AMD has submitted Linux kernel patches including support for its new low-power CPU cores that will likely emerge in its future heterogeneous processors. The new patch clearly distinguishes between high-performance cores, efficiency cores, and low-power cores, so it is safe to say that AMD's upcoming CPU platforms will use three types of cores, with the low-power one serving light workloads, reports Phoronix.

AMD's heterogeneous processors identify CPU types using CPUID Function 0x80000026 (Extended CPU Topology), as EBX bits [31:28] carry the core classification. Up until recently, AMD only classified its cores as Performance and Efficiency, while the latest patch adds Low-Power cores. The patch enables Linux to distinguish between Performance, Efficiency, and Low-Power cores efficiently, and the latter are also correctly supported by AMD's performance management.

According to AMD engineer Vishal Badole, these cores are designed specifically for background and idle tasks where reducing energy consumption is more important than offering high performance.

In recent years, both AMD and Intel released heterogeneous processors featuring both high-performance and energy-efficient types of cores in a bid to wed performance and low power consumption. With its latest CPU platforms, Intel introduced its low-power cores located in the SoC tile to offload light tasks and prolong the battery life of laptops. As it turns out, AMD is going the same route. Although AMD uses two different core types, the underlying architecture is the same. It offers a "dense" core offering that's optimized for space, while Intel uses entirely different microarchitectures.

Beyond the description of the Linux patch, AMD disclosed little about the low-power cores. The company only described them as being optimized for the lowest possible power consumption during background processing and idle operation, but did not reveal how they differ architecturally from today's dense Zen 5c cores. In addition, the kernel patches introduce no new scheduling policies or optimization logic beyond identifying the additional CPU category.

AMD also did not reveal whether these cores are based on the Zen 5, Zen 6, or other future microarchitecture. It should indeed be noted that AMD has traditionally preferred to use the same microarchitecture within one CPU, albeit with different optimizations when it comes to die size (or rather floorplan) and clocks. Such an approach greatly simplifies software development and performance management, but at the cost of higher power consumption compared to what a simplified microarchitecture would have offered.

The price of DDR5 memory is setting new highs these days as demand badly outstrips supply. In a bid to save money, Meta is recovering legacy DDR4 memory from used servers and is installing it into new machines using its in-house developed Vistara ASIC that enables it to connect old memory modules to its latest servers running AMD EPYC 'Turin' processors that only support DDR5 memory.

Interestingly, Meta is not the only company developing such a solution. Panmnesia, a startup from South Korea, has developed an off-the-shelf CXL controller and switch that enables servers to attach considerably larger memory pools without extending latency, which differentiates Panmnesia’s solution from competing CXL offerings.

Custom ASIC enables DDR4 memory to work with new servers

Vistara is Meta’s first-gen custom CXL memory expander ASIC designed to attach outdated DDR4 memory to modern servers. The chip implements a CXL 2.0 Type-3 memory expander over a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface and bridges standard DDR4 RDIMMs to host processors. Each ASIC supports two independent 72-bit DDR4 memory channels and can provide up to 256 GB of capacity using 64 GB DIMMs. At present, Meta deploys 128 GB per ASIC using 32 GB DDR4 modules recovered from decommissioned servers.

Meta deploys Vistara in its MemServer platform, where two ASICs connect to a single 158-core AMD Turin processor over PCIe 5.0 x8 links. Each server combines 768 GB of DDR5-6400 local memory with 256 GB of CXL-attached DDR4-2400, which expands memory capacity to 1 TB. The software stack transparently exposes CXL memory as a separate NUMA node and enables Linux to migrate cold pages to the slower DDR4 tier (with 76 GB/s of bandwidth) and retain frequently accessed data in local DDR5 (with 614 GB/s of bandwidth).

The ASIC is based on three RISC-V processor cores for secure boot, device initialization, firmware management, and health monitoring. Meta claims it has optimized its CXL controller and memory pipeline to reduce protocol overhead, minimize queuing delays, and lower idle round-trip latency to around 50ns. The chip also incorporates advanced reliability features, including Reed-Solomon two-symbol error correction and x4 chip-kill support.

Not only Meta's Vistara

Meta is not the only company that wants to attach legacy DDR4 memory to newer servers that rely on DDR5 memory and save some money. While Vistara is available exclusively to Meta, there is a new CXL expander solution from Panmnesia that will be available to other companies.

"There has been a perception that putting a switch between the CPU and devices makes it hard to meet the memory-access latency these systems expect, so directly attached multi-headed devices (MHDs) stayed the norm even though they were harder to scale," said Myoungsoo Jung, chief executive of Panmnesia. "Our work shows this is not an inherent limit of CXL or CXL switches — it is a trait of early-stage CXL, and one that fades as the standard and the products around it mature. With a fabric switch that carries our next-stage CXL controller, scalability, low latency, and stable performance can come together."

CXL is a protocol that sits on top of the PCIe physical interface. As a result of this, many early CXL implementations were built by modifying existing PCIe IP, which is why such implementations inherited architectural characteristics optimized for PCIe rather than for memory-semantic communications, which added substantial latency, according to Panmnesia. By contrast, its new CXL controller IP features a redesigned data path that replaces separate per-layer buffers with shared buffers to eliminate much of the synchronization overhead. In addition, it features additional latency optimizations throughout the protocol stack that offset the additional hop introduced by the switch.

The accompanying CXL fabric switch introduces Port-Based Routing (PBR), which removes the tree-topology limitations of conventional Hierarchy-Based Routing (HBR) used by PCIe and early CXL implementations. The fabric switch still supports both PBR and HBR to enable flexible system topologies, optimized traffic routing, and stable performance. In practice, it enables companies like Meta to install more DDR4 memory into their modern servers without major performance degradation because of high latency.

Panmnesia claims that while early CXL deployments could connect only a handful of compute nodes to shared memory pools, its fabric scales to up to 64 nodes, which means greater flexibility for hyperscalers that tend to run thousands of servers, but which now have to rationalize usage of expensive DRAM.

Panmnesia says its next-generation CXL technologies are progressing toward commercialization. The company has pre-release silicon for its PCIe 6.4/CXL 3.2 Fusion Switch and has completed development of its PCIe 7.0/CXL 4.0 Combo IP, which supports the latest features introduced by the CXL 4.0 specification.

SSD prices remain absolutely exorbitant, but this discount on Samsung's 9100 Pro 1TB SSD was a rare bright spot during Prime Day. It's not the cheapest we've ever seen this drive, but right now you can still get it for $206 at Amazon, 39% off and the lowest price we've seen in months. Make the most of this deal while you can.

• Check out this deal at Amazon

Unlike the Gen 4 990 Pro, the Samsung 9100 Pro SSD boasts sequential read speeds of up to 14,700MB/s thanks to PCIe 5.0. As such, it's one of the fastest drives on the market, perfect for high-performance gaming or heavy professional workloads. By contrast, the 990 Pro is actually more expensive, currently $219 at Amazon, despite the fact that it offers about half the read and write speeds of this drive. While SSD prices are massively inflated, this drive's previous lowest-ever price was $126, so percentage-wise it's a big step up, but in real terms, it's only $80 more expensive than you'd have paid last year pre-AI price crunch. A tough pill to swallow, but if you want a good Gen 5 SSD for a new PC build or your PS5, this is one of the better options.

During Prime Day, we also saw a significant discount on the 2TB version, which was priced at $349. It's now back up to $399, which is still slightly better value per GB but a much bigger outlay overall. At 41% off, this is down from the highest price of $505 in April, but nowhere near the $169 you'd have got it for last year.

This drive is no slouch, and while it's not the out-and-out fastest drive on the market, it leaves most SSDs in the dust, as you can see from our testing data below:

Notably, in PCMark 10 Storage tests, the 9100 scored higher than any other drive we've tested. As mentioned, at the very least this deal is a no-brainer pick over the 990 Pro, which isn't as fast or as cheap (provided your motherboard supports PCIe 5.0, of course).

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G.Skill’s AMD EXPO ULL (Ultra Low Latency) memory kits, strong contenders among today's best RAM options, have arrived on the retail market. While AMD previously stated that EXPO ULL memory kits would be “effectively the same price” as vanilla EXPO memory kits, this has proven by far not to be the case. In reality, these new EXPO ULL kits carry a substantial premium that can scale up to 80% over their regular counterparts.

The Trident Z5 NeoX is G.Skill’s latest memory series featuring ULL optimizations. The new lineup is available in three striking color options, black, glossy black, and white, that cater to a variety of system aesthetics. G.Skill has not released the official product pages for the Trident Z5 NeoX series, so detailed information on the full range of planned capacities and speeds is unavailable. Newegg is currently selling the Trident Z5 NeoX memory kits in a 32GB (2x16GB) dual-channel configuration clocked at DDR5-6000.

To make it a meaningful comparison, we compared the Trident Z5 NeoX memory kits to their direct counterparts, the standard Trident Z5 Neo series. We deliberately excluded similarly specced lineups such as the Aegis or Ripjaws series, which are tailored for budget-conscious buyers, as well as omitting the Trident Z5 Royal Neo, which targets a more posh crowd.

The Trident Z5 NeoX DDR5-6000 C26 memory kit carries a 57% premium over the standard Trident Z5 Neo DDR5-6000 C26 memory kit. The price gap widens further for the DDR5-6000 C28 variant, which commands a 79% premium. Meanwhile, the Trident Z5 NeoX C30 and C36 versions are 14% and 9% more expensive than their regular Trident Z5 Neo counterparts, respectively.

On a superficial level, it’s basically impossible to grasp the true extent of the level of optimization that goes into AMD EXPO ULL memory kits just by looking at product listings. It’s customary for memory manufacturers and retailers to only list the four primary memory timings: CAS Latency (CL), Row Address to Column Delay (tRCD), Row Precharge Time (tRP), and Row Active Time (tRAS). Unfortunately, these memory timings only tell part of the story, since most of the secondary timings for AMD EXPO ULL certification, including Refresh Interval (tREFI), Row-to-Row Delay Short (tRRDS), and Write Recovery Time (tWR), are not publicly visible.

Returning to the example of the Trident Z5 NeoX memory kits, what immediately stands out is the dramatically reduced tRAS value, which is up to 67% lower than that of standard Trident Z5 Neo memory kits. In short, tRAS dictates how many clock cycles must pass after a row opens before the memory controller can close it. The reason for high tRAS values in DDR5 resides in the architecture itself. Unlike DDR4, which operates with a single 64-bit channel, DDR5 employs two independent 32-bit subchannels. This change, alongside the doubling of burst length from BL8 to BL16, enables each memory command to transfer twice as much data through the channels in a single operation. As a result, the memory rows remain open longer, leading to the higher tRAS values typically seen in DDR5 modules. What makes the AMD EXPO ULL memory kits unique is that they drive tRAS values back down to levels reminiscent of high-performance DDR4 from the old days.

Another significant advantage of AMD EXPO ULL memory kits is their ability to maintain tight timings at reduced voltages. The Trident Z5 NeoX runs at a consistent 1.35V across its entire product stack. This voltage is notably lower than the 1.45V or 1.40V required by the Trident Z5 Neo series. Lower DRAM voltages translate to lower power consumption, lower operating temperatures, and more headroom for overclocking.

If you’re looking for the simplest explanation as to why AMD EXPO ULL memory kits carry a hefty premium over regular AMD EXPO memory kits, it boils down to the extensive optimization and meticulous binning process involved in their production. Memory vendors spend more time testing and sorting memory chips that can operate at the tightest timings and lowest voltages. It’s a very time-consuming and labor-intensive process. As a result, the overall manufacturing costs for EXPO ULL kits are higher than for standard kits. In many ways, you aren’t just paying a premium for the hardware itself, but also for the vendor’s time and the guarantee that the memory modules run at near-maximum potential right out of the box.

There's bittersweet news from the shore of the open-source Zluda project, a long-running effort to create a CUDA emulator for AMD GPUs. The project's latest blog post for version 6 shows off the fresh 32-bit PhysX support and improved Windows support. Additionally, there are a number of PyTorch-driven fixes. Unfortunately, the project has again lost commercial funding, and it's now back to being a hobby for developer Andrez Janik.

Zluda 6's 32-bit PhysX support is still in a pre-alpha stage, but the results are promising. Janik showed off multiple cloth and deformation demos running at speed, and even a screenshot showing a 3x performance uplift of 2010's Mafia II running with PhysX effects turned on. Given the pre-alpha nature, Janik notes that "fluid simulations can be glitchy, and the current method of loading ZLUDA into Steam games is poor." One of his goals is to have better support for Windows, and v6 includes a refreshed zluda.exe loader that now loads required performance libraries automatically.

Last but by no means least, Zluda v6 includes a host of PyTorch-driven enhancements, composed of compiler fixes and improvements to performance libraries. As a silver lining of sorts, Janik notes that since there's now no funding, the priorities for the project have shifted to things "[he] finds the most entertaining," justifying the addition of PhysX and the revamped Windows loader.

The project was initially started in 2020 to get CUDA running on Intel hardware, but has since then turned to AMD cards. After being abandoned in 2021, it was brought back from the dead around 2022 thanks to AMD pulling out the checkbook to make it happen — presumably because one of the main obstacles (if not the primary one) is that most all the AI software ecosystem revolves around Nvidia's GPUs.

Unfortunately, AMD also cut the funding to Zluda in 2024, and in August even forced Janik to rebuild the code the company paid for. He thankfully found an undisclosed sponsor in late 2024; likely an AI company to whom the translation layer would be valuable, letting them run CUDA AI workloads on Instinct cards. Said funding is now sadly gone once again, and Janik says Zluda is back to being a "weekend project."

For end users, it's nice to have a fully open-source drop-in replacement for CUDA binaries. As for large-scale conversion for AI usage, though, there are a number of alternative projects that look to accomplish the same end results via different means. These include AMD's HIP source code porting, Spectral Compute's Scale, and MooreThreads' Musify toolkit, to name a few.

Back at CES 2026, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that "it's a good idea" to consider reintroducing older GeForce RTX graphics cards with GPUs from trailing-edge nodes to alleviate pricing and availability concerns around cutting-edge RTX 50-series products. It appears that the idea may now have become reality. After a hiatus that began late last year, RTX 3060 12GB cards (first launched in early 2021) are beginning to reappear as new stock at e-tailers.

We've spotted a Gigabyte RTX 3060 12GB card available direct from new stock at Newegg for $339.99, or just $10 above its MSRP from over five years ago. This Windforce card is a straightforward dual-fan model with no frills, but tellingly, it carries a rare Rev2.0 suffix, directly indicating a revision or new model of some kind. That revision number aside, it's identical (as far as we can tell) to the Rev1.0 card that presumably appeared nearer to the RTX 3060 12GB's launch.

It appears that different board partners are working to quietly bring back the RTX 3060 12GB worldwide, as ComputerBase notes the availability of an Asus Dual card in the European market. We wouldn't be surprised if that product makes its way Stateside, as well.

Gamers may have hoped that the reintroduction of an older product from a foundry and a process node that isn't capacity-constrained (namely Samsung 8nm), as well as an older memory technology, would have resulted in some pricing relief, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

The RTX 3060 12GB is reappearing for just a few bucks less than the far superior RTX 5060, which offers both stronger baseline performance and unfettered performance with the latest DLSS 4.5 upscaling tech. Heck, even the entry-level RTX 5050 outpaces the RTX 3060 in our most recent tests.

The 3060's extra 4GB of VRAM compared to those products only comes into play with settings and resolutions where its shader horsepower is already inadequate to produce playable frame rates, so it's more of a psychological advantage than a practical one.

