Windows Central Insider
2026 and beyond is going to be a rough time for PC gamers as rising prices for CPUs will make upgrading desktop PCs possibly an unaffordable affair.
Luckily, some CPUs are still getting discounts despite these price hikes, such as the Ryzen 9 9900X, which is being sold with a 22% discount for $389.99 at Amazon.
Why should you buy the 9900X?
Our Senior Editor and desktop CPU enthusiast, Ben Wilson, has it on good authority that AMD's Ryzen 9 9900X is one of the best CPUs around, at least second to the extremely powerful (and costly) AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, both of which he awarded a 4.5-star double-feature review to.
This is because the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is packing 12 Cores, 24 Threads, a Max clock of 5.6Ghz, an L3 of 64MB, and a base TDP of 120W.
Essentially, this processor will greatly enhance your computer's raw processing capabilities so that it can run creative apps like Blender and graphically intense video games while streaming them at the same time with no issue.
The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X scored so high that it even inched past the performance of an Intel Core i7-14700K CPU, while having a cheaper MSRP of $500, as opposed to the 14700K's MSRP of $546.
A price that has gone down even further, thanks to Amazon, as it is now selling it for a much cheaper cost of $389.99.
With the RAM crisis jacking up the prices of every electronic device you can think of, this is a rare opportunity to upgrade your PC's processing power while saving some money that could be used towards other essential PC parts, like buying the best motherboards compatible with the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X.
FAQ
Does the 9900X have integrated graphics?
Yes, it includes an integrated Radeon graphics chiplet.
What is TDP and why is it important for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X?
TDP shows how much maximum a CPU can build with active and indicates how much cooling and energy it needs.
With 120W, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X shows that while it requires a capable cooler to function without overheating, it can deliver extremely high performance while drawing a reduced amount of power to be energy efficient.
What motherboard socket does it require?
The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is compatible with the AM5 socket.
Does it support PCIe 5.0?
The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X does support PCle 5.0 so it can provide high bandwidths for future generations GPUs and MVMe SSDs when upgrading your PC.
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