Black Friday CPU deals are now popping up at major retailers, and it looks like there are excellent offers this year and we’ve got everything you need to help you find the best deal possible – plus, we’ve rounded up all of them in one place for your convenience too.

We are truly spoilt for choice at the moment on the CPU front, as we’ve had CPU launches but no GPU launches, meaning it is going to be very likely you can grab one of the best CPUs for gaming at a fraction of its MSRP.

If you want our recommendation, look for the higher-end Ryzen 7000 series CPUs (maybe a 7800X3D if you’re a gamer) and any 14th-generation Intel CPU. Now that the TDP update has come for the recently released 9600X and 9700X, they’re not bad value for money, but they are less likely to be as heavily discounted this Black Friday, with them being released so near to the event.

We’ve also reviewed plenty of CPUs here at PC Guide from both Intel and AMD. You can check out our 14900K, 9950X, 9900X, 13900K, and 9800X3D reviews, to name a few, to gauge their real-world performance. The 7800X3D outperformed the Core Ultra 9 285K in gaming, and the 9800X3D has better gaming performance than that.

Seeing how quickly it went out of stock on its release, we recommend grabbing it as soon as possible. With its price reduction, the stock most likely won’t last long. However, just because a processor has its price cut doesn’t mean you should get it. A fast processor is needed in gaming when you’re playing at a lower resolution, and the 9800X3D is great for that as it provides better 1% lows.

However, if you’re playing at higher resolutions, such as 4K, then it depends more on what GPU you have rather than the CPU. The CPU doesn’t have to churn out more instructions as the GPU takes time to render the pixels at 4K resolution, giving the processor room to breathe. It is the opposite at lower resolutions as the CPU has to churn out more instructions because processing 1080p or 1440p data is easy, and it asks for the next set of instructions.

In that latter case, if your CPU can’t keep up with the GPU, it creates a CPU bottleneck, meaning the CPU is holding back your graphics card. So, before making a purchase, ask yourself: Will you be gaming at 4K, 1440p, or 1080p? If you’re going to game at 4K, even a Rzyen 5 7600X paired with an RTX 4080 Super would be fine, as the GPU would be pulling most of the weight.

However, if you have a 1080p monitor and that is your preferred resolution, a speedy processor like any of the X3D CPUs or Intel’s Core Ultra 7 265K, 12600K, and 13700K would be perfect. We’ll keep sweeping for more CPU deals and keep updating this page with them. So, make sure to bookmark this page and check back with us for the best and latest.

Black Friday AMD CPU deals

We’re monitoring Raptor Lake and Ryzen 7000 prices alongside the new releases, but so far, most deals are on older-generation processors. That’s not surprising, but it’s good if you’re looking to upgrade an older system or build a system that doesn’t need the latest and greatest.

We’ve divided AMD and CPU deals out below so you can more easily find what you’re looking for.

Black Friday Intel CPU deals – early offers

When will Black Friday CPU deals start in 2025?

Black Friday sales are now on at most major retailers, and they’re not even branded ‘early Black Friday’ this time around. Amazon Black Friday Week is on till December 2nd, and Black Friday deals can be found on Best Buy, and a number of other retailers.

How to get the best Black Friday CPU deals

If previous years have taught us anything, you can find the best deals by varying your search. Amazon, Newegg, and Best Buy’s respectful Black Friday events have largely dominated the US, so they are generally a great place to start. In the UK, these are the options you should also look to. Below is where we recommend going first and foremost.

The simple answer to this question is to keep your options open. Generally speaking, if there’s a particular processor that you like for less at one retailer, it could be cheaper at another. Remembering the pricing history is the best way to know you’re getting the best deal. You can do this through CamelCamelCamel for Amazon and Honey for all other storefronts.

You’re set if you can track how much processors are selling for earlier in the week. No one wants to miss out on an aggressive lowest-ever price offer because they waited too long. This is especially true of Amazon, which hosts lightning deals and short-lived offers where prices fluctuate often.

Features to consider when looking for Black Friday CPU deals

Regarding purchasing advice, aiming for the most recent processor compatible with your motherboard is the most obvious place to start, as this will save you from having to purchase knock-on upgrades. Upgrading might be constrained by the compatibility of motherboard chips, which evolve relatively frequently. Assessing the best CPU compatible with your motherboard is crucial to snagging a deal this November.

The Winter sales events allow you to purchase processors with clock speeds upwards of 5.0 GHz, which will allow for faster single-core and multi-thread performance in the latest games.

Power level

Not every CPU is made equal. It will work if you’re someone after entry-level builds for less than a Ryzen 5 or i5. However, should you want something with more grunt under the hood, a Ryzen 7 or i7 has you covered. These are factors worth thinking about before pulling the trigger.

Which processor brand is better: AMD or Intel?

There’s no definitive answer about who makes the better chipsets: AMD or Intel. Both have strengths and weaknesses, depending on what you want your machine to do. The market is fairly even, but we advise you to look at the benchmarks before deciding which games you want to play and the tasks you need to do on your machine.

Is DDR5 worth upgrading to?

DDR5 is the emerging new standard for RAM. Investing in a stick set this year will make you an early adopter. At the time of writing, only Intel 12th Gen supports the faster RAM models. However, AMD is catching up. Ryzen 7000 launches at the end of the month, with support for PCIe 5.0 / DDR5, too.