So why this product and why now? As AI wafer demand on cutting-edge nodes only grows, it's possible that simple economics dictate that the opportunity cost of producing entry-level Blackwell GPUs for the desktop is simply too great compared to the revenue and margin opportunities of making data center Rubin GPUs for the countless Vera Rubin NVL72 racks that the company is doubtless planning to ship later this year.

In the event that Nvidia does prioritize datacenter products over consumer ones, the already elevated prices of entry-level RTX 50-series cards might give way to a situation where one simply can't buy these lower-priced, lower-margin products at any cost. And in that event, the aging RTX 3060 could be one of the few sub-$350 options available to gamers who need to build a new system or upgrade from an aging graphics card.

And frankly, that's a poor outcome for gamers, as the RTX 3060 can't run the latest DLSS 4.5 upscaling model at its full potential due to the lack of proper FP8 acceleration on older Turing and Ampere GPUs. And it can't run DLSS Frame Generation at all, leaving gamers to deal with cross-platform solutions like FSR and XeSS frame generation from other vendors. Those technologies are incredibly useful tools in getting the best experience out of modern games, and if they're only available on a smaller subset of more expensive GPUs, that further stratifies the already stratified modern PC gaming experience.

We've reached out to Gigabyte and Nvidia for comment on the reappearance of the RTX 3060 and will report what we learn if we hear back.

Memory has become one of the most expensive components when it comes to building a PC. With the ongoing global DRAM shortage, one of the best ways to dodge obnoxious price tags is to either get a combo bundle or scour the used marketplace for a solid deal. However, if you are looking for a brand new pair of RAM sticks for a desktop PC, the PNY Performance 32GB DDR5 kit has just dropped from its listed price of $449.99 down to $379.99 over at Amazon, offering savings of $70. That makes it one of the cheapest 32GB DDR5 kits that you can purchase today.

• Check out this deal on Amazon

The kit includes two 16GB DDR5 modules capable of running at 5600 MT/s at CL46 latency, which is noticeably looser than the sub-CL40 timings found on higher-end DDR5 memory. The difference in performance is generally small, particularly gaming at higher resolutions where GPU is the primary bottleneck. However, gamers chasing every last frame or anyone building a high-performance workstation may want to invest in faster memory.

The modules are fairly barebones in terms of design as this particular kit does not include any heatspreaders or RGB lighting. The only saving grace is that the PCB has a black finish, which should blend easily with a dark motherboard.

If your priority is maximizing capacity while keeping costs down rather than squeezing out every ounce of performance, this kit can be a good solid choice at its discounted price. It should be well-suited for budget gaming PCs, home office machines, and productivity builds where 32GB of memory capacity matters more than the lowest latency and aesthetics.

Overall, this isn't the fastest or flashiest DDR5 kit on the market, but at its competitive price of $379.99 it offers solid value for budget-conscious buyers. More choices start to arrive if your budget can be pushed up to $399, where you'll find the TeamGroup T-Force Vulcan DDR5-6000 32GB (2x16GB) CL38 kit, for example.

If you are on the lookout for the best memory for your desktop build, make sure that you head over to our RAM price tracking list to find the lowest price on DDR5 and DDR4 memory of all capacities.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, gaming chair, or CPU Deals pages.

Hardware enthusiasts, server administrators, and all regular readers of this site will be well aware of the ongoing "RAMpocalypse," the memory and storage shortage affecting nearly every market and raising prices across the board in the tech sector. If you were hoping for relief, don't hold your breath; at the International Supercomputing Conference this past week, Lenovo reportedly said "it will never be like it was last year." Underlining the point, one of Lenovo's presentation slides was titled "The 5 Step RAMaggeddon Survival Guide."

That comes to us by way of our German friends over at ComputerBase, who note that "never" was said with a smirk, thus implying that it wasn't meant to be taken literally. Instead, the message from Lenovo is that memory prices were unusually low in early 2025, and it will be a long time before we see comparatively low prices on RAM, flash memory, and other components, as the #1 worldwide PC OEM expects AI demand to continue growing.

According to ComputerBase's report from ISC 2026, Lenovo's broader message is that the economics of the memory industry have fundamentally changed. The company reportedly argued that even as significant new manufacturing capacity comes online beginning around 2028, demand from AI infrastructure is expected to absorb much of that additional output, preventing DRAM and NAND prices from returning to the lows seen over the past two years.

The report points to SK hynix's recently announced plans to triple its memory production capacity by 2034 as supporting evidence. Lenovo's reasoning is straightforward: the notoriously profit-hungry memory manufacturers would be unlikely to invest so heavily in expanding production if they expected a return to the razor-thin margins and oversupply that characterized parts of the market in early 2025.

In case you needed extra evidence for its argument, Lenovo also suggested that memory capacity itself is becoming an increasingly important consideration when designing and purchasing servers. While vendors have traditionally advertised the maximum supported memory capacity of new platforms, actually populating those DIMM slots has become far more expensive. New dual-socket servers are on the way next year with 16 memory channels per processor, meaning that even a relatively modest configuration can require around 1 TB of installed memory to fully utilize the available bandwidth.

Lenovo is far from the only company predicting a prolonged memory crunch, although the industry's incentives are worth keeping in mind. Micron recently told investors it expects supply to remain constrained through at least 2027, with only gradual improvement beginning in 2028, while SK hynix has warned the shortage could persist until around 2030 as AI infrastructure continues absorbing wafer capacity. Those forecasts are backed by multi-year supply agreements worth roughly $100 billion that Micron has already signed with customers, underscoring how seriously hyperscalers are treating long-term memory availability.

Even companies that traditionally wield enormous purchasing power are feeling the squeeze. Apple reportedly has sought permission from the U.S. government to source DRAM from Chinese memory maker CXMT, a Pentagon-blacklisted company, illustrating just how valuable additional memory supply has become as prices continue to climb. At the same time, memory vendors are enjoying some of the strongest pricing power (and profit margins) they've seen in years, giving them little incentive to accelerate a return to the boom-and-bust pricing cycles that once defined the DRAM market.

Ironically, one consequence of the ongoing memory shortage is that HBM is becoming more economically attractive relative to conventional system memory. DRAM manufacturers have redirected significant production capacity toward higher-margin HBM for AI accelerators, reducing the supply of commodity DDR5 and LPDDR5 while demand for both remains elevated. As a result, the premium for HBM-backed computing has narrowed, not because HBM has become inexpensive, but because traditional system memory has become dramatically more expensive. Hyperscalers were going to buy the GPUs anyway, so maximizing their utilization to reduce DDR5 requirements suddenly becomes an attractive proposition.

That shift helps explain Lenovo's suggestion that GPU-accelerated computing may now make more financial sense for some workloads. If an application can keep much of its working set in GPU-attached HBM, it may require significantly less DDR5 installed in the host system. With system DRAM now representing a much larger share of overall server cost than it did just a year ago, reducing memory capacity requirements can materially lower the price of deploying large-scale infrastructure.

Obviously, we don't know whether Lenovo's long-term outlook will prove accurate, but memory pricing has historically been cyclical, with periods of oversupply often followed by sharp corrections. With hyperscalers continuing to pour billions into AI infrastructure and memory vendors increasingly prioritizing high-margin enterprise products, the company believes the unusually inexpensive DRAM and NAND prices of 2024 and early 2025 may prove to have been an anomaly.

Loongson Technology has announced the Loongson 3C3000, a new 16-core server processor aimed at low-cost general-purpose server systems. Unveiled on June 26, 2026, via a public corporate release, the chip is based on Loongson’s in-house architecture and is designed for small- and medium-sized business workloads, including file, database, web, and business process servers. Loongson says the 3C3000’s general-purpose computing performance matches that of the company’s earlier 3C5000 server processor.

The Loongson 3C3000 — which is based on a 64-bit architecture and supports the LoongArch instruction set — uses the company’s LA364E processor core design and comes in an FCBGA1371 package measuring 37.5mm by 37.5mm. The chip is pin-compatible with the Loongson 3B6000 processor, which should make it easier for system builders to reuse existing platform designs.

The processor features 16 physical cores and 16 threads, with clock speeds ranging from 1.5 GHz to 1.8 GHz. Each core supports 128-bit vector instructions and three-issue out-of-order execution. Loongson says each core integrates two fixed-point units, one vector unit, and two memory access units.

Cache and memory support are modest by modern server standards, but in line with the chip’s low-cost positioning. Each core includes 64KB of private L1 instruction cache and 64KB of private L1 data cache, while all 16 cores share 16MB of L2 cache. The integrated memory controller supports two 72-bit DDR4-2400 memory channels with ECC support, giving the processor server-class error correction for business and infrastructure workloads.

For expansion, the 3C3000 provides two PCIe x16 interfaces, totaling 32 PCIe lanes. These can be split into up to four x4 or x8 interfaces, depending on platform requirements. The chip also includes another PCIe x16 interface that can be configured as LCL (Loongson Coherent Link) for dual-processor interconnection. Other interfaces include SPI, UART, three I2C interfaces, AVS, and 16 GPIOs.

Loongson lists a typical power consumption of 40W when running at 1.5 GHz. The processor supports dynamic shutdown of the main module clock and dynamic frequency adjustment of the main clock domain, helping reduce power consumption under lighter workloads. It also integrates a Loongson-developed security and trust module that supports Chinese national cryptographic algorithms for encryption and decryption.

Unlike the 36C000, which Loongson says matches Intel’s Xeon, the company is positioning the 3C3000 as a low-cost, high-performance server CPU for customers that need general-purpose compute rather than high-end acceleration or AI performance, slotting it below the higher-core-count 3C6000 server lineup the company launched a year earlier. Support for China’s local software and hardware ecosystem also appears to be a selling point. The company has not publicly disclosed pricing, a common move for server processors, which are often sold through system builders and negotiated enterprise deals rather than as boxed retail chips.

Intel is expected to push the boundaries on power draw with its upcoming Nova Lake series processors, which will rival the best CPUs. According to newly leaked information, the flagship 52-core desktop variant is expected to feature a dual-compute tile architecture with a massive PL2 limit of 474W. The information was shared by LC Tech Leaks and confirmed by Jaykihn, who has a pretty solid track record with Intel hardware.

PL2, or Power Limit 2, represents the maximum power a CPU can draw during short boost periods. That said, a PL2 target of 474W remains quite demanding, although a previous rumor suggests Intel may also have a PL4 emergency power limit over 700W. It is important to note that these power limits may only apply to the top-end models with the dual-tile architecture.

Additionally, the leak also sheds light on the upcoming platform, including the previously rumored LGA1954 socket. We already know that Nova Lake-S will require a new generation of motherboards. Motherboard vendors are expected to classify their boards by sustained PL1 power levels, with configurations for 35W, 65W, 125W, and 175W CPUs. Enthusiast-grade motherboards, likely the Z990 series, are also rumored to feature three EPS 8-pin CPU power connectors instead of the traditional two. While vendors will have the option to include a third connector, its primary purpose would be to support extreme overclocking and would not affect the CPU's rated performance profile.

The upcoming Nova Lake-S lineup is expected to carry the ‘Core Ultra 400S’ moniker and will be Intel's biggest desktop CPU overhaul in years. We’ve previously reported leaked specifications indicating configurations ranging from 6 to 52 cores, with support for DDR5-8000 memory. The flagship 52-core model is expected to feature 16 performance cores, 32 efficiency cores, and a new Big Last Level Cache (bLLC) design to take on AMD's 3D V-Cache gaming dominance. The company is also rumored to introduce integrated Xe3 graphics, Thunderbolt 5, PCIe 5.0 connectivity, and an upgraded NPU for AI workloads.

While these specifications are unconfirmed, it is clear that Intel is targeting substantial gains in gaming, multi-threaded performance, and overall platform capabilities with its next-gen processors.

Try to build a PC for less than $1,750 right now, and we guarantee it'll have worse specs than this iBuyPower prebuilt that's currently on sale. This desktop retails for $2,500, but it's on sale at Walmart for a remarkable $750.99 off, bringing the price down to just $1,749.

• Check out this deal on Walmart

We actually put a rig together with identical specs, using the cheapest components we could find, particularly for the memory and storage. And even then, buying the parts individually clocked in over $2,000, and that's accounting for current sales. Even compared to that standard, this prebuilt is a deal.

The core specs here are excellent. On the CPU front, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D remains the best CPU for gaming, only outclassed by the overclocked Ryzen 7 9850X3D. And you can make up that difference with a moderate overclock on the base CPU.

Overclocking is possible too thanks to the included 360mm all-in-one liquid cooler. On the GPU front, the RX 9070 XT is the most powerful graphics card AMD currently offers, and it's able to hang at 4K without too many problems.

In raster performance, the RX 9070 XT performs about as well as an RTX 4080 at 4K, and it outclasses the RTX 5070 Ti at 1440p. AMD still struggles in the ray tracing department, but the RX 9070 XT has native performance slightly below the RTX 4070 Ti at 4K. However, the GPU supports AMD's FSR 4 tech, giving you access to AI-assisted upscaling and frame generation.

Otherwise, this machine comes with 32GB of DDR5-5200 memory and a 1TB SSD (presumably a midrange PCIe Gen4 drive). The memory speed is low, but that's not a problem with X3D processors. Due to the large and speedy L3 cache, you don't see much of a performance benefit with higher RAM speeds.

This prebuilt deal is 55% claimed on Walmart at the time of writing, so make sure to secure your machine now if you're interested.

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In a year with sky-high storage and RAM prices, effectively no new GPUs, and the resultingly tepid interest in PC building (especially when you can buy a prebuilt PC for significantly less), we were curious to see what our readers were clicking on the most. And much of it was not what we could have possibly predicted.

While we were working night and day (literally) searching for and sharing deals in live blogs, standalone posts, deal hubs, and Discord, you were clicking away on all sorts of things. The couple of reasonable SSD deals from WD and Samsung, of course, did well. And people were checking for GPU deals that were mostly non-existent, as well as general PC and accessory links.

But the undisputed click leaders were Corsair’s Xeneon Edge portable touchscreen monitor (even though it was out of stock for more than a day), DVD burners, and the Nintendo Switch 2. Despite dealing with its own price hike, between the $1,049 starting price of the Steam Machine, the high cost of gaming PCs, and pricier consoles, if you can get $100 off a Switch 2, it’s no surprise that Nintendo’s latest console looks good to cash-strapped gamers.

You can see a list of our most-clicked products and deals (for those that are still available) below, in descending order. Note that not all deals are still valid forever, as prices are changing quickly. We also have blocks with more info for each product, and finally, a list of our 25 deals hubs that we've been maintaining for a week now.

More Prime Day Tech Deals

If you're looking for even more, head to either our main Prime Day 2026 Live Blog, or our Gaming Monitor Live Blog. If even that isn't enough, here's the wide selection of different category-specific deals hubs for you to peruse. If it's on sale on Amazon, it's listed in these:

Best Tech and PC deals | Best gaming PC deals | Best RAM combo deals | Best 3D printer deals | Best RAM deals | Best gaming laptop deals | Best monitor deals | Best Wi-Fi Router deals | Best GPU deals | Best SSD deals | Best hard drive HDD deals | Best CPU deals | Best gaming chair deals | Best PC building tool deals | Best PC peripherals deals | Best filament and resin deals | Best motherboard deals | Best CPU cooler deals | Best PC case deals | Best Dell and Alienware deals | Best USB charger deals | Best gaming and productivity laptop deals under $1,000 | Best laptop PC deals

Also, you can join the Tom's Hardware deals Discord for up-to-the-minute hardware deals.

We have yet another combo deal that could help you save a significant amount on your next PC build. Newegg is currently offering the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X processor bundled with a compatible B850 motherboard and a 1TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD for just $429.99. The cost of all the parts when purchased separately comes down to $679.97, meaning this bundle saves you $249.98, which is a discount of 36% and equates to getting the SSD for free.

