Not least because AMD will take the stage at the end of May to reveal more details about its 3rd Generation Ryzen CPUs, we’re all looking forward to Computex this year.
As with CES, AMD has been vague about what will be announced, so we’ll have to wait until after the event to see if it will be available. Even though a major new release is imminent, it doesn’t mean it’s time to put off making an upgrade just yet.
Because of recent price cuts on AMD’s 2nd Generation Ryzen CPUs, Intel’s 9th generation CPUs, as well as both red and green team graphics cards, it’s a great time to upgrade your PC right now.
Intel is a good place to start. At launch last year, both the Core i7-9700K and Core i5-9600K were unattractive due to the high price of its CPUs. We found the Ryzen 7 2700X to be faster in multi-threaded tasks but cost nearly £200 more than the former, which we reviewed in November for nearly £500.
For a powerful multi-purpose or gaming-focused PC, however, that same CPU now costs just £380, and it can arguably compete with AMD’s mainstream flagship. High-res monitor owners or those who are willing to pay a little more to ensure they’re getting the best frame rates in all games might find this to be a worthwhile investment, even though it still costs around £90 more.
One of the most significant price reductions in percentage terms we’ve ever seen for a mainstream Intel CPU in less than six months, in fact, has made the Core i7-9700K a far more attractive proposition than when it was released.
The Core i5-9600K, on the other hand, hasn’t seen nearly as significant a reduction in price. In November, we reviewed it for $255 and it’s still around $250 today. Making matters worse, AMD’s competitors have all had their prices slashed, making Ryzen 5 2600X and Ryzen 7 2700 much less expensive and Ryzen 7 2700X only slightly more expensive.
Intel still has a slight advantage over AMD when it comes to some games, such as Far Cry 5, but when using 3,400MHz memory, AMD’s Ryzen 7 2700X was only 4fps behind when playing Deus Ex. Intel’s lack of Hyper-Threading means that AMD dominates multi-threaded tasks with the Ryzen 7 2700, which has two more cores and 10 more threads than Intel’s processors. Aside from those who need to run the most demanding games, the Core i5-9600K remains a difficult CPU to recommend.
Even though AMD has been aggressive in slashing prices, it may be worth waiting a little longer to see if it cuts even more from the asking prices of its 2nd Generation Ryzen CPUs as it tries to clear stock before Zen 2-based CPUs arrive. The Ryzen 7 2700X, which once cost £300, is now readily available for around £30 less than this, but there are better savings to be found elsewhere. However, it’s down to as low as £160 in recent deals for the Ryzen 5 2600X, which originally cost $210 new.
Ryzen 7 2700 has received mixed reviews due to Ryzen 7 2700X’s higher stock frequencies and not much more money, but it has recently turned into one of the best AMD CPUs for value. The eight-core CPU was selling for around £250 just a month ago, but AMD has cut the price even further in light of Zen 2’s impending release, making it available for just over £200. For a budget-conscious but powerful all-rounder, it’s a huge savings of about 25 percent.
If you don’t mind waiting a few months for AMD’s next generation of CPUs, there are some great deals to be had right now, and even Intel has swung its price-cutting hammer, making this the best time to buy a new CPU in the last 12 months.
