There are quite a few excellent Cyber Monday deals on CPUs that are carrying over from the Black Friday weekend. There are even some steeper discounts and a few new deals. We’ve collected some of our favorite deals for both Intel and AMD CPUs below, so be sure to check everything out before making your choice for building your own PC.
We’ll be investigating all of the best deals that have emerged in the category shortly. But first, you might also be interested in these Cyber Monday gaming laptop deals or even these Cyber Monday all-in-one PC deals. And, if you’re interested in stylish gaming hardware, you’ll need to check out Alienware Cyber Monday deals, too.
This one is a go-to value pick. Its 6-core, 12-thread setup provides midrange power at sub-$300 pricing, and especially at the $249 it is now at. Our AMD Ryzen 5 9600X review considers this a great pickup if you haven’t upgraded to AM5 yet.
The big deal with this 6-core, 12-thread processor? It has integrated graphics. Now, that’s not going to be RTX 4090 level, of course, but you can get a 1080p at 30 fps experience on even some AAA games with it. At $149, this is excellent for the gamer that isn’t all about graphics.
This processor sits at the top of our best Intel processors list for its affordability and surprising punch-for-the-cost. Our Intel Core i5 13600K review is actually a bundled review (meaning other Intel CPUs are reviewed alongside it) but it was reviewed most favorably, with references to its ability to edge out the Ryzen 5 7600X. It has 14 cores and 20 threads.
This 13th-generation Intel i7 is a great mid-to-high-end option for those who feel like the i5 isn’t powerful enough and that the i9 is way too much. For most folks, including those who game on mid-level GPUs, this is likely going to be more than enough, and the 35% discount sure make it well worth grabbing.
The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is an interesting processor, and even though it’s one of the newest CPUs, it’s actually comparable or a couple of percentage points worse than the Ryzen 9 7950X below. That said, it has a 23% discount that makes it cheaper, and for relatively comparable performance, it’s worth grabbing this if you don’t quite need the best of the best and want to save a little extra.
One of the most premium Intel processors you can get right now, the Intel Core i9-14900KF rocks 24 cores, 32 threads, and has integrated graphics. Our Intel Core i9-14900K review show the improved gaming performance and can tell you more about the 14900KF’s AI-assisted overclocking.
This 16-core, 32-thread processor holds a special place in our hearts, topping both our best AMD processors and best processors for video editing lists, showing that it’s a pretty versatile component. Our AMD Ryzen 9 7950X review described it as “overkill” back in 2022 when the review was released, making a cheaper option more likely to be the better choice. But two years have passed, the price is $234 cheaper, and now is the time to strike.
Our CPU buying guide breaks down every factor. And it can get quite complex — you’ll want to know about cores and threads, power and thermals, cooling, and get a deeper understanding of CPU generations to make the absolute best choice. But, generally speaking, more cores and threads are better, and later generations have the latest tech.
However, for most of you, one of the biggest considerations you’ll face is whether to go with an AMD or Intel CPU. The specifics, once again, can get quite overwhelming if you let it, but we can also break it down more simply. For typical browsing or laptop job work, you’ll probably do fine with either. For higher-end applications on the desktop, however, AMD CPUs tend to be somewhat better and have more uniform performance. Then, there is the recent memory of Intel CPU voltage fails that have many nonplussed with the brand.
Finally, remember to check the price. The CPU isn’t everything in your PC, and you’ll still need RAM, an SSD (or two), and the all-expensive GPU to round out your creation. There’s no need to blow your entire budget on the CPU.
We highly encourage you to take a look at the following guides: The best processors, the best Intel processors, and the best AMD processors. Why? Our experts have spent a ton of time researching these articles, including our noted gaming hardware enthusiast, Jacob Roach, among other hardware enthusiasts. This is to say that the products we looked at above were not picked in isolation — they’re vouched for. We also have plenty of CPU reviews to consult, and we’ll make sure to link them to the above when applicable.
Next, this is a deals segment and we do have our ways of finding good prices for value. They will represent — at the time of writing — one of the best deals you can find on a given product from a reliable retailer or brand page. Note that “at the time of writing,” and be sure to bookmark this page to see updates as the deals season evolves.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.