• Check out this deal on Newegg

The Gigabyte B850 Aorus Elite Wi-Fi7 Ice is feature packed motherboard with a white finish, making it suitable if you prefer an all-white build. It supports DDR5 memory with overclocking support of up to 8200 MT/s. It also supports various DIY-friendly features such as a tool-less heatsink cover for the M.2 drives, a quick-release button for the GPU, and a simple solution to plug the Wi-Fi antenna. It also comes with the X3D Turbo Mode, a BIOS-level feature that offers optimization for Ryzen 9000 X3D and non-X3D processors to gain a slight boost in gaming performance. Other notable features include PCIe Gen 5 support, 14+2+2 twin digital VRM design, three M.2 SSD slots, Wi-Fi 7, 2.5 gigabit Ethernet, and an array of USB ports.

The Ryzen 5 9600X is a value-for-money Zen 5 processor based on AMD’s AM5 platform. It features 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock speed of 5.4 GHz. It also comes with a low TDP of 65W, which makes it power efficient, allowing it to run relatively cooler. It offers excellent performance for the asking price and holds a solid place in our 13-game FPS performance geomean.

Lastly, we have the Samsung 990 Pro, which is currently one of the best Gen 4.0 SSD that you can buy. It delivers maximum sequential read speeds of 7,450 MB/s and sequential write speeds of 6,900 MB/s. It uses a 176-layer V-NAND TLC flash chip and comes with a rated endurance of 600 TBW. In our testing, the Samsung 990 Pro proved to be one of the fastest PCIe 4.0 SSDs, offering excellent performance and solid efficiency with consistently low operating temperatures.

If you're planning an AM5 build, this is one of the better bundle deals we've seen in a while. For $429.99, you're getting a capable Zen 5 processor, a feature-rich B850 motherboard, and one of the fastest PCIe Gen 4 SSDs on the market, all while saving nearly $250.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, gaming chair, or CPU Deals pages.

Heads up, music lovers and frequent travelers/commuters. If you haven't yet purchased a nice noise-canceling headset, then you're definitely missing out on what's almost a basic necessity. There's nothing quite like putting on a pair of cans on your head and making distracting noises go away, whether at home or in public. Amazon's Prime Day sales bring you one of the best pieces of kit around for that task: the mighty Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless over-ear noise-canceling headset, currently selling for just $198, an all-time low price. Our own Jake Roach uses this daily, while I have the previous-gen XM4, and we both have nothing but good things to say about either model.

• Check out this deal on Amazon: Sony WH-1000XM5 active noise-cancelling headset

While you might chortle and say that nearly two Benjamins isn't exactly pocket change, be assured that it's an excellent deal for what's of the top-grade pair of cans. The noise canceling on these uses input from eight microphones and processes it through two dedicated DSP chips. In practical terms, this puts them nearly at the top of the market, outclassed only by the pricier WH-1000XM6 and roughly matching Apple's silly-expensive AirPods Max 2.

They're also lighter than the corresponding AirPods at just 250g (8.8 oz) versus a whopping 384g, and the battery lasts much longer; 30 hours versus about 20. When it comes to sound quality, the XM5s also shine bright. While the default sound profile just barely trails that of the AirPods Max 2, it's also customizable via the onboard hardware EQ, which saves settings to the headphones so you can keep them sounding great no matter what you have them connected to. Compared with the AirPods Max 2, you're beholden to messy, suboptimal device-side EQ that isn't saved to the hardware.

Additional niceties include support for the LDAC hi-res audio codec, fast charging with a three-minute charge giving you three hours of playback, the ability to connect to two devices simultaneously via Bluetooth, and a collapsible design. The touchpad on the side lets you control playback and voice calls, as well as bring up Alexa or Siri voice assistants. Sony's mobile app for configuring the headphones has a lot of actually useful options, too. Get the Sony WH-1000XM5 active noise-canceling headphones for just $198 at Amazon.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, gaming chair, or CPU Deals pages.

The memory chip shortage has caused the prices of consumer electronics to shoot up, meaning everything, from cheap phones to VR headsets, is more expensive now. But if you’re on the market for a Meta Quest 3S, now is your chance as it’s currently 15% off on Amazon. This $53.20 discount means that its price drops to just $296.79, making it close to the original $300 price point it launched at prior to the RAMpocalypse. However, this is a limited-time deal, so if you’re intent on getting that headset, you better get it right now.

• Check out the Meta Quest 3S on Amazon

This VR headset is a more affordable version of the top-of-the-line Meta Quest 3, which was launched about a year earlier, and is originally $250 cheaper. But even though Meta had to make some compromises, like lower-resolution displays and a shallower field-of-view, the Meta Quest 3S is still quite a capable device. It also feels as premium as the more expensive device, although the base version is limited to only 128 GB. If you want more storage, you can get the 256GB version, which is also discounted at 15% on Amazon, cutting its price from $449.99 to just $382.49. A copy of Batman: Arkham Shadow is also bundled with this purchase, making it a great deal for those who want to play a new game on their VR headset.

The Meta Quest 3S is a completely wireless affair, meaning you don’t have to worry about getting tangled when using it. Despite having a smaller battery compared to the Meta Quest 3, this VR headset could still last for a good 2.5 hours of continuous use. The included controllers are also powered by a single alkaline AA battery each, although we recommended in our review that you have at least four rechargeable lithium-ion batteries on hand so that you’ll always have a fresh set of batteries ready when the controllers run out of power.

If you’re looking for a great standalone VR device but want to save as much as you can, the Meta Quest 3S deal is exactly what you’re looking for. But you have to act quick as the discount that brings it down to pre-memory chip shortage pricing is only available today.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, gaming chair, or CPU Deals pages.

Logitech’s G29 racing wheel and pedal set is on a deep sale of 40% for Prime Day, bringing the price down to $180. This is the PlayStation version, but the Xbox version is on sale for $190, as well. Both models work on PC and Mac; the differences otherwise are the symbols on the buttons and the logo on the wheel.

• Check out this deal on Amazon

This isn't an all-time low for the G29, but it's close. We've seen it once, over five years ago, drop to $170. Since then, however, it's exclusively sold north of $200, so this is the cheapest we've seen the wheel in years.

The G29 has been the go-to entry-level racing wheel for over a decade, and for good reason. You can spend well over $1,000 on a direct drive wheel, and that’s just for the wheel alone. For $180, Logitech offers real force feedback, a comfortable and ergonomic wheel, and a set of three pedals to get you started in any racing sim.

On the wheel, you’ll find back paddles on the right and left that you can trigger with your fingers, and the wheel features 900 degrees of rotation, allowing you to turn it around two and a half times fully like an F1 car. The mount allows you to attach the wheel to a stand or to the edge of your desk.

If you want to get started with your racing sim setup, you can buy the Logitech G29 on Amazon now. If you want the full setup, the Logitech-branded Playseat Trophy cockpit is on sale, as well.

More Prime Day Tech Deals

Best Tech and PC deals | Best gaming PC deals | Best RAM combo deals | Best 3D printer deals | Best RAM deals | Best gaming laptop deals | Best monitor deals | Best Wi-Fi Router deals | Best GPU deals | Best SSD deals | Best hard drive HDD deals | Best CPU deals | Best gaming chair deals | Best PC building tool deals | Best PC peripherals deals | Best filament and resin deals | Best motherboard deals | Best CPU cooler deals | Best PC case deals | Best Dell and Alienware deals | Best USB charger deals | Best gaming and productivity laptop deals under $1,000 | Best laptop PC deals

Also, you can join the Tom's Hardware deals Discord for up-to-the-minute hardware deals.

Gaming laptops have become more enticing during the AI boom due to their tendency to sometimes offer better value than DIY desktop systems, especially toward the high-end segment. We've found a deal that proves that in spades: Asus' ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) is on sale for just 1,574.99 at Best Buy right now. Matching its previous record-low pricing, you're saving almost $600 on one of the best gaming laptops in this class.

• Check out this deal on Best Buy

This Zephyrus G16 comes with an RTX 5070 and Intel's Core Ultra 9 285H processor, paired with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. The GPU is more than powerful enough to play any game you throw at it, especially with DLSS on your side. The CPU comes from Intel's Arrow Lake mobile lineup and features 16 cores. It boosts up to 5.4 GHz and runs at up to 95W, while scaling down to 45W for better endurance.

We haven't reviewed this exact CPU + GPU combo before, but we'll attach a few benchmarks from our Framework Laptop 16 review that also had an RTX 5070. Note that the Zephyrs G16 features a much stronger CPU and better cooling, so you should see higher FPS across all games. At 1080p, you can even expect to fully saturate the refresh rate of that 240Hz OLED display in lightweight titles or competitive esports games.

Speaking of which, the highlight for this machine has to be that stunning 16-inch OLED screen carrying a 2560 x 1600 resolution and, of course, a 240Hz refresh rate. It can reach up to 500 nits of maximum brightness and features G-Sync. We've seen plenty of RTX 5070 laptops that are considerably cheaper, but none feature an OLED display; even if you find a cheap OLED laptop, it won't be as performant as this one.

The Zephyrus G16 is built extremely well for a gaming laptop and doesn't compromise on fundamentals like the keyboard, trackpad and speakers. You're getting Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 for wireless connectivity, along with several fast USB-C and USB-A ports on either side (that can also be used for charging). Asus has also added a headphone jack, HDMI 2.1 for display out and even a full-sized SD card reader.

The battery life is outstanding as well thanks to the 90Wh cell onboard, especially if you utilize the MUX switch and disable the discrete GPU entirely when it's not needed. Third-party reviews say the laptop lasts up to 8 hours in 'Whisper mode' at 50% brightness watching 4K HDR content on Netflix. During this period, the laptop doesn't get too loud or hot either, and it already weighs less than 2 kilograms so it should be easy to travel with.

We haven't even mentioned that you get 2 months of Xbox Game Pass for free with your purchase, or that the top lid has customizable accent lighting. That's just how feature-rich this laptop really is, not to mention the Asus ROG brand name that helps with resale value as well. At $1,575 on Best Buy right now, you'd be hard pressed to find anything better, so grab the discount before the AI boom snatches it away, too!

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, gaming chair, or CPU Deals pages.

AMD's re-released Ryzen 7 5800X3D sold out almost immediately when it launched, and since then, we've seen scalpers circle the chip and demand double the MSRP (or more). Hopefully, we'll get more in stock, but if you're tired of waiting, you can easily upgrade to a DDR5 platform with these Prime Day CPUs deals, all of which are cheaper than the 5800X3D's recommended $350 MSRP.

• Check out CPU deals on Amazon

The idea is that if you can save money on your CPU, you'll have more money to spend on DDR5. And although the total platform cost rises above that $350 mark, you also make out with a much better processor, as well as DDR5 memory that you can use for future upgrades.

Based on our daily RAM price tracking, you can expect to spend around $150 to $200 on a 16GB kit of DDR5 memory right now, while 32GB kits sit around $400. We recommend 32GB for most systems, but 16GB will get you by in the meantime. With some of these CPUs, the discount completely eliminates the cost of buying DDR5, in fact.

The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is currently in stock on Amazon for MSRP. However, it's on back order, with estimated ship times in the second half of July. Given that time frame, that's when we expect a larger restock of the chip across retailers.

This sale on the Ryzen 7 7700X completely eliminates the cost of 16GB of DDR5 memory. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is $350, the Ryzen 7 7700X is only $200 right now, so you can make out with a newer eight-core CPU on AMD's Zen 4 architecture and 16GB of DDR5 for around the same price. You might spend around $50 more depending on the RAM kit you find, but you'll also make out with a more powerful CPU.

The Ryzen 7 7700X may not sport AMD's 3D V-Cache, but it roundly beats the 5800X3D in games and applications. As you can read in our recent re-review of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, it's clear the CPU maxes out DDR4's gaming potential, and pushing beyond the performance it offers requires a swap to DDR5.

You'll need an AM5 motherboard for the Ryzen 7 7700X, along with DDR5 memory. Unlike Intel, you can overclock AMD's chips on B-series chipsets, saving you some additional money compared to the competition.

If you want a great all-around CPU, you can't miss this deal on the Intel Core Ultra7 270K Plus. The CPU has an MSRP of $300, but we've seen it sold exclusively for $350 since it was released earlier this year. It's on a true sale for the first time this Prime Day, and a deep one at that, bringing the price down to $265.

Intel's latest Arrow Lake Refresh CPU handily beats the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. In games, you get a solid 13.7% jump in average performance, and in multithreaded applications, the 270K Plus is more than twice as fast. The 270K Plus is only beaten by AMD's crop of Ryzen 9 9950X variations, in fact, so you can get flagship productivity performance for just $265. That's incredible.

Although Arrow Lake has caught a lot of flack for its poor performance, the 270K Plus from Arrow Lake Refresh is genuinely impressive at list price, and even more so on a deep discount.

Finally, we have the successor to the 5800X3D, AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D. Hilariously, it's cheaper than the 5800X3D right now by $2. And, as you can see in our benchmarks above, it's much faster in both games and applications.

Of course, the actual price is higher as you need to buy a kit of DDR5 memory to pair with the 7800X3D. This deep of a discount eases that burden, though. We've seen the 7800X3D as low as $320, but only on limited-time lightning sales. It's still a great deal at $348.

These are the CPUs we recommend if you finally want to upgrade to DDR5, especially with their Prime Day discounts. However, you can shop all the CPU deals on Amazon if you want more options.

More Prime Day Tech Deals

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Also, you can join the Tom's Hardware deals Discord for up-to-the-minute hardware deals.

Solidigm is arguably one of the most mysterious storage companies in the industry today. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of SK hynix, yet unlike its parent company, which produces charge-trap flash memory, it uses floating-gate 3D NAND memory that it develops and manufactures internally at a dedicated fab in Dalian, China.

Solidigm originates from Intel's Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group (NSG), the company's NAND and SSD business unit, which used to have a unique technology strategy that differed from that of other flash and drive producers. To that end, it is not surprising that Solidigm also has a unique positioning as it only offers data center drives, most of which are based on floating-gate memory and proprietary in-house designed controllers. Furthermore, Solidigm is a fully vertically integrated company.

At Computex 2026, we sat down with Avi Shetty, who is vice president of AI ecosystem, Solutions & Market Enablement at Solidigm. Before his current position at Solidigm, he spent 14.5 years at Intel's storage division, so he has deep knowledge both about technology and the market. During our conversation, we discussed how Solidigm keeps evolving, including floating-gate NAND memory, advanced packaging technologies, next-generation SSDs, liquid-cooled SSDs, and more.

Anton Shilov: Could you introduce yourself to our readers and describe what do you do at Solidigm?

Avi Shetty: My name is Avi Shetty. I work at Solidigm, where I help lead AI solutions and ecosystem initiatives. My team works with global platform providers, software ISVs, and ODMs to ensure Solidigm solutions are validated, benchmarked, and included in reference designs at both the device and cluster levels, enabling customers to fully utilize our products.

A part of SK hynix that acts independently

Anton Shilov: You were previously a part of Intel. How is the integration going? Are you now fully integrated part of SK hynix, or do you operate independently?

Avi Shetty: Let me provide some background. While Solidigm was established in December 2021, our history goes back decades. Many of us came from Intel's Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group (NSG), which developed Intel’s NAND SSDs for both client and data center markets.

In 2021, SK hynix acquired Intel’s NAND and SSD business and established Solidigm. Since December 2021, we have operated as a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of SK hynix, headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California.

Anton Shilov: So, you are part of SK hynix, but still maintain a degree of independence?

Avi Shetty: Absolutely. We operate as an independent subsidiary of SK hynix. Our strategy is focused entirely on enterprise SSDs. Every bit of [floating gate] NAND [at our fab in Dalian, China] we produce goes into enterprise storage solutions.

