Now that the gift-shopping season has passed, it's a good time to buy the parts you need to upgrade or build a PC. When it comes to PC building, there are few components more important than the your processor, the literal brain of your computer.
But with the ongoing holiday tech deals season , the good news is you can save a lot of money on this core chip right now, whether you are Team AMD or Team Intel.
More Deal Roundups
Whatever CPU you choose, make sure that you buy (or already own) a compatible motherboard . See below for a curated list of our favorite CPU deals available right now. If you find a sale on your own and are uncertain if you should pull the trigger, check out our article on how to tell a CPU deal from a dud .
AMD CPU Deals
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X CPU w/ Wraith Prism LED Cooler: was $329, now $229 @Amazon
The Ryzen 7 2700X is an octa-core CPU. It has a total of 16 threads when unlocked with a max boost speed of 4.3 GHz. You will need a motherboard with an AM4 socket type for this chip. View Deal
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X: was $150, now $119 with free cooler @B&H
This CPU is now at it lowest price ever, offering 6 cores and 12 threads. It has a clock speed of 3.6 GHz or 4.1 GHz with turbo. It had an MSRP of $230 when we reviewed it in April 2018. View Deal
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G APU - was $100, now $84 @Amazon
This APU boasts Vega 8 graphics with 8 GPU cores, while computing is covered by 4 cores and 4 threads with a clock speed of 3.5 GHz and boost clock speed of up to 3.7 GHz. This is the lowest price we've ever seen, plus it comes with a free Wraith Stealth cooler. View Deal
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X + Prism Cooler: was $329, now $245 @Amazon
8 cores, 16 threads, a cooler and a free game for just $10. Second gen Ryzen may be a year and a half old at this point, but it still holds its weight. View Deal
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X: was $899, now $679 @Newegg
The Threadripper 2950X comes with 16 cores and 32 processing threads. It has a Max Boost frequency of 4.4 GHz. This CPU is on sale for $699 on Amazon. View Deal
AMD Ryzen 3 3200G: was $99, now $94 @B&H
This inexpensive processor features four cores and built-in Radeon Vega 8 graphics that make it possible to play some games at low settings. The CPU can boost up to 4 GHz and the GPU is rated for 1.25 GHz. View Deal
AMD Ryzen 5 1600: was $143, now $85 @Amazon
With six cores and a Boost clock of 3.6GHz, plus a good in-box cooler, the Ryzen 5 1600 is an excellent processor for the price. View Deal
AMD Ryzen 7 2700: was $299, now $149 @Newegg
This level of CPU performance is a bargain at this price, with eight CPU cores and 16 threads. It even comes with an RGB cooler, Xbox Game Pass, plus your choice of Borderlands 3 or The Outer Worlds PC for free.
View Deal
Intel CPU Deals
Intel Core i5-9600K 3.7 GHz: was $279, now $219 @Newegg
This is a Coffee Lake hex-core CPU with a turbo speed of 4.6 GHz. View Deal
Intel Core i7-9700K: was $409, now $369 @Best Buy
With its 4.9GHz single-core boost and eight physical cores, the Core i7-9700K delivers the best frame rates of any CPU we've tested. You can grab it from Best Buy for about $40 less than its normal sale price. View Deal
Intel Pentium Gold G5400: was $119, now $60 @Walmart
The Pentium Gold G5400 is a dual-core processor. It has a processing speed of 3.7 GHz. This CPU is ideal for simple machines and smaller builds. It's on sale right now for 50% off. View Deal