AMD Ryzen 9000 Series didn’t make the biggest splash when it dropped in August, but don’t lose hope. While prices were a little unwieldy compared to the previous generation, a swift deal comes to the rescue, placing Ryzen 5 9600X exactly where it should be as the CPU falls to a new low.
Credit where it’s due; most of the lineup mindfully launched between $40-50 cheaper than their predecessors. Ryzen 5 9600X stands as an exception, originally shaving just $20 off the former mid-range champ’s MSRP. Considering Ryzen 7000 Series was already way ahead of the curve with its own discounts, these freshmen were a little out of their depth.
Fast-forward a couple of months, and we’re now seeing adjustments that make Ryzen 5 9600X a tantalising prospect. With up to 29% off, the chip now runs $249 in the US, £230 in the UK, and as little as €268.58 on the European continent. This is exactly the price Tarinder suggested it should be in his review.
AMD Ryzen 5 9600X
AMD’s Zen 5 architecture rolls out the red carpet for efficiency and low system temperatures, but this discount adds value to the list. Read our review.
Aside from 4K, where 9600X runs mostly neck and neck with 7600X, Zen 5 has the better gaming chops, regularly inching ahead of its older brother. You can expect an excess of 233fps in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla at 1080p resolution when paired with a Zotac GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card, or 119fps at UHD.
Considering all our tests use the default out-of-box 65W TDP, this advantage comes with significantly better efficiency and temperatures. Its 190W total power consumption reaches no more than 61.2°C, making it one of the coolest test benches to pass through our labs. What this means for you is that you can pair it with just about any reputable CPU cooler, and it’ll do the trick well.
AMD has since unlocked the power draw to 105W in BIOS updates. Not only does this put it on level footing with 7600X, but it also gives it a much higher performance ceiling. I’m more partial to lowering my energy bill, but as they say, the world’s your oyster.
Since AMD bakes fantastic forward compatibility into its motherboards, you can slot this into existing AM5 models with no issues whatsoever. However, you’ll get more out of the newer X870 and X870E variants, which bring with them faster RAM speeds, USB 4 connectivity, and WiFi 7. Better yet, the next generation will also fit into the same platform, making your investments here go even further.