This is one of the ways we differentiate ourselves from competitors such as Samsung and Micron, which also serve mobile and client markets. We made a deliberate decision to focus exclusively on enterprise storage and AI.

We are also fully vertically integrated. We manufacture our own NAND, develop our own controllers, write our own firmware, and design our own SSDs. While we work with manufacturing partners to build products, we control the entire technology stack.

I also believe we are the only company with access to two different NAND architectures. Through SK hynix we have access to charge trap flash (CTF) technology, and we continue to develop floating gate NAND technology for our high-density QLC SSD products.

Anton Shilov: What is Solidigm's current share of the enterprise SSD market?

Avi Shetty: Approximately 24%. That is enterprise SSDs only. We do not participate in any other NAND markets. As of the first quarter of 2025, plus or minus a few percentage points, our measured enterprise SSD market share is approximately 24%. We evaluate market-share data quarterly and semiannually, and that is the latest figure we’ve publicly discussed.

Anton Shilov: How much of your business today is concentrated in high-capacity SSDs versus higher-performance products?

Avi Shetty: High-density SSDs now represent a significant portion of our business. Because Solidigm is privately held, we do not publicly disclose that breakdown. We report our financial metrics through our parent company, SK hynix.

What I can tell you is that both our 61TB-class and 122TB-class products became customer favorites almost immediately after launch. Demand for high-density storage has been extremely strong.

Anton Shilov: I assume you also work directly with hyperscalers?

Avi Shetty: We work with a broad range of customers globally. That includes U.S. cloud service providers, Chinese cloud service providers, OEMs around the world, NeoCloud providers, software ISVs, and channel partners. We maintain customer support, engineering, and sales organizations globally. Our business spans the Americas, EMEA, China, and the rest of Asia-Pacific.

Anton Shilov: Which customer segment represents the largest opportunity for growth right now? Traditional cloud providers or something else?

Avi Shetty: We intentionally maintain a diversified customer base.

What is interesting is how quickly new segments emerge. For example, the NeoCloud market has existed for some time, but AI-focused infrastructure providers such as CoreWeave, Lambda, Crusoe, and Nebius have become much more important over the last two years.

Before the AI boom, these companies represented only a small portion of demand. Today, they are becoming a meaningful part of the market.

As AI infrastructure continues to expand, Solidigm is adapting both its customer strategy and product portfolio to support these emerging deployments while continuing to serve our traditional customers.

Floating gate NAND in 2026

CTF NAND used by major memory makers has approached 276 - 286 active layers, whereas Solidigm's floating gate flash is still at 192 layers, meaning that the company is somewhat behind some of its rivals in terms of active layers as of mid-2026. It is set to catch up with its next generation that will have over 200 layers, but only in the second half of this year. However, floating gate NAND memory still has a number of advantages over CTF, particularly for applications that Solidigm targets.

Floating gate uses a conductive polysilicon island to store charge, which provides excellent cell isolation — charge stays well-contained and is less likely to spread to or interfere with neighboring cells — and this is particularly important for 3D QLC NAND with very high layer counts. In addition, Solidigm claims that floating gate gives a strong voltage threshold window and better cell isolation, which enables the company to keep scaling QLC more while maintaining good reliability.

Anton Shilov: Are you still producing floating gate NAND, and do you intend to continue?

Avi Shetty: Absolutely. We introduced our first QLC foating gate NAND product in 2018, and today we are on our fourth generation of QLC NAND.

Our flagship high-capacity product currently ships with 192-layer floating gate NAND technology and powers our 122TB SSD.

Anton Shilov: Haven't you also announced a larger drive?

Avi Shetty: We have announced a higher-capacity product and expect it to become available later this year.

Anton Shilov: The 256TB-class drive?

Avi Shetty: Correct. Approximately 245TB usable capacity.

Anton Shilov: So you are going to have a roughly 245TB SSD available this year?

Avi Shetty: Correct.

Anton Shilov: What advantages does Floating-Gate NAND provide?

Avi Shetty: Floating gate NAND gives us scalability. We have consistently been first in the industry to push storage density in standard form factors. We were the first to introduce a 30TB SSD, then a 60TB SSD, and later a 122TB SSD.

We have been shipping the 122TB drive for nearly five quarters. We launched it in the fourth quarter of 2024, and it has since become our flagship product. It is probably our most popular product of 2025.

The reason customers like the 122TB drive is efficiency. When you look at AI data centers, customers want low power consumption, scalability, and performance. While this particular product is a PCIe Gen4 solution, our roadmap continues to increase both density and bandwidth. You will see future products based on PCIe Gen5 and PCIe Gen6.

The real attraction of the 122TB SSD is scale. In a 1U server, you can install 24 of these drives and get nearly 3PB of storage in a single rack unit.

If you look at the AI data pipeline — from training to archiving — the first and last stages require massive datasets. That is where these high-capacity SSDs are being deployed today.

Now we are also seeing growing demand from inference deployments. Inference can run in core data centers or in edge and back-office environments. Those deployments require storage that can efficiently feed GPUs and support workloads such as context storage and KV cache management. High-density SSDs help provide the capacity required for those applications.

Next-generation SSDs: PCIe Gen6 drives with liquid cooling

Anton Shilov: You mentioned PCIe Gen5 and Gen6 [next-generation drives]. I assume you are referring both to next PCIe generations and future NAND generations?

Avi Shetty: Both.

We maintain separate technology and product roadmaps. Earlier, I mentioned that our current QLC NAND is our 4^th Generation technology based on 192 layers. We will continue investing in future NAND generations as well.

On the product side, we are talking about PCIe generations. We currently ship both PCIe Gen4 and PCIe Gen5 SSDs. All of our TLC products are PCIe Gen5 today, while our QLC lineup currently remains PCIe Gen4.

Future QLC products will move to PCIe Gen5, and eventually, we will introduce PCIe Gen6 SSDs as platform vendors such as AMD, Intel, and Nvidia adopt PCIe Gen6 in their systems.

Anton Shilov: You mentioned PCIe Gen6 SSDs. You have not shipped one yet, correct?

Avi Shetty: Correct. PCIe Gen6 products are part of our future roadmap.

Anton Shilov: How close are they?

Avi Shetty: We are not making product announcements at Computex, but you will hear more from us soon.

Anton Shilov: At the moment there is really only one platform that can take advantage of them anyway. Well, two, if you consider Nvidia Vera.

Avi Shetty: That is part of the equation. When we evaluate our roadmap, we consider demand, platform readiness, and overall value to customers.

For example, we have what we call a refresh philosophy. We may introduce a PCIe Gen4 refresh or a PCIe Gen5 refresh that lowers cost or improves efficiency rather than immediately moving to a new PCIe generation.

The question is whether customers gain more value from Gen6 today or from a more mature, lower-cost Gen5 product. Those are the kinds of decisions our planning teams evaluate.

What I can say is that Solidigm maintains a full roadmap covering PCIe Gen4, Gen5, and future Gen6 SSDs across all major form factors, including U.2, E1.S, E3.S, and other EDSFF variants. Our portfolio spans capacities from 2TB all the way to 122TB.

Anton Shilov: Launching an all-new product early still gives you time to validate products with platform vendors.

Avi Shetty: Absolutely. We already work closely with platform providers to validate prototypes long before products are launched. Our engineering teams participate in interoperability events and PCI-SIG workshops to ensure products are ready when platforms become available.

Anton Shilov: That is actually interesting because PCIe Gen6 interoperability workshops have been delayed multiple times. Back in 2024, people expected the ecosystem to move much faster and interoperability workshops to start in 2024, with the list of compatible products emerging in 2025.

Avi Shetty: That is true. A lot depends on platform readiness and ecosystem scaling. PCIe Gen6 by itself is not enough. This is my personal opinion, but to fully benefit from Gen6 storage performance, the industry must also address cooling. That is one reason we invested heavily in liquid-cooled storage.

Last year, we introduced what we believe was the world's first liquid-cooled storage solution for Nvidia environments. It used E1.S PCIe Gen5 SSDs with direct liquid cooling. Historically, liquid cooling was focused on CPUs and GPUs. We extended it to storage by allowing coolant to flow through a cold plate attached to the SSD. The cold plate removes heat directly from the drive. To fully exploit PCIe Gen6 performance, the ecosystem must develop those kinds of technologies as well.

Anton Shilov: So you believe PCIe Gen6 SSDs will require liquid cooling?

Avi Shetty: At least in high-performance AI environments, particularly Nvidia-based deployments, we believe liquid cooling will be necessary.

Next-generation SSDs: PLC NAND

Anton Shilov: Will future NAND generations include both TLC and QLC? And what about PLC?

Avi Shetty: Never say never. We demonstrated PLC technology using floating gate NAND at the Flash Memory Summit several years ago. However, this business requires factory optimization and maintaining a manageable number of SKUs to maximize utilization and profitability.

That said, there absolutely will be opportunities for PLC. We have not announced any specific products or timelines, but there is active PLC development underway inside Solidigm.

Anton Shilov: That is interesting. However, PLC by itself only increases capacity by about 20% compared to QLC and at the same time requires significantly more sophisticated controllers and error correction.

Avi Shetty: That is true. However, those same concerns existed during every previous transition: from SLC to MLC, MLC to TLC, and TLC to QLC.

We were the first company to commercialize QLC NAND. Initially, many competitors questioned its value. Today, the industry increasingly recognizes the total-cost-of-ownership advantages that QLC provides, and multiple vendors now offer QLC products. I think the same process will occur with PLC.

It is also important to consider the broader market. Roughly 80% of storage capacity worldwide is still deployed on hard drives. PLC does not necessarily need to replace QLC on a one-to-one basis. Instead, it can create new opportunities where the advantages of solid-state storage — lower power consumption, higher density, smaller physical footprint, and lower total cost of ownership — become compelling.

You will likely see future solution development involving software partners that help address some of the limitations you are describing.

Anton Shilov: Do you expect retention characteristics to become a major challenge with PLC NAND?

Avi Shetty: Of course. PLC is a new technology, and retention characteristics will differ from what we see with QLC today.

The same is true across all NAND types. SLC, MLC, TLC, QLC, and eventually PLC all have different retention characteristics based on the underlying technology. The existence of those challenges does not mean we stop exploring future solutions. We will continue investing in that area.

Advanced packaging for NAND

Anton Shilov: As I mentioned, PLC only increases capacity by about 20%. Advanced packaging may ultimately have a much larger impact on SSD capacity. Could you discuss where packaging technology stands today and where it is headed?

Avi Shetty: Absolutely. Let me use our current products as an example. The 122TB SSD represents a significant packaging achievement. It is a U.2 drive with 48 NAND packages. Each package contains a 22-die stack. Each die is a 1.33Tb QLC device. Those 22-die stacks are what enable us to reach 122TB in a standard form factor.

Packaging technology remains one of our core investments. We continue developing technologies that allow us to place more dies into each package and deliver higher capacities to customers.

Anton Shilov: What about increasing the number of dies per package?

Avi Shetty: That is one of the primary ways to increase density. You can either increase die capacity or increase the number of dies per package. We intend to pursue both approaches.

Anton Shilov: How many dies per package do you think remain practical?

Avi Shetty: Today we are at 22. Future products will go beyond that, although I cannot discuss specific numbers.

Anton Shilov: What did previous generations use?

Avi Shetty: Depending on capacity requirements, previous products used 4-, 8-, or 16-die stacks. Of course, we are talking about a single NAND package in each case.

Storage-Class Memory, Optane, and Nvidia's Storage Next

Anton Shilov: What about storage-class memory?

Avi Shetty: Like Optane?

Anton Shilov: Not necessarily Optane itself, but something similar — something faster than NAND flash, yet capable of offering significantly higher density than DRAM at a lower cost.

Avi Shetty: Understood. Let me frame it from the perspective of the problem we are trying to solve. If you are asking whether Solidigm is developing a storage-class memory technology similar to Optane, then the answer today is no.

What we are focused on is addressing the requirements emerging from Nvidia's Storage Next initiative. The fundamental challenge is bandwidth. HBM is extremely fast, but it is also expensive and difficult to scale economically. As AI systems continue to grow, the industry needs additional memory and storage tiers that provide greater capacity at lower cost. That creates demand for NAND-based solutions that remain non-volatile while delivering improved latency and bandwidth characteristics.

We have not made any public announcements regarding storage-class memory technologies, but we continuously evaluate future technologies and architectural approaches.

Anton Shilov: So you are exploring concepts that could potentially bridge the gap between traditional NAND and memory?

Avi Shetty: We are evaluating a wide range of technologies that could help us continue delivering leadership products to our customers. When and if we have something to announce, we will do so publicly. At this point, however, we have nothing to disclose.

Anton Shilov: So storage-class memory is not currently a product category that Solidigm is actively pursuing?

Avi Shetty: If you are specifically referring to something similar to Optane, then no.

Optane was based on a fundamentally different technology. It was not NAND. It relied on a phase-change-memory-derived architecture and represented a completely different storage medium. We are not pursuing that type of technology today. What we are investing in is future NAND technology.

Anton Shilov: You think that future NAND technologies could eventually move closer to that space?

Avi Shetty: Exactly. Future NAND innovations could help narrow the gap between HBM, DRAM, and the next storage tier. That’s certainly one of the directions the industry is evaluating as AI systems continue to demand larger memory pools and greater bandwidth.

AMD has brought back its gaming champion from four years ago. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D has been revived in 2026 to breathe new life into the AM4 platform. The Zen 3-based CPU was the best CPU for gaming of its time, thanks to the first-generation 3D V-Cache technology. Since then, however, the competition in our CPU benchmark hierarchy has become more fierce.

Today's competition is Intel’s Core i7-14700K, based on the Raptor Lake Refresh architecture. At the time the Ryzen 7 5800X3D released, Intel’s 12th-gen Alder Lake CPUs were its main competition. Here, we revisit the comparison with Intel’s newer Core i7-14700K, which is available around the same price of $350.

The focus of this faceoff is to determine which CPU is the superior all-around chip. We will put the two CPUs through a series of tests spanning different categories to ultimately determine which CPU you should buy for your system.

This faceoff breaks down how two CPUs compare to each other in a head-to-head battle. If you'd like to read more about either processor, as well as see our full suite of tests, make sure to read our AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D re-review and Core i7-14700K faceoff.

Features and Specifications: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D vs Intel Core i7-14700K

The Ryzen 7 5800X3D was first launched in April 2022 as a part of the Vermeer desktop CPU family. It is based on the Zen 3 architecture and built on TSMC’s 7nm production process. The CPU features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a TDP of 105W and a PPT of 142W. It has a base clock of 3.4 GHz and can boost up to 4.5 GHz.

The 5800X3D only supports DDR4 memory at a rated speed of 3200 MT/s over a dual-channel interface. It is compatible with the AM4 socket, with support for 300-series, 400-series, and 500-series AMD chipsets (though check support with your specific motherboard). It also supports 20 lanes of PCIe Gen 4. However, the 5800X3D does not have integrated graphics.

On a more positive note, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D was the first CPU to employ the new 3D V-Cache technology. As a result of stacking the cache vertically on the die, the 5800X3D has a total L3 cache of 96 MB. Of this pool, 64 MB is part of the 3D V-Cache stack. Core overclocking is disabled on the Ryzen 7 5800X3D due to its 3D V-Cache layout; DRAM overclocking still remains available.

Its competitor, Intel’s Core i7-14700K, uses a vastly different layout. It features the Raptor Lake Refresh architecture, which is a refined version of the 13th-generation Raptor Lake base architecture. The Core i7-14700K was launched in October 2023 and was built on a 10nm production process (Intel 7).

