You can’t blame PC enthusiasts for craving the latest and greatest gear, but for the savvy builder, new releases are merely a pathway toward prior-generation bargains.
And there have been plenty of them on AMD’s tried-and-trusted AM4 platform. Right now, our pick of the bunch is the 12-core Ryzen 9 5900X, whose price has plummeted to £187.99 here on UK shores.
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
“Obliterate multithreaded tasks like 3D rendering, video rendering, and software compiling by taking advantage of 12 cores, 24 threads and PCIe 4.0 support.”
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That’s phenomenal value and comfortably better than half price, plus there are similar discounts in other regions. Pricing at Amazon US has crept down to $249, and you can find said chip on the continent for around €230.
One of our favourite releases from the 5000 Series generation, the 105W Ryzen 9 5900X can hit 4.8GHz and will power through any workload with 24 threads at its disposal.
Though the Zen 3 part dates back to late 2020, it remains a worthy option at current prices. At the very least, it’s a solid choice for anyone wanting to achieve one final upgrade on a long-serving AM4 build.
Do be aware there’s no cooler in the box. While the processor doesn’t run quite as toasty as modern-day equivalents, we’d recommend a competent air or liquid cooler to maintain the best balance of low temperature and minimal noise.
5950X happens to be my prime choice, yet there are others in the 5000 Series catalogue to consider. Range-topping Ryzen 9 5950X is down to £260.99 if you happen to need those extra four cores, and if it’s budget gaming you’re after, Ryzen 7 5700X3D is now £184.99.
There is a question mark over how long stock remains available. Though AMD hasn’t yet confirmed any immediate plans to discontinue Ryzen 5000 CPUs, the availability of 7000 and 9000 Series successors suggests a natural shift will take place sooner rather than later. If you had your eye on a Ryzen 9 5900X upgrade, get in while the going is good.
