Ryzen 7 5800X that we highlighted as a deal last month when it dropped to $308 is now even cheaper, selling for $274.99 on Amazon (save $174.01). That's an attractive price for an 8-core/16-thread processor with a 3.8GHz base clock, 4.7GHz boost clock, and 32MB of L3 cache.
Here's a look at some other Zen 3 deals...
- Ryzen 9 5950X: $548.89 (save $250.11)
- Ryzen 9 5900X: $399 (save $170.99)
- Ryzen 7 5800X: $274.99 (save $174.01)
- Ryzen 7 5700X: $265 (save $34)
- Ryzen 5 5600X: $174.99 (save $134.01)
- Ryzen 7 5700G (APU): $289.99 (save $70)
- Ryzen 5 5600G (APU): $152 (save $107)
One thing to note is that AMD will introducing a new AM5 socket for its Zen 4 processors. It's also likely to roll solo with DDR5 memory. So if you build a Zen 3 system today, you'd be looking at a substantial platform overhaul in order to upgrade.
That said, it's hard to argue against the bang-for-buck factor with Zen 3. AMD's upcoming Zen 4 processors are likely to priced closer to the launch prices of the chips they're replacing, as opposed to the discounts you see above.