Intel’s 14th-generation CPUs use a hybrid core layout with performance-focused “P-cores” and more efficient “E-cores.” The 14700K also follows this structure, featuring 8 P-cores and 12 E-cores, for a total of 20 cores. In the 14700K, Hyper-Threading is only available on the P-cores, so the CPU has a total of 28 threads. The chip can boost the P-cores up to 5.6 GHz, while the E-core boost clock is 4.3 GHz.

Interestingly, the Core i7-14700K supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory at 3200 MT/s and 5600 MT/s, respectively. The CPU is compatible with the LGA 1700 socket featured in the 600-series and 700-series Intel motherboards. There is also support for 16 PCIe Gen 5 lanes and 4 PCIe Gen 4 lanes.

The Core i7-14700K has a TDP of 125W, with a higher PL2 limit of 253W. Integrated graphics are also offered in the 14700K in the form of UHD Graphics 770. There is 33MB of shared L3 cache on the chip. Perhaps more importantly, the Core i7-14700K is fully unlocked for overclocking, which is a big advantage over its competitor for today, though that requires a Z-series motherboard.

Zooming out a bit, it is clear that the Core i7-14700K is vastly superior to the Ryzen 7 5800X3D on paper. It is a newer CPU, so it has a better feature set, including PCIe Gen 5 and DDR5 support. It offers more cores, a higher boost clock, integrated graphics, and an unlocked multiplier for overclocking.

⭐Winner: Intel Core i7-14700K

Nothing is decided on paper alone, but the Core i7-14700K offers much better specs, newer features, and even has overclocking support. It takes this round quite easily.

Gaming Benchmarks and Performance: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D vs Intel Core i7-14700K

AMD claims to have “re-engineered” the Ryzen 7 5800X3D for its 2026 re-release, so we have tested it again, along with a whole bunch of worthy competitors, including the 14700K. We chose the 1080p resolution for our 16-game test suite in order to maximize the performance differences between the various CPUs. The graphics card used was the GeForce RTX 5090 to keep potential GPU bottlenecks to a minimum. Let’s get into the results.

Starting off with our 16-game FPS geomean at 1080p, the Core i7-14700K dominates the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with an average result of 166.7 FPS across our tested games, compared to the 145.6 FPS result of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. That is a 14.5% difference in favor of the 14700K in our performance geomean. In 1% lows, the 14700K leads the Ryzen 7 5800X3D by 20% on average, putting out 114 FPS against the Ryzen’s 95.

However, there is another side to this benchmark table. The Core i7-14700K supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, so we tested it in both configurations. With DDR4-3200 memory, the 14700K’s advantage vanishes, and instead the Ryzen 7 5800X3D leads by 1.04%, or just 1.5 FPS. The 1% lows are in favor of 14700K by only 3 FPS (3.15%), which is astonishingly close.

When the Intel CPU is paired with DDR5 memory, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D’s cache advantage seems to be struggling against the Core i7-14700K’s raw core count and higher boost clock (along with far faster memory speeds). Looking at individual titles, we see a similar pattern with the Core i7-14700K holding a consistent lead over the 5800X3D.

In 007 First Light, the 14700K paired with DDR5 memory has a 25.7% lead on average over the 5800X3D. That lead shrinks to 21.5% in Crimson Desert, and the difference is 13.7% in favor of the 14700K in Cyberpunk 2077. Interestingly, the Core i7-14700K leads the entire pack in Flight Simulator 24, establishing a 26.6% lead over the 5800X3D in this title. The DDR5-equipped 14700K also leads the 5800X3D in Spider-Man 2, Starfield, The Last of Us Part One, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Counter-Strike 2.

However, when the Core i7-14700K is paired with DDR4-3200 memory, the picture changes completely. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D leads the i7-14700K with DDR4 memory in Baldur’s Gate 3 by 11.7%. In Crimson Desert, the lead is 3.2% for the 5800X3D, and 2.6% in Cyberpunk 2077. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D sits between the DDR5 and DDR4 versions of the 14700K in a few other titles, including Counter-Strike 2 and DOOM: The Dark Ages.

There are also some titles in which the Ryzen 7 5800X3D leads both the DDR4 and DDR5-equipped versions of the Core i7-14700K. In F1 2024, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D leads the DDR5 14700K by 5.6%, and the DDR4 14700K by 13.7% on average. The same pattern can be seen in Final Fantasy XIV, with a 6.6% lead over the 14700K using DDR5 memory, and in Minecraft RT, with a 18.5% lead over the 14700K using DDR4 memory.

It is certainly all over the place when you put both configurations of the 14700K into the mix, but the two behave more like separate CPUs. The long and short of it is that the 14700K with DDR5 memory provides the best gaming performance on average, followed by the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. The DDR4-equipped 14700K is ever-so-slightly slower than the 5800X3D, but it really just depends on the game you’re playing.

During our testing, the Core i7-14700K averaged 4.93 GHz with DDR5 memory and 4.88 GHz with DDR4 memory. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D could only manage 4.34 GHz, but it sipped only 77.5 watts during our gaming tests. The 14700K DDR5 averaged 132.4 watts, while the DDR4-equipped 14700K averaged a whopping 155.1 watts during gaming. This is why the 14700K with DDR4 reached an average temperature of 80 °C, compared to 62 °C for the 14700K with DDR5 and 59 °C for the 5800X3D.

In addition to running the coolest, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is also the most efficient CPU of the bunch. The 5800X3D had an FPS-per-watt output of 1.88, compared to 1.26 for the Core i7-14700K with DDR5 memory, and just 0.93 for the DDR4 version. It is amazing how much the Core i7-14700K suffers when paired with DDR4 memory.

Lower overall performance also hurts the value proposition of the DDR4-equipped 14700K, as it puts out just 0.39 FPS-per-dollar, compared to the 0.45 of the DDR5-equipped 14700K. Astonishingly, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D falls between the two 14700K versions, delivering 0.42 FPS per dollar. This makes the Core i7-14700K the value king, but only if you pair it with DDR5 memory. I suspect that will be tricky in the current market.

⭐Winner: Tie

While the Ryzen 7 5800X3D does slightly pull away from the DDR4-equipped 14700K, both of these setups get demolished by the 14700K when it is paired with DDR5 memory. We're calling this round a tie considering the massive price disparity between DDR4 and DDR5 memory right now.

Productivity Benchmarks and Performance: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D vs Intel Core i7-14700K

Productivity performance spans single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads, so we tested the CPUs across a range of benchmarks covering both categories. Just like in our gaming tests, we tested the 14700K with both DDR5 and DDR4 memory, since it does impact the performance significantly.

Intel’s hybrid architecture has historically been quite strong at multi-threaded workloads due to E-cores, and that pattern appears here too. In our multi-threaded performance ranking geomean, the Core i7-14700K scores 492 points, a massive lead of 116.7% over the Ryzen 7 5800X3D that could only manage 227 points on average. Even when the Core i7-14700K is paired with DDR4 memory, it has a 105% higher average score than the Ryzen 7 5800X3D.

The superior core count of the 14700K is proving to be the difference maker in this category. In the Cinebench 2024 multi-core test, the 14700K with DDR5 memory is a whopping 126.6% faster than the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. Even the DDR4-equipped 14700K secures a 107% lead over the 5800X3D in Cinebench. The lead for the 14700K is about 137% in POV-Ray, and it shrinks to 135% when using DDR4 memory.

Blender tests were also favorable for the 14700K, but we didn’t see a big difference between DDR4 and DDR5 systems in these benchmarks. In Junkshop, the DDR5-equipped 14700K leads the 5800X3D by 116.4%; in Monster, by 116.6%; and in Classroom, by 118.3%. The DDR4 variant follows closely behind, by 1 or 2 percentage points.

The memory generation again comes into play when we look at HandBrake x265 10-bit encoding, with the DDR5-14700K leading the 5800X3D by 90.5%, while the DDR4-14700K manages a 82% lead. The gap is even larger in x264 encoding, with the DDR5 variant gaining a 105% lead over the 5800X3D, while the DDR4 variant can only manage a 63% lead.

That still makes the Core i7-14700K far better than the 5800X3D in productivity workloads, regardless of the memory generation. However, we still have single-threaded results to look at. Our single-threaded performance ranking geomean puts the Core i7-14700K 36.6% faster on average than the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. Interestingly, there is no difference in single-threaded performance between the DDR5 and DDR4 variants of the 14700K.

The same trend is seen in individual benchmarks as well. The 14700K is about 25% faster than the 5800X3D in Lame’s audio encoding test, and the DDR4 variant is in the same ballpark as well. Curiously, the DDR4-equipped 14700K is slightly faster than the DDR5-14700K in Cinebench 2024 and also outperforms the 5800X3D by 36.6%. Safe to say, the RAM difference doesn’t really come into play in these tests.

Overall, though, the winner is quite clear. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is a gaming-oriented chip with only 8 cores and 16 threads, so it is no match for the 20-core 14700K in productivity workloads. Whether you go for DDR4 or DDR5 is your decision, but the productivity champion of this faceoff is the Core i7-14700K.

⭐Winner: Intel Core i7-14700K

With an average lead of 116% over the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in multi-threaded tasks, the Core i7-14700K sweeps the productivity round quite easily.

Overclocking: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D vs Intel Core i7-14700K

Overclocking has never been a strong suit of AMD Ryzen processors; however, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D doesn’t support core overclocking at all. AMD cited the 3D V-Cache technology as the reason the 5800X3D can’t be overclocked, and they were right to assume so.

Due to the vertically-stacked cache, heat transfer from the CPU die to the heatspreader was a real issue. An overclocked 5800X3D would have sipped more power and produced more heat. Therefore, an efficient heat-transfer system was needed but could not be developed in time for the first-generation V-Cache product.

AMD has since reinstated overclocking support for Ryzen 9000 series X3D CPUs by flipping the cache layout, so it no longer hinders heat transfer. However, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D’s core multiplier still remains locked, but you can still tune the DRAM and Infinity Fabric clocks.

The Core i7-14700K, on the other hand, is tailor-made for overclocking. Being a K-series SKU, the 14700K comes with an unlocked multiplier and all the Intel bells and whistles for overclocking. It can reach 6.1 - 6.2 GHz on individual cores with proper cooling, and users can expect a 5.6 - 5.8 GHz all-core overclock on most setups.

Its overclocking toolkit features traditional multiplier adjustments, voltage controls, and established BIOS interfaces that most enthusiasts are already familiar with. The Core i7-14700K also has a significant amount of power headroom to play with, although temperatures become a concern as soon as the power consumption ramps up.

By all overclocking metrics, the Core i7-14700K is the superior CPU for tinkerers. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D can’t be manually tuned, at least not in the traditional sense, and therefore doesn’t really stand a chance in this round.

⭐Winner: Intel Core i7-14700K

The 14700K is the real deal when it comes to overclocking support. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is locked and therefore can’t be overclocked, so Intel sweeps this round.

Power Consumption and Efficiency: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D vs Intel Core i7-14700K

The Ryzen 7 5800X3D has a base TDP of 105W and a PPT of 142W. Intel’s is much higher, with the 14700K clocking in at 125W TDP and a PL2 limit of 253 watts. However, TDP numbers don’t give us a good idea of real-world power consumption, so we ran our own detailed tests.

First, at idle, the 5800X3D consumed only 5 watts, while the 14700K consumed 27 watts. In an active-idle situation, such as YouTube playback, the Core i7-14700K consumed 28 watts with DDR5 memory and a concerning 39 watts with DDR4 memory. The 5800X3D, on the other hand, sipped only 9 watts, making it anywhere from 67% - 76% more efficient than the 14700K.

Moving on to all-core workloads, in our y-cruncher multi-threaded AVX power test, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D consumes 119 watts, while the Core i7-14700K clocks in at a staggering 335 watts, a 181.5% higher figure. Even the Core i7-14700K with DDR4 memory consumed 307 watts, which is still a 158% increase over the 5800X3D’s power consumption.

In Linpack, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is again more reserved, with the 14700K consuming 168.6% more power than the Ryzen. The DDR4 setup was not much better, with a 137.2% higher power consumption than the 5800X3D in this test. The gap widens even more in Cinebench 2024’s multi-core render and our Blender tests, which show the 14700K consuming anywhere from 250% to 285% higher power than the 5800X3D.

In our encoding tests, the situation remains pretty much the same. In Handbrake x264, the DDR5-14700K consumed 242% more power than the 5800X3D, while the DDR4-14700K consumed nearly 200% more. Similar numbers were seen in Handbrake x265 and SVT_AV1 encoding, with the 5800X3D being the clear winner.

We even looked at single-threaded workloads to determine the power consumption of those tasks. In y-cruncher’s single-threaded AVX power test, we saw the 14700K consume 157% more power when paired with DDR5 memory, and 132% more when using DDR4 memory. Safe to say, the Intel CPU does not fare any better in these workloads either.

To determine the efficiency, we calculated the watts-per-FPS number in Handbrake x265. The 5800X3D was 43.4% more efficient than the 14700K with DDR5 RAM, and about 41% more efficient in this task than the 14700K with DDR4 memory. The pattern can again be seen in Cinebench 2024’s efficiency test, where we look at points-per-watt. The 5700X3D is anywhere from 62% to 68% more efficient than the 14700K in this task.

We can also visualize the efficiency differences using our handy scatter plots. In the Linkpack power efficiency plot, the 5800X3D is towards the bottom left of the chart, while the 14700K is more towards the top. This means that the 14700K uses substantially more energy to deliver marginally higher performance than the 5800X3D. Ideally, you want to be towards the bottom right of this graph.

So, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D consumes much less power in both single-threaded and multi-threaded productivity workloads, and as we saw in our gaming tests, it runs cooler as well. The Core i7-14700K has a distinct performance advantage in all-core workloads, but the power consumption ramps up quickly once it gets going. Still, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is the clear winner in this round.

⭐Winner: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D

The Ryzen 7 5800X3D consumes between 150% and 300% less power than the Core i7-14700K in all-core workloads, making it the definitive winner in this round.

Pricing: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D vs Intel Core i7-14700K

The pricing situation is a bit of a wildcard in this comparison, since these are not exactly “new” CPUs. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D was recently re-released at $350, which is $100 lower than its 2022 price tag. The Core i7-14700K is currently priced at $370 at the time of writing, which makes the 5800X3D $20 cheaper in a direct comparison.

However, comparing the two CPUs is more than just comparing their sticker price. We must also look at the platform costs of the two CPUs. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D uses the fan-favorite AM4 socket, which has a whole heap of chipsets in all price brackets. You can pair the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with a mid-range B550 or a high-end X570 motherboard, but older 400-series motherboards are also compatible, depending on the board.

As far as the price goes, B550 motherboards can be purchased for $80 - $180, while higher-end X570 motherboards range from $150 - $300. Some premium models can even go beyond $400, but those are not really needed for our CPU since it doesn’t support overclocking. A nice mid-tier B550 or X570 motherboard will be more than enough for our needs.

Memory is where the price difference really grows. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D only supports DDR4 memory, so it is relatively safe from the ongoing DRAM crisis. A nice 32GB DDR4-3200 kit can run you about $140 - $160, which is definitely higher than DDR4 prices of the past, but nothing compared to current DDR5 rates. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D also needs an aftermarket cooler since it doesn’t come with one, and that can cost you about $100 - $150 too.

For the Core i7-14700K, you have the option of either a DDR4 or a DDR5 motherboard. Even then, you still have to choose between a 600-series or a 700-series chipset. For the sake of this comparison, let’s go with a Z790 motherboard since the 14700K is unlocked and we want those overclocking capabilities. A basic Z790 motherboard can be found around the $150 mark, but we would want to go with something that has decent VRMs. That can cost around $200-$250 at current prices.

