Bundles offer a great opportunity for those looking to create a new build without spending top dollar on individual components. This 3-in-1 bundle from Micro Center offers three basic parts you’ll need to get your build started while saving money to invest in other components.
That said, you can’t order this bundle online; it is only available for in-store pickup, meaning you’ll have to visit the nearest Micro Center and purchase it. If you’re wondering which Micro Center is the closest to you, you can check out the Micro Center Store Locator.
Why should you get this bundle?
This bundle has three main components you’ll need for a new build, and they are all compatible, meaning you won’t have to worry about compatibility issues. Let’s take a close look at each component and see what you’ll be getting for $499.99.
CPU: Ryzen 7 9700X
We reviewed the Ryzen 7 9700X, a mid-range Zen 5 processor, and we thought it offered decent improvements in single— and multi-core performance compared to its predecessor, the Ryzen 7 7700X. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, and while it initially had a TDP of 65W, you can now increase it to 105W by updating the BIOS.
It has a base and boost clock speed of 3.8 GHz and 5.5 GHz, respectively, and a 32 MB L3 cache. What this means is that all the cores are running at a decent speed and can be increased further, which should make gaming, streaming, and working a breeze.
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 Gaming X AX v2
To begin with, this is an ATX motherboard with a maximum memory capacity of 192GB DDR5 RAM. While it doesn’t have PCIe 5.0 connections, the PCIe 4.0 connections with a bandwidth of 16 GT/s should be more than enough for storage devices and the GPU.
As for the ports, it features one USB 3.2 Gen 2 port along with a handful of others, so connecting peripheral devices should be easy. It has the B650 chipset, which is a budget option, but it is compatible with AM5 processors, and you’d simply need to mount the 9700X and boot up the PC.
RAM: G.Skill Flare X5 32GB DDR5 6000MHz
For the third component, we have two sticks of 16GB DDR5 RAM running at 6,000 MHz, which is on the higher side of the frequency spectrum. This should be more than enough for any level of gaming or professional workload. Since the motherboard has four RAM slots, you can always add two more RAM sticks and boost it up to 64GB or take it further by getting new memory sticks.
How much are you saving?
According to camelcamelcamel, the Ryzen 7 9700X, at its lowest price, will cost you $333.79. The Gigabyte B650 Gaming X AX V2 will cost you $179.99, while the G.SKILL Flare X5 32GB DDR5 RAM is available on Amazon for $99.99.
So, individually, the total cost of these three components adds up to $613.77. If you go for this Micro Center bundle, you’ll be saving $113.78, which you can divert toward other parts like case fans or an air cooler like the APNX AP1-V or Cooler Master Hyper 212, both of which we’ve reviewed.
