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The Ryzen 7 9700X at a five-month low makes it a good time to buy the midrange star

The modern pick for midrange mixed use PCs
Kevin PocockContributor
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AMD Ryzen 7 9700X 8-CoreSave 21% NOW!
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The Ryzen 7 9700X at a five-month low makes it a good time to buy the midrange star
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AMD’s Ryzen 7 9700X has fallen to a five-month low price on Amazon. The current price is below $300, at a very attractive $269, 21% off the list price. That’s the lowest price we’ve seen on the processor since June, and it’s good news if you’re CPU shopping in the run-up to Black Friday. The 9700X has a compelling balance of gaming and productivity performance, and at this price it’s hard to ignore.

This dominant gaming processor can deliver fast 100+ FPS performance in the world’s most popular games, 8 Cores and 16 processing threads, based on AMD “Zen 5” architecture, 5.5 GHz Max Boost, unlocked for overclocking, 40 MB cache, DDR5-5600 support, For the state-of-the-art Socket AM5 platform, can support PCIe 5.0 on select motherboards, Cooler not included.

Prices and savings can change. Check the retailer for the current price.

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Why we love the Ryzen 7 9700X

A good non-X3D gaming CPU

We’ve rated the Ryzen 7 9700X as the best midrange CPU for gaming. That’s because, while fantastic, AMD’s X3D CPUs are pricey. For less cash, especially at the deal price, this is a good pick, with our testing showing strong performance when paired with an RTX 4070 Ti Super:

Game9700X7700X5800X3D
Cyberpunk 2077325 FPS
1% 237 FPS
296 FPS
1% 132 FPS
279 FPS
1% 157 FPS
Day’s Gone240 FPS
1% 130 FPS
255 FPS
1% 84 FPS
283 FPS
1% 144 FPS

Generationally superior

The 9700X outpaces its predecessor, the Ryzen 7 7700X, and in our hands-on review, we noted that multi-core performance improved over the older CPU. Price was a main concern of ours in the 9700X review. But with this discount, it’s a well-balanced gaming and productivity pick we’d take without issue.

Power-efficient

At launch, AMD’s 9000-Series power efficiency was a highlight, and it continues to be a core factor for this CPU family. The Ryzen 7 9700X is a 65W part, which is impressive considering what it can do in gaming and across productivity apps. That also makes it an obvious pick if lower-power desktop performance is key.

What to consider before you buy

With Black Friday nearing, we’re keeping our eyes open for the best CPU discounts. We’d advise anyone looking for a processor to do the same, because price really matters in a busy market. For example, if the Ryzen 7 7800X3D drops close to $300, that’s the obvious pick for gaming-focused performance. Regardless, at the current deal price, the Ryzen 7 9700X is in a good spot for users who want a reliable mixed-use pick.

This dominant gaming processor can deliver fast 100+ FPS performance in the world’s most popular games, 8 Cores and 16 processing threads, based on AMD “Zen 5” architecture, 5.5 GHz Max Boost, unlocked for overclocking, 40 MB cache, DDR5-5600 support, For the state-of-the-art Socket AM5 platform, can support PCIe 5.0 on select motherboards, Cooler not included.

Prices and savings can change. Check the retailer for the current price.

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Kevin has a broad interest and enthusiasm for consumer electronics, PCs, and all things consumer tech. And more than 17 years experience in tech journalism.

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