Of course, as evidenced in our benchmarks, DDR5 memory is the best way to maximize the 14700K's performance. Due to the RAMpocalypse, DDR5 memory is ridiculously expensive, and a 32GB DDR5-6000 kit can cost between $390 - $550 at the time of writing. Going with DDR4 would require a motherboard swap, but it would save you between $300 and $350 on the system based on these two components alone.

For cooling, the 14700K requires special consideration, as we have the option to overclock. Even a stock 14700K sips more power and produces more heat than a 5800X3D, but if you plan to overclock, the thermals can get out of hand pretty quick. You’ll ideally use a solid 360mm AiO liquid cooler for the 14700K, which can add about $100 - $150 to the cost of your build.

Another factor to consider when determining the value of a CPU is the longevity of its platform. AMD’s AM4 platform has been going strong for a decade, and AMD has continued to support it through updates and releases such as the 5800X3D. However, it would be hard to see AMD releasing more CPUs for the AM4 platform going forward.

On the other hand, Intel’s LGA 1700 socket was already semi-retired, but new reports suggest that Intel will bring this platform back in early 2027. New “Raptor Lake Next” CPUs will reportedly be available on the same socket and the same motherboards, so there is certainly a better upgrade path on Intel’s side.

When we put everything together, the Core i7-14700K is a bit hard to recommend from a value perspective. The motherboards for the 14700K are more expensive on average, and if you want to maximize its performance, you will have to take a massive hit to your wallet with DDR5 memory. Moreover, it is more expensive to cool, too. Its platform looks more future-proof in light of recent rumors, but that can’t guarantee it a win in this round.

⭐Winner: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D

The 5800X3D is cheaper to get up and running, since you only need an affordable B550 motherboard and some DDR4 memory to get started. The 14700K can be cheap, but that requires you to leave serious performance on the table and go with a DDR4 setup.

Bottom Line: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D vs Intel Core i7-14700K

After a grueling 6-round back-and-forth, we finally have our winner. The Intel Core i7-14700K is the superior CPU of the two. Now, it is not as black-and-white as the 4-3 score might suggest, but the 14700K is still the winner of this faceoff.

The Core i7-14700K delivers better gaming performance on average than the 5800X3D. Sure, there are some titles that favor AMD’s 3D V-Cache, but those wins were not as frequent. However, AMD’s 5800X3D has a better chance if the 14700K is limited by DDR4 memory.

Intel’s 14700K is also vastly superior in productivity and has support for manual overclocking. AMD’s main selling point for the 5800X3D in 2026 is its low price, both upfront and in terms of platform costs. It is also an easier CPU to maintain since it runs cooler and consumes less power.

Interestingly, the choice also depends heavily on your memory generation of choice. It is better to save a few bucks and go with a 5800X3D if you plan to stay on DDR4 for now. However, if you are willing to make the (difficult) jump to DDR5, the 14700K is the clear choice.

Potential buyers who want to stick to gaming should still prioritize a Ryzen 7 5800X3D over a Core i7-14700K with DDR5 memory. On the other hand, if you regularly run any type of productivity workload, the 14700K blows the Ryzen out of the water.

⭐ Winner: Intel Core i7-14700K

Nonetheless, the overall winner of our faceoff is Intel’s Core i7-14700K.

Check Out More CPU Faceoffs

• Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus vs AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
• Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus vs AMD Ryzen 7 9700X
• AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D vs AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
• Intel Core i7-14700K vs Intel Core Ultra 7 265K
• AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 vs Ryzen 9 9950X3D

AMD's new 10th-anniversary Ryzen 7 5800X3D is now available for purchase at Amazon at MSRP, a welcome relief for those who have been searching for the chip, only to find it being scalped at twice the MSRP after yesterday's launch. Given the intense demand, this stock will probably not last long.

• 5800X3D 10th Anniversary Edition at Amazon
• 5800X3D 10th Anniversary Edition at Best Buy

If these retailers run out of stock quickly, you can also try your luck scoring the new chip at B&H or Newegg, but they've had only spotty availability in the wake of the launch.

• 5800X3D 10th Anniversary Edition at B&H
• 5800X3D 10th Anniversary Edition at Newegg

The new 5800X3D was brought back into production to help enthusiasts upgrade DDR4-based platforms during the ongoing shortages of DDR5. We re-reviewed this chip for the launch, using the newest games, drivers, firmwares, and GPU, and while it is functionally similar to the original 5800X3D, AMD did have to make changes to the innovative 3D V-Cache to bring this processor back into production.

Our re-test found that this chip remains the gold standard for AM4 motherboards, squeezing out the most performance possible with DDR4. The $350 asking price is high relative to competing chips if you are building a new system, making other options preferable, but it is hands-down the best upgrade for those on an AM4 system. In fact, one of its greatest attributes is that it will deliver a competitive gaming experience while not breaking the bank to buy insanely-priced DDR5.

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At this point in any big sales event, you've probably exhausted the obvious: SSDs, gaming PCs, RAM upgrades. Instead, what you really want is something fun and practical to spice up your desk. Luckily, this 3.5-inch Hagibis mini screen is exactly what you need. It acts as both a retro desk ornament and a fully-functional LCD display, featuring a built-in SD card reader and USB hub, and it's back to a record low price of just $79.99 for Prime Day.

● Check out this deal on Amazon

This monitor was previously on sale for as high as $109.99, making this $79.99 sale price a much more competitive one for late Prime Day shoppers. Look, it isn't going to be rivalling a 4K OLED, but that really isn't the point here. This is a cool desk gadget with a functional use-case, with a 1980s-style, CRT-like design that is a lovely nostalgic throwback for techies of a certain vintage. It's also packed with a set of seriously useful features that make it a great addition to your setup.

This is a real monitor, shipping with a 3.5-inch IPS panel and a 178° viewing angle. The size means you're not going to be using this for your main display, but it does feature resolutions stretching from 800 x 600 to 2,560 x 1,600. 1600p might be a little small, however, on a display like this, versus the screen's recommended resolution of 960 x 640 for the sharpest images. Your mileage could vary, and the options do mean you can cycle through what works best for you, especially if you want to end up reading from the screen.

You get a decent set of connectivity with this Hagibis monitor, thanks to its built-in hub. It comes with SD and TF card slots, along with a USB-C port and two additional USB-A ports on the front, offering Gen 3.1 speeds. At the back, you get a 5V USB-C power connector, as well as an HDMI port and 3.5mm audio connector for speakers or headphones. There's also a USB-C port with a 'host' label, which you'll need to use to connect it to your USB to use it as a functional USB hub.

There's a big set of use cases for a display like this one: it's not just a gimmick. It looks great, so you can make your work or home office setup a bit more exciting to be around. It's also a good second display for notifications or small tasks you're working on.

For instance, it's a good option for using as an alarm clock or timer screen, or for keeping an eye on a Discord chat. You can also use it as a photo album or to keep an eye on your PC's health with usage and temperature stats. It's also big enough to stream videos from, keeping your main screen free for more important tasks. It has built-in widgets you can use if you run out of ideas, too, including ones that display a digital clock and ambient temperature.

This $79.99 Hagibis mini display is a brilliantly retro upgrade for your PC or laptop setup. The Amazon Black Friday sales are nearly over, however, and this price won't be around for long, so make sure to order it while you can.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, gaming chair, or CPU Deals pages.

You can also join the Tom's Hardware deals Discord for up-to-the-minute hardware deals.

"Entry-midrange" 16GB graphics cards have gotten expensive this year as prices for the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB and Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB have both risen far above their MSRPs. That sucks, since more and more games are demanding more than 8GB of VRAM for the best performance, especially at 1440p.

But if you want an attainable 16GB card at a reasonable price for great 1080p and 1440p gaming in demanding AAA titles, you can pick from four RX 9060 XT 16GB cards for $399.99 at Newegg right now after grabbing some on-page promo codes.

That's 14% above AMD's $349 MSRP, but way less than the $450-$460 these cards have been demanding of late, and it's the lowest price we've seen for 16GB graphics cards in a long time.

• Gigabyte Gaming RX 9060 XT 16GB: $399.99 at Newegg (with code)
• Asus Dual 9060 XT 16GB: $399.99 at Newegg (with code)
• ASRock Challenger RX 9060 XT 16GB: $399.99 at Newegg (with code)
• Sapphire Pulse RX 9060 XT 16GB: $399.99 at Newegg (with code)

As a baseline, the RX 9060 XT 16GB turns in nearly 100 FPS on average at 1080p in our raster gaming test suite and a comfortable 67.3 FPS at 1440p. And it grants you access to AMD's AI-powered FSR 4 upscaler and ML Frame Generation technology for an easy performance boost in supported titles.

And most critically, with 16GB of VRAM at its disposal, you won't fall off a performance cliff at higher resolutions or quality settings like you would with an 8GB card.

Here are the four affordable options you can choose from at Newegg right now. Make sure you grab the on-page promo code and apply it in your cart to get the lowest price.

In our most recent round of performance retesting, the RX 9060 XT 16GB goes neck-and-neck with the much more expensive RTX 5060 Ti 16GB at 1080p and 1440p in raster gaming. It falls behind the Blackwell card in RT.

But with RTX 5060 Ti 16GB cards selling for around $550 right now, even during Prime Day season, there's no real alternative to an RX 9060 XT 16GB if you're trying to get a relatively affordable 16GB GPU upgrade. If you've been sitting on the sidelines waiting for an affordable upgrade that will last longer than an 8GB GPU, now is the time to act.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, gaming chair, or CPU Deals pages.

All SSDs are expensive right now due to the AI-driven NANDpocalypse, but the biggest, densest drives are where you'll find the wildest prices. If you need a big drive at a reasonable cost under present conditions, you can get one for less at Woot. The WD Black SN850X, one of the fastest PCIe Gen4 drives around, is just $1199.99 right now, or about 15c/GB, which is a solid price in 2026.

• WD Black SN850X 8TB Gen4x4 SSD at Woot for $1199.99

This particular SN850X comes with a heatsink included, and you can either run it as-is or remove it for use with motherboards that have their own integrated SSD cooling solutions.

In our performance testing of the SN850X 8TB, it proved itself as one of the fastest Gen4 SSDs around, only getting consistently outclassed by PCIe Gen5 drives. And its large capacity didn't result in a performance falloff, as could sometimes happen with contemporary 8TB drives.

If you absolutely need 8TB of speedy NVMe storage on one M.2 2280 stick, as you might in order to fit as much space into one M.2 slot or external enclosure as you possibly can, this SN850X 8TB deal lets you get there for a relatively reasonable price even in today's crazy market. Don't sleep on it, as SSDs are among the most volatile and inflated PC components out there right now.

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Also, you can join the Tom's Hardware deals Discord for up-to-the-minute hardware deals.

Scalpers are moving in on AMD's Ryzen 7 5800X3D 10th Anniversary Edition. The new CPU, which is identical to the original but "re-engineered" for a new bonding process, is on sale officially today, June 29. We've been keeping track of inventory and haven't seen the chip available for more than a few minutes — and amid the flurry, scalpers are stepping in and asking for $600 or more for the chip on the secondhand market, sometimes doubling the CPU's $350 MSRP.

Over on eBay, most listings for the chip are above $600, with some asking for $750 or more. Worse, they've sold for that price. Looking at sold listings, at least two of the CPUs sold today, one for $540 and another for $585. Most of the listings just use the stock product photo, but some scalpers have an actual CPU in-hand.

Micro Center has the chip available for sale, standalone or as part of a bundle with a motherboard and RAM, and it's exclusively available in Micro Center stores. Presumably some scalpers went to buy a chip at Micro Center this morning to flip it on eBay in the afternoon.

Although it's easy to get caught up in the rush of a new release (or old release, in this case), we don't recommend giving into scalper prices. Rumors have circulated that the 10th Anniversary Edition is a limited-time run, but that's not the case. AMD says it plans on continuing to make the CPU, so we should see inventory stabilize eventually.

We have some placeholder listings available. Again, we've seen inconsistent inventory throughout the morning, so check back at these retailers regularly:

• 5800X3D 10th Anniversary Edition at Newegg
• 5800X3D 10th Anniversary Edition at Best Buy
• 5800X3D 10th Anniversary Edition at B&H

We've been checking retailer listings all morning, and we've only briefly seen the chip in stock. Online, some buyers claim they've secured a CPU through Newegg, but we haven't been able to successfully move through the checkout process yet. We also haven't seen the chip come back in stock on AMD's direct web store yet.

Because of that, it looks like retailers are doing something of a staggered rollout. There's a good chance we'll see more inventory released throughout the day, so make sure to check back at retailers.

We just re-reviewed the Ryzen 7 5800X3D to evaluate how the CPU stacks up to the current market at its new $350 suggested retail price. If you already have an AM4 motherboard and memory to go with the CPU, it's a good choice at $350. Otherwise, there are better options.

AMD's newer Ryzen 7 7600X3D is just as fast in applications, despite sporting fewer cores, and it's around 15% faster in games. Meanwhile, Intel's Core i7-14700K paired with DDR4 matches the 5800X3D in games and offers around twice the multithreaded performance. With DDR5, the Core i7-14700K wins across the board.

Prime Day 2026 is in full swing, and we’ve curated a list of SteelSeries products on sale during this window. There are some awesome deals on headsets and earbuds, keyboards, and mice. For example, the premium Arctis Nova Pro wireless gaming headset is now 34% off. I’ve owned these for a couple of years - they sound great, and I recommend them at the sub-$250 price point. Or there’s the more budget-conscious Active Nova 3X wireless headset, which is now only $76 (31% off). If you’re an earbud gamer, the wireless Arctic GameBuds are also on sale (24%).

• Check out Steelseries deals on Amazon

If you’re looking for a deal on keyboards, the Steelseries Apex Pro Mini, a 60% keyboard, is on sale for only $132.94, over $107 (45%) off retail and at an all-time low. If you need something a bit bigger with more functionality, the Apex Pro TKL Gen 3 is also on sale (27% and at its lowest price since mid-2025). Both of these wireless keyboards use Hall-effect magnetic switches (OmniPoint 3.0 from SteelSeries). I’ve always wanted a Hall-effect keyboard, and at this price, the Apex Pro TKL is hard for me to pass up, as I’ve been eyeing it for a while now.

Lastly, they have two versions of the Aerox 5 mouse (wired and wireless) on sale. The wired Aerox 5 is 36% off (now $64.11, down from $100), and the wireless version is down to $110 (35% off, $60 in savings). These aren’t at all-time lows, but they’re the best deals we’ve seen on the Aerox in a couple of months.

Check out all the SteelSeries deals below and upgrade your peripherals without putting a huge dent in your bank account.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, gaming chair, or CPU Deals pages.

AMD answered the demands of gamers and re-released the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, though not without compromise. Although the return of Zen 3 X3D has been a good idea for months, given the limited time we saw those chips on the market, this re-release comes with a surprisingly high price, considering the silicon and how it compares to the best CPUs for gaming.

Price is the biggest issue for the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. AMD shaved $100 off the original MSRP for the 10th Anniversary Edition re-release, but that puts it in very competitive waters, even considering current RAM prices. The CPU is flanked on one side by the Core i7-14700K that also supports DDR4 memory, and on the other by the Ryzen 5 7600X3D, which offers superior gaming performance and a lower price to offset the cost of a DDR5 platform.

The chip mainly appeals to those who already have an AM4 motherboard and memory to go with it, and who were unfortunate enough to miss the small window when you could buy the Ryzen 7 5800X3D a few years ago. In that situation, just about any price is a deal compared to the competition.

