New Ryzen 9 7950X deal makes the top CPU a great pairing for the RX 9070 XT

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AMD PC builds just got even more interesting: With today’s RX 9070 XT release (and the 5070 being somewhat outshone), opting for a Team Red GPU makes a lot of sense. And if you want a CPU to pair with it why not choose the Ryzen 9 7950X?
The 7950X isn’t one of the latest AMD options, but it offers a lot of performance, allows for future upgrades, and is currently down to $470 – a 33% drop from its list price of $699. It’s a hugely capable option for enthusiasts and gamers, and would absolutely allow the 9070XT to stretch its legs.
Prime Day is finally here! Find all the biggest tech and PC deals below.
- Sapphire 11348-03-20G Pulse AMD Radeon™ RX 9070 XT Was $779 Now $739
- AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-Core, 16-Thread Desktop Processor Was $449 Now $341
- ASUS RTX™ 5060 OC Edition Graphics Card Was $379 Now $339
- LG 77-Inch Class OLED evo AI 4K C5 Series Smart TV Was $3,696 Now $2,796
- Intel® Core™ i7-14700K New Gaming Desktop Was $320.99 Now $274
- Lexar 2TB NM1090 w/HeatSink SSD PCIe Gen5x4 NVMe M.2 Was $281.97 Now $214.98
- Apple Watch Series 10 GPS + Cellular 42mm case Smartwatch Was $499.99 Now $379.99
- ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2025) 16" FHD, RTX 5060 gaming laptop Was $1,499.99 Now $1,274.99
- Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro): Apple Intelligence Was $499.99 Now $379.99
*Prices and savings subject to change. Click through to get the current prices.
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
Why we love the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
The joy of AMD’s Socket AM5 is the options available. More than two years after its release, the 7950X can instantly provide a massive upgrade on lower-spec options. It’s also a formidable and efficient CPU to put at the core of a new build. Either way, with Socket AM5 there are also upgrade options beyond it for the future.
- 12 Cores, 24 threads – The 7950X features a 16C 32T (16-core, 32-thread) architecture, and is an excellent choice for multi-threaded and multitasking performance. It’s also strong in content creation and gaming (the 7950X3D takes the gaming crown, but is more expensive).
- 5.7 GHz Max Boost – Strong raw performance, enough to keep up with the best graphics cards around; including the RX 9070X. The 7950X has excellent efficiency and can be overclocked if more power is desired.
- Socket AM5 – AMD's latest socket supports DDR5 RAM, PCIe 5.0, and two families of CPUs. Picking the 7950X opens the door to future upgrades to the 9000 series CPUs.
- Power-efficient – A power-efficient CPU with a TDP of 170W.
Who is this Ryzen 9 7950 X deal for?
At the top of the Ryzen 7000 series are the 7950X and the 7950X3D. The latter has added 3D V-Cache which gives it the edge in gaming, but the 7950X is great for gaming too… as well as productivity, and all-around system performance. Essentially this deal is for anyone wanting a powerful CPU for a great price, as the 7950X will not let you down.
If you’re looking to upgrade or overhaul an existing Socket AM5 system, this CPU can provide a stepping stone towards future 9000 series processors. It can also keep up with the best graphics cards available, be that the RX 9070 XT or another AMD or Nvidia option.
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