Intel’s 9th Gen CPUs have received another massive price cut by Microcenter which brings the 8 core and 6 core unlocked offerings below $220 and $170 US, respectively. Microcenter is widely popular for giving out massive discounts on older generation of processors but the 9th Gen CPU family is still very capable in terms of gaming performance so anyone trying to build a budget PC should definitely consider one of these chips.
Intel 9th Gen Desktop CPUs Receive Massive Price Cuts By Microcenter – Unlocked 8 Core Starting at $219 US, Unlocked 6 Core For $169 US & The Flagship Core i9-9900K Now For Just $319 US
In the past, we have seen some impressive deals for both Intel and AMD CPUs coming through Microcenter. While Microcenter still has discounts on AMD Ryzen 3000 and Intel 10th Gen CPUs over their website, we are more specifically going to take a look at the 9th Gen lineup since they offer the best discounts right now.
The difference between Micro Center and the rest of the retailers is that the processors are only available for in-store pick up only. So if you want to get hands on one of the processors, you’ll have to go to the store to avail the deal and they only have stores located in the United States. You can, however, book your processor in advance which could save you from the hassle if the certain CPU runs out of stock.
As part of the 9th Gen Coffee Lake family, the Intel Core i9-9900K, Core i7-9700K, and Core i5-9600K have received some impressive price cuts. Even the non-unlocked parts are now priced really good compared to what they were being sold at before. Following is a list of all the Intel Coffee Lake 9th Gen CPUs along with their respective prices:
- Intel Core i9-9900K 8 Core / 16 Thread CPU – $319.99 US (Save $380 US)
- Intel Core i7-9700K 8 Core / 8 Thread CPU – $219.99 US (Save $280 US)
- Intel Core i5-9600K 6 Core / 6 Thread CPU – $169.99 US (Save $130 US)
- Intel Core i9-9900 8 Core / 16 Thread CPU – $329.99 US (Save $170 US)
- Intel Core i7-9700F 8 Core / 8 Thread CPU – $189.99 US (Save $310 US)
- Intel Core i5-9400 6 Core / 6 Thread CPU – $149.99 US (Save $100 US)
- Intel Core i3-9100F 4 Core / 4 Thread CPU – $69.99 US (Save $70 US)
- Intel Pentium Gold G5400 2 Core / 4 Thread CPU – $49.99 US (Save $50 US)
The deals on the Core i7-9700K and Core i5-9600K are most notable here since we are talking about unlocked SKUs at massively reduced prices compared to their MSRPs. The Core i7-9700K comes with 8 core and 8 threads which are quite lacking versus the competition but you have to hand it to Intel who still retains a strong position in gaming benchmarks with its 9th & 10th Gen lineup. At $219 US, the Core i7-9700K is great value along with the $169.99 US Core i5-9600K. The CPUs offer a good upgrade path for users on a budget who are running a Z370 or Z390 platform.
Several Z370 boards in the used market can be obtained for around $150-$200 US which makes them a great purchase for a budget and mainstream gaming PC build. For those who want to dish out their bucks for something new, it’s wiser to wait for AMD’s next-generation Ryzen 5000 Series Desktop CPUs. AMD’s new generation of CPUs will offer great performance without a doubt and with single-threaded performance exceeding the Intel 10th Gen lineup but at the same time, the release of these processors will also prompt retailers to discount the existing Ryzen 3000 Desktop CPUs even further.