Otherwise, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is about $70 to $100 too expensive, and even that lower price would be questionable if DDR5 prices weren’t out of control. Although the chip has earned its legendary status among gamers, revisiting it in 2026 shows clearly that it maxes out what DDR4 platforms are capable of in games, and it falls far too short of the DDR4 competition in applications.

The island of AM4 users stranded without a clear upgrade path will love the 5800X3D re-release. But the chip is not nearly as impressive as it once was if you have to buy a motherboard and/or RAM alongside your CPU, however.

Some notes on this re-review

We don’t normally re-review products here at Tom’s Hardware, much less update existing reviews outside of some extraordinary circumstance. We will follow up reviews with additional coverage as needed, but our reviews are as much buying advice at the time they’re written as they are historical context years down the road. Reviews exist in the context in which they’re written.

That’s important because, especially with PC hardware, some good products can become worse over time and bad products can become good over time. Even in this past generation, AMD had several stumbles with Zen 5, which it addressed post-launch through a combination of firmware updates and exposing additional settings in the BIOS. Intel had some major regressions in performance with Arrow Lake, which it partially addressed after release with Core 200S Boost.

These products are better now than they were at launch, but it’s still important to know that they had issues at launch. That’s the function of our reviews. They’re a snapshot of how a particular component performs and compares to the rest of the market at a certain point in time. Our list of the best CPUs for gaming and CPU benchmark hierarchy pagesare where you’ll find the consistent updates on which chips are best at any given time.

That preamble is to say that this re-review of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D does not replace our original review, which is why this is a separate piece of content and not merely an update. We’re re-reviewing the chip because AMD is re-releasing it, and we need to compare the chip to the current market it exists in.

That market includes high memory prices, which is a driving force behind the re-release of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in the first place. We’re paying especially close attention to memory in this review, both in terms of price and performance. However, we’ve also brought some price-competitive DDR5 chips into the mix, including some of AMD’s own CPUs.

Finally, we’re reviewing the original Ryzen 7 5800X3D here. AMD says that the new 10th Anniversary Edition should be identical to the original model, but it’s using a slightly different bonding process, which could have a minor impact on power and thermals, in particular. We’ll be getting a 10th Anniversary Edition into the lab in order to find out, but we don’t expect major performance differences between the original and re-release versions.

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D specifications and pricing

It’s difficult to evaluate the specs of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D given the current market, so this is a refresher of what the processor offers and how it compares to some of the current options featured in our test suite. It’s an eight-core / 16-thread chip sporting AMD’s Zen 3 architecture, and it boosts up to 4.5 GHz, with a base clock of 3.4 GHz.

The chip is fabricated on TSMC’s 7nm FinFET process, with GlobalFoundries stepping in to fab the I/O die on its 12nm process. Of course, the main draw of the CPU is the 64MB chunk of SRAM that’s bonded to the compute die, giving the processor access to a total of 96MB of L3 cache.

In recent years, we’ve seen both AMD and Intel increase cache sizes broadly, not just on X3D CPUs. For instance, the Ryzen 7 9700X has the same 32MB of on-board L3 that we can see all the way back to Zen 3, but it has double the L2 cache. Intel has traditionally split L2 and L3 more evenly, and we’ve seen an increase in both with Arrow Lake and Arrow Lake Refresh.

Still, the huge boost in L3 helps a lot here. It comes with some thermal trade-offs, however. Although the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is a very efficient CPU, it also has careful power management. The SRAM sits on top of the compute die, insulating the cores from the IHS. This thermal design means the Ryzen 7 5800X3D has relatively low peak clock speeds out of the box, and it doesn’t officially support AMD’s Precision Boost Overdrive.

AMD has addressed that issue in newer X3D chips, riding the efficiency of Zen 4 with the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and moving to a new bonding process that situates the SRAM below the compute die with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

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Although the Ryzen 7 5800X3D was a revelation when it first released, it’s important to remember that it wasn’t leagues faster than Intel’s competing Alder Lake chips, at least not on the level of the 30%+ delta we see today with Arrow Lake and the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. The pedigree that 3D V-Cache has built comes in part from the newer X3D chips, and that’s clear when looking back at the Ryzen 7 5800X3D.

Even more clear is the split between DDR4 and DDR5. Now that we have Raptor Lake (and Refresh) as a comparison point, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D positions itself as the peak of what DDR4 platforms are capable of in games. It’s marginally faster than the Core i7-13700K and Core i7-14700K with DDR4 memory, 17% ahead of the Core i7-12700K with DDR4, and even 4.5% ahead of the Core i7-12700K with DDR5.

This wall that you can see, around 145 fps in our geomean, directly translates into a handful of the games we tested. Especially among the newer titles in our suite, simply moving to DDR5 memory results in more than a 31% increase in performance on the same CPU. That led to a handful of situations where both Raptor Lake CPUs perform worse than the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with DDR4, but offer double-digit improvements with DDR5.

Based on our RAM price tracker, a 32GB kit of DDR5-6000 runs between $400 and $450 currently, while a 32GB kit of DDR4-3200 will run you between $200 and $250. There are plenty of exceptions, for better and worse, but we’re going to call the price difference between DDR4 and DDR5, right now, about $200.

Establishing that number is important because of one CPU: AMD’s own Ryzen 5 7600X3D. It’s on the AM5 platform and requires DDR5, but it’s also $230, $120 less than what AMD is re-releasing the Ryzen 7 5800X3D at. Assuming our lowest RAM prices, that means the Ryzen 5 7600X3D is around 14% more expensive than the Ryzen 7 5800X3D when memory is brought into the price. But the Ryzen 5 7600X3D is also 18% more performant.

That’s the biggest hurdle standing in the way of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. Even if you already have DDR4 memory, the Ryzen 5 7600X3D and 16GB of DDR5-6000 is only around $80 more expensive, and much more performant. Plus, it gets you on an AM5 platform, setting up cheaper future upgrades (AMD says AM5 will receive support through at least 2029).

In Intel’s camp, the two Raptor Lake chips with DDR4 run up against a similar wall as the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, but offer around a 15% jump with DDR5. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D still makes sense if you already have an AM4 board. However, if you have to buy a motherboard, the Raptor Lake chips offer similar gaming performance with DDR4 and much better application performance, which we’ll get to next.

Elsewhere, there aren’t a lot of surprises. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is as efficient as ever, drawing just 77.5W on average in our testing. AMD has pushed efficiency even further now, but it’s remarkable to see the Ryzen 7 5800X3D offering similar performance as the Core i7-14700K with DDR4, while consuming half the power.

We also have our value geomean here, which is deceptive. Obviously the price of memory is a huge influence here, not only on total platform cost, but also on performance. The value geomean here just represents a true CPU-to-CPU comparison of value, devoid of RAM context.

007 First Light Benchmarks

The first game in our suite is the newest, which is 007 First Light. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D surprisingly struggles in this title, which is strange given how well IO Interactive’s previous title, Hitman 3, took to 3D V-Cache CPUs. Still, the Raptor Lake chips are ahead here, even with DDR4, and they claim top slots with DDR5.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Benchmarks

Baldur’s Gate 3 favors X3D chips, which is clear based on the fact that the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is just a touch behind the much newer Ryzen 7 9700X. The 5800X3D is also around 11% faster than the Raptor Lake chips with DDR4 memory. However, the Raptor Lake chips with DDR5 are about 20% faster than the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, while the Ryzen 5 7600X3D is around 35% faster.

Crimson Desert Benchmarks

In Crimson Desert, the 5800X3D outpaces the Raptor Lake competition by a few frames, but this game clearly favors faster memory. It also scales oddly well on Raptor Lake chips, as evidenced by the fact that the Core i7-14700K outclasses the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus.

Counter-Strike 2 Benchmarks

Counter-Strike 2 is more competitive, with only the Ryzen 7 7800X3D offering a clear lead above the rest of the pack. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is marginally ahead of the Raptor Lake chips with DDR4 here, and even moving to DDR5 doesn’t offer a significant improvement.

Cyberpunk 2077 Benchmarks

Cyberpunk 2077 is another clear example of the memory divide that’s growing between DDR4 and DDR5. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D tops the DDR4 rankings by a few frames, but moving to DDR5 on Raptor Lake offers roughly a 15% performance jump.

Doom: The Dark Ages Benchmarks

When we brought up a 31% gap in DDR4 and DDR5 performance earlier, we were referring to Doom: The Dark Ages. This is a fairly recent game that’s clearly designed with DDR5 in mind. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D does surprisingly well, though, offering a 10.8% jump over the Raptor Lake competition with DDR4.

F1 24 Benchmarks

F1 2024 slants heavily toward AMD processors, and it’s a game that scales well with 3D V-Cache. Here, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is around 5% faster than the Core i7-14700K with DDR5, and 13% faster with DDR4. The Ryzen 5 7600X3D spoils the fun a bit, though, offering a solid 10% jump over the 5800X3D.

Far Cry 6 Benchmarks

Final Fantasy XIV Benchmarks

Final Fantasy XIV scales well with X3D chips, with the three 3D V-Cache CPUs in our test pool topping the rankings. The 5800X3D takes a clear backseat to the DDR5 CPUs, but it still manages a solid 6.6% improvement over the Core i7-14700K with DDR5 and a 16% jump with DDR4.

Flight Simulator 2024 Benchmarks

Flight Simulator 24 leans back toward Intel, with the 5800X3D only managing to outclass the Core i7-12700K with DDR4. In this game, the Ryzen 5 7600X3D is around 18% faster, while the Core i7-14700K is 11% faster, even with DDR4.

Hogwarts Legacy Benchmarks

We can see a similar situation in Hogwarts Legacy, with the Core i7-14700K paired with DDR4 outpacing the Ryzen 7 5800X3D by about 12%. The Ryzen 5 7600X3D, meanwhile, is more than 20% ahead, while the Core i7-14700K with DDR5 marks a 25% lead.

Marvel Rivals Benchmarks

Marvel Rivals is an Unreal Engine 5 game, and it’s mostly bound by the GPU, which explains the stair-step pattern you can see in our data. We can see a clear divide between DDR4 and DDR5 platforms here, with even the Ryzen 5 7600X offering superior performance.

Minecraft RTX Benchmarks

Intel struggles in Minecraft, while X3D chips run away with performance. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D ends up in the middle of the pack, offering a clear buff of around 18% over the Raptor Lake competition but falling short of even AMD’s weaker DDR5 options.

Spider-Man 2 Benchmarks

Starfield Benchmarks

The Last of Us Part One Benchmarks

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The Ryzen 7 5800X3D was a weak CPU for productivity when it was released, and it hasn’t aged particularly well since then on that front. The clock speed is limited compared to non-X3D Zen 3 chips. Add to that the limitations of DDR4 platforms more broadly in non-gaming applications, and it's clear the 5800X3D was never destined for high marks here.

Even compared to the Ryzen 5 7600X3D, the 5800X3D is only 4.6% faster, which is bad considering the latter CPU has access to 33% more threads. Intel’s hybrid architecture boosts core counts, allowing Team Blue to dominate the top of our multithreaded performance rankings.

The CPU to call out here is the Core i7-14700K, particularly paired with DDR4 memory. It’s more than twice as fast as the 5800X3D in our multithreaded geomean, while offering similar gaming performance. Again, we can see this dilemma for the 5800X3D, where the 14700K is a better all-around CPU with DDR4, while the Ryzen 5 7600X3D is a superior DDR5 CPU for not much more money (even considering the price of DDR5).

Turning to single-threaded performance, the playing field levels out, short of the 5800X3D, which even loses out to the Ryzen 7 5700X due to its limited clock speed (the 5700X boosts 100 MHz higher).

Rendering Benchmarks

Rendering apps factor heavily in our overall multithreaded geomean, so the individual results here largely mirror what you can see in the geomean above. In Cinebench 2024, the Core i7-14700K with DDR4 still offers more than double the performance of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, and it pushes higher with DDR5. We can see a similar situation in the newer Cinebench 2026.

Single-core results are especially weak considering the Ryzen 7 5800X3D’s limited boost potential. DDR5 isn’t much of a factor here. Although we can see some scaling on the Raptor Lake platforms when moving to DDR5, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is limited in rendering apps, even by DDR4 standards.

Blender shows similar disparities, with the six-core Ryzen 5 7600X3D largely matching the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, despite sporting a 33% reduction in thread count.

The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is a gaming CPU, pure and simple, so we never expected any miracles here. However, the Ryzen 5 7600X3D is offering comparable performance on a DDR5 platform for less money, while shooting ahead in games. And the Core i7-14700K offers much better productivity performance and comparable gaming performance, even when paired with DDR4.

Encoding Benchmarks

Encoding is similarly a major factor in our geomean, though with a more even split between lightly- and heavily-threaded workloads. Starting with the latter, Handbrake is an all-out workload for any consumer CPU that leans on high core counts, power limits, and clock speeds. With an x265 10-bit encode, even the Core i7-12700K with DDR4 is 39% ahead of the 5800X3D, while the Core i7-14700K with DDR4 shoots ahead, scoring 82% lead. AV1 and X264 show similar gaps.

The LAME audio encoder provides a closer look at single-threaded encoding workloads, and once again, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D struggles. It was the worst performer in the test pool running a standard LAME encode, and the gap between it and the more performant options in our test pool only grows in the extended run.

Creator App Benchmarks

Perhaps the biggest area of crosstalk with gaming is creator applications. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is a bit more impressive here compared to our rendering and encoding workloads, often matching the Core i7-12700K with DDR4 memory. Still, it ends up at the bottom of our rankings, with newer Raptor Lake and DDR5 CPUs offering better performance.

Photoshop is an app that leans toward AMD chips, though that’s mainly with newer Zen 5 chips. For the 5800X3D, the Core i7-14700K offers a 10% performance jump with DDR4. Things are a bit more competitive in Premiere Pro, with the limitation of DDR4 platforms becoming abundantly clear in our data.

Outside of the Adobe suite, we have DaVinci Resolve, which isn’t as lopsided as Photoshop with recent AMD CPUs. Here, even DDR4 Raptor Lake options are near the top of the chart. The 5800X3D secures a minor win over the 7600X3D and 5700X, but not by a meaningful margin.

Finally, After Effects offers a look at VFX performance. AMD’s 5800X3D especially struggles here, with the Core i7-12700K with DDR4 offering a 13% boost in overall performance. With DDR5, that lead jumps to 22.9%.

Web and Office Benchmarks

In lighter web and office workloads, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D still struggles. Most basic productivity and web applications are lightly-threaded, so it makes sense to see the 5800X3D would fall below the marks we can see in creator apps. Across all of the workloads here, the 5800X3D is either at the bottom of the pile or just narrowly outclasses the 5700X.

That doesn’t mean you’ll run into major performance issues. The workloads here are relatively light, and they’re suitable for far weaker CPUs than the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. We’re mainly looking at general application performance for browsers and lightly-threaded apps here, which is an area where the 5800X3D struggles.

Chess Engines, Compilation, Compression, AVX, and Other Benchmarks

Finally, we have a range of benchmarks examining code compilation, chess engines, database workloads, and far more. The 5800X3D is a gaming CPU, and these workloads are highly targeted at specific applications. There are some workloads where the 5800X3D shines, such as the ebizzy web server test, SQLite database test, and Linpack. However, it mostly lands at the bottom of the pile when looking at workloads more broadly.

We’ve certainly seen a benefit from a larger L3 cache for specialized workloads (see our Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 review for more), but that’s not the draw here. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is weak in most productivity apps, so unless you plan on running a server and somehow gaming on the same machine, I wouldn’t weigh these results too heavily.

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AMD’s X3D CPUs are known for their efficiency, and although those efficiency gains mainly show up with the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, the 5800X3D is no slouch. Power is carefully limited on the chip, with it peaking at just 119W in our y-cruncher test. In the same test, the Core i7-14700K drew 335W.

Y-cruncher leverages AVX instructions, pushing the Ryzen 7 5800X3D to consume more power compared to the 7800X3D. In an all-out, non-AVX workload like Cinebench 2024, the two CPUs are in lockstep. Again, we can see the Raptor Lake competition dancing with 300W across configurations.

Blender and Handbrake tell a similar story, but efficiency is what’s important here, given how broad the performance window is for the chips in our test pool (particularly in applications). The 5800X3D is much more efficient than the 13700K and 14700K. The margins are also narrower than raw power consumption.

The efficiency picture is clearer with a scatterplot, where we can see a clear separation between the AMD and Intel chips in our test pool. Short of the Core Ultra 270K Plus, there’s a compromise. AMD’s options are much less performant but consume far less power, while Intel's options are generally the opposite.

One upside of the 5800X3D, in particular, is its low idle power consumption. With Zen 4 and Zen 5, we saw a massive increase in power consumption in both idle and active idle (YouTube playback) scenarios. With both the Zen 3 chips in our test pool, we can see a return to single-digit power draw under idle circumstances.

Test Setup

We try to minimize the differences between our test platforms to keep our results consistent, which is especially important here given that we used so many different platforms. Even with big differences, we used the same OS image that’s specifically tailored for testing and frozen to avoid updates skewing our results as we test.

In addition to standardising our OS, we standardise our BIOS settings. We test with XMP/EXPO enabled on memory kits that we’ve validated for stability on the platforms we use. We also disable VBS in the BIOS and turn on ReBAR.

Modern AMD and Intel CPUs come with sophisticated boosting algorithms, but they aren’t always covered by warranty. AMD doesn’t cover PBO, for instance, and Intel doesn’t warranty the “Extreme” power profile that’s common on motherboards. Because of the lack of warranty coverage, we test with PBO disabled and Intel’s power profile set at its default settings.

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At $350, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D really only makes sense if you already have an AM4 motherboard and DDR4 memory to go along with it. That’s not a small audience, especially considering the relatively short time the original Ryzen 7 5800X3D was available on the market. But if you need to buy a motherboard and/or memory for your upgrade, there are better options at this price.

The 5800X3D re-release is a victim of poor pricing. The chip taps out DDR4 platforms in gaming performance, but we’re closing in on half a decade with mainstream DDR5 platforms, and we’ve seen much more powerful CPUs in that time. And yet, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D’s price hasn’t moved significantly away from its original $450 MSRP.

If RAM prices weren’t out of control, a $350 price tag on the Ryzen 7 5800X3D would look insane given the current options around that price. As I’m writing this, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is on sale for less than $350. And even considering current RAM prices, the Core i7-14700K and Ryzen 5 7600X3D are compelling alternatives.

On the productivity front, the Core i7-14700K is a clear winner, even with DDR4 memory. There are some titles where the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is faster than the Core i7-14700K is when paired with DDR4. But overall, they offer similar gaming performance. Especially now that AMD has turned its attention to AM5, the Core i7-14700K is a better all-around option if you don’t already have an AM4 motherboard.

Although AMD almost always comes out on top with platform longevity, Intel is surprisingly ahead in that regard in the Ryzen 7 5800X3D versus Core i7-14700K matchup. Intel is reportedly set to launch Raptor Lake Next on the LGA 1700 socket next year, though I suspect any performance benefits that come along with it will require an upgrade to DDR5.

On the gaming front, the Ryzen 5 7600X3D does a lot of work. It requires DDR5, but that’s partially offset by the fact that it’s $120 cheaper than the 5800X3D. Factoring in RAM or not, spending a bit more on the Ryzen 5 7600X3D not only nets you much higher performance in games, it also gives you an AM5 platform that you can easily upgrade in the future.

That doesn’t discredit the island that AM4 users are currently on. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D left the market fairly quickly, and given the popularity of AM4, it stands to reason that there’s a large group of people for whom the 5800X3D is a significant upgrade. For that group, it’s the CPU of legend you’ve heard so much about. But if you’re planning on buying a motherboard and/or RAM with your new CPU, shop around a bit more.

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B&H is getting in on the bundle action. We've seen a big uptick in bundle deals over the last several months, as it's becoming the ideal way to build a PC during the RAMpocalypse. The retailer is offering around 80 bundles at the time of writing, some much better than others. We've found a handful of options on DDR5 platforms that get the memory down to around $250.

• Check out PC component combos at B&H

Typically, with a bundle deal, you'll get a small discount on a bundle of components available at MSRP — maybe $20 to $30 for a small bundle, or upwards of $50 or $100 for a large one. These bundles are a bit different. RAM pricing is a major factor in building a new PC, so we're evaluating the bundles at B&H in a slightly different way.

B&H doesn't list the prices of individual components in a bundle, so we've shopped around to find the going price on each of the components individually, and then evaluated the RAM pricing in that context. We'll walk through what we found as we cover the bundles below.

First up is a bundle including the fastest CPU for gaming currently on the market, AMD's Ryzen 7 9850X3D. B&H has the CPU paired with the Asus ProArt X870E-Creator motherboard and 32GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 memory. If you bought the components on their own with current sales prices, you'd spend about $1,415 (just slightly off the $1,409.99 MSRP B&H quotes). With the bundle, you get everything for $1,259.99.

Taking into account the cost of the other components, the memory here is about $260. That's the most expensive of the lot we have here, but it's a downright bargain compared to buying the memory on its own. Right now, you'll spend about $410 to $420 on this kit of memory, depending on where you buy it.

As for performance, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D is the fastest gaming CPU currently on the market. The base Ryzen 7 9800X3D isn't far behind (about 3% to 4%), but if you want to squeeze every last drop of performance out of your gaming rig, the 9850X3D is what you're after.

The bundle here comes with Corsair's standard Vengeance DDR5-6000 without lighting. If you want RGB, B&H is offering the same bundle with RGB RAM for for $14 more.

For something a bit more reasonably priced, B&H has a bundle around the Ryzen 7 7700X for $589.99. This bundle opts for the much cheaper Asus B650E Max Gaming motherboard, vastly reducing the price of the overall bundle (the ProArt board is north of $450). This bundle comes with just 16GB of DDR5-6000 memory, but it's also about half the price of the Ryzen 7 9850X3D bundles.

To buy all of these components right now, you'll spend about $650. Keep in mind that price is account for current sales as well. As you can see from our roundup of the best Prime Day CPU deals, the Ryzen 7 7700X is on a deep discount right now. With regular pricing, this bundle of components would easily reach into the $750 range. With current pricing, the memory clocks in at $210, but again, the discount is far greater if you look at the typical street price for the other components.

The Ryzen 7 7700X doesn't have the gaming prowess of AMD's more expensive X3D CPUs, but it's still a solid all-around option, especially at this price.

As you can see from our benchmarks above, the chip offers gaming performance that's competitive with Intel's Core i5-13600K, falling just short of the newer Ryzen 5 9600X and Core Ultra 5 250K Plus. Critically, however, this bundle unlocks an AM5 platform, giving you access to a future Ryzen 7 9800X3D upgrade in the future.

Again, we're opting for the lowest price here, which is a bundle with stock Corsair Vengeance memory. If you want the RGB version, B&H has it available at a $5 upcharge.

Meeting in the middle of the other two bundles is a combo deal with the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. Although the newer Ryzen 7 9800X3D is more powerful, last-gen's 7800X3D still beats just about every other gaming CPU on the market.

Using the lowest current sales on all of these items, you'll spend about $1,113 on them individually. That includes a discount on the Ryzen 7 7800X3D that's taken it down below $350, as well. The chip normally sells for around $380 to $400. Even with the sales prices, the kit of memory here costs around $170 assuming you bought the other components at their current sales price.

The motherboard here and in the 9850X3D bundle above accounts for a large portion of the cost; the ProArt X870E Creator is about $500. That's not a price gouge. The ProArt X870E Creator is just a flagship board, and it comes with a price to match. It includes two PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots, along with dual LAN, sporting a 2.5Gb and 10Gb port. We gave the previous version high marks in our Asus ProArt X670E Creator review.

These are the best bundle deals we found at B&H, but you can shop the whole collection now. Currently, the sales are set to expire on June 27.

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Asus has started rolling out beta BIOS updates that restore Transparent Secure Memory Encryption (TSME) support to several AM5 motherboards, making it one of the first board vendors to implement AMD’s promised fix after the company was criticized for quietly removing the feature from non-Pro Ryzen CPUs.

According to VideoCardz, the beta BIOS files — which cover several ROG Crosshair, ROG Strix, TUF Gaming, and ProArt boards based on AMD’s X870, B850, and X670 chipsets — were reportedly shared through the ASUS ROG forum by overclocker SAFEDISK and include support for “GNR Transparent Secure Memory Encryption,” with GNR referring to Granite Ridge, AMD’s Ryzen 9000 desktop CPU family.

The BIOS updates are based on AGESA ComboAM5 PI 1.3.0.1b Patch A and appear to restore TSME support for non-Pro Ryzen 9000 processors earlier than AMD’s previously stated July timeline. X870 boards mostly move to BIOS 2401; B850 boards move to BIOS 1686; and X670 boards move to BIOS 3901 or 3886, depending on the model.

AMD officially confirmed to Tom's Hardware last week that it will reinstate memory encryption on Ryzen 9000 CPUs via a BIOS update, following “valuable community feedback.” AMD users had strongly expressed disapproval after the company silently removed TSME support from Non-Pro CPUs. TSME is a security feature that protects CPUs against physical exploits by encrypting the data stored in memory, making it unusable to physical attackers.

A user discovered that the feature was no longer available on his Ryzen 7 9700X system, even though it was enabled in the BIOS. Further testing involving MSI showed that consumer Ryzen chips could report TSME support under older firmware, but not after a newer AGESA update, while Ryzen Pro processors continued to support it. After countless reactions, AMD moved to fix the issue, setting July as the timeline for reinstating the feature via a BIOS update.

The Asus update now suggests the fix is beginning to arrive earlier than AMD’s July timeline, positioning the company as one of the first board makers to package the reinstatement into actual motherboard firmware. However, this is not yet the broad, stable rollout most users will be waiting for. The files are beta BIOS releases shared through the ASUS ROG forum, so users who specifically need TSME may want to track them closely, while anyone running a production or stability-critical system should probably wait for final BIOS builds.

It's common knowledge that it's a bad time to buy a graphics card right now, since prices have surged and are likely to continue rising. However, Newegg's FantasTech Sale has one custom GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics card that is currently the most affordable. The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Eagle OC Ice SFF 16G is up to 20% off the regular price, with a nice $220 in savings if you click the Discount Available section of the listing to claim your discount.

• Check out the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Eagle OC Ice SFF 16G deal on Newegg

The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Eagle OC Ice SFF 16G comes equipped with the WindForce cooler, Gigabyte's triple-fan cooling solution for lower temperatures and noise levels. The graphics card also employs Hawk-branded fans with an eagle-wing-inspired blade design to improve airflow. It also uses server-grade thermally conductive gel to enhance heat dissipation.

The graphics card features a boost clock speed of 2,497 MHz, a 4% factory overclock above Nvidia's reference GeForce RTX 5070 Ti specifications. The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Eagle OC Ice SFF 16G has the dual BIOS functionality that lets you toggle between performance and silent profiles with a physical button on the graphics card.

The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is the top choice if you want an exceptional gaming experience at 1440p (2560x1440) resolution. You can enjoy the latest games with remarkable image quality and high frame rates. The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is also capable of handling 4K (3840x2160) gaming, but you'll need to keep your expectations in check in some of the more graphics-demanding games.

If you're set on a GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Eagle OC Ice SFF 16G from Newegg will save you over $200. It's not a bad deal, considering the current graphics card market and the fact that it'll likely worsen over time.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

If you're craving a big monitor mostly for productivity purposes, this 37-inch monster from Samsung is half off today at B&H, or just $249. That's over $100 less than its lowest-ever price at Amazon and $150 more than its current price at Best Buy, making this this perhaps the best monitor deal so far this year.

• Check out this deal at B&H

Just note this is very much not a gaming monitor, as evidenced by its locked 60 Hz refresh rate and 5 ms response time. You certainly could game on it, but it lacks pretty much every modern gaming screen feature, save for its high resolution.

Aside from price, the 37-inch size is this monitor's major selling point, as it's pretty rare, sitting between typical 32-inch screens the truly large 40-42-inch monitors. If you're rocking a 27-inch or 32-inch monitor and looking for a size upgrade without spending a lot, this is a no-brainer so long as there's room for it on your desk.

As someone who has used TVs as monitors for over a decade, I can vouch for the value of a larger screen for work tasks. And I can't think of a time when I've seen a better combination of low price, large size, and high (3840 x 2160) resolution. If I didn't already have a spare 4K monitor in a closet (plus two 4K TVs I use as monitors), I would have ordered one of these already. I'd consider buying one anyway, but this is too big to fit in my closet.

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In a world where memory is no longer a commodity but a strategically valuable asset, customers are eager to sign long-term supply agreements (LTAs) with their suppliers to ensure a steady supply of 3D NAND and/or DRAM. Micron this week announced that it had signed 16 strategic customer agreements (SCAs), 14 of which are worth around $100 billion. Furthermore, the company expects to receive cash deposits and other commitments worth $22 billion, but has warned there is no foreseeable end in sight to the RAM crisis driving up PC component prices.

“14 of the 16 SCAs that we have signed have a cumulative revenue at minimum price per our contracts of approximately $100 billion over the remaining agreement term,” a statement by Micron reads. “Under the SCAs we have signed so far, we project to receive cash deposits and related financial commitments of $22 billion.”

Based on Micron’s claims, the company has about $100 billion of guaranteed baseline revenue already locked in under 14 of those 16 strategic customer agreements, assuming customers only buy the minimum committed volumes and only pay the minimum contract price. In reality, Micron can earn more if customers buy higher volumes or pay higher prices. Furthermore, Micron expects customers who signed these long-term SCAs to put up real money up front — or make equivalent binding financial commitments — as part of reserving future memory supply.

Micron claims it has signed strategic customer agreements with four 'very large customers' and three 'medium-sized customers,' which means that the contracts were inked with clients that previously did not commit to LTAs. The contracts are signed with a five-year term (except the automotive LTAs, which have a term of three years), from calendar 2026 to calendar 2030.

Micron claims that memory supply will be insufficient in 2027 and may improve gradually only in 2028. To that end, it is not surprising that its clients are willing to sign LTAs for 3D NAND and DRAM to ensure that they have enough memory for their products.

"With respect to supply, our customers are recognizing that supply shortages in memory and storage will take considerable time to improve," said Sanjay Mehrotra, chief executive of Micron, in prepared remarks. "Even as we expect industry supply to improve gradually in 2028, we currently do not have line of sight as to when memory supply will be able to catch up with increasing demand."

Normally, Micron and other memory producers inked LTAs with select clients only (read: with Apple, Nvidia). 16 LTAs is a lot for this kind of arrangement, and this looks like a business model shift for the company. It is noteworthy that the 16 signed contracts represent roughly 20% of Micron's DRAM volume and 33% of the company's NAND volume over the period through 2030. That said, Micron may sign more LTAs with more companies.

Earlier this week, readers went ballistic for the Corsair Xeneon Edge LCD touchscreen discount, to the point that we actually sold out the device over at Corsair. Now, it's back in stock with a discount on all three models of 20%, saving you $50 on the list price of $199.

• Check out this deal on the Corsair website.

Corsair's little touchscreen can be used either as a standalone display on your desk, mounted to any metal surface with magnets, or integrated directly into the side panel of select Corsair cases as a unique PC display.

The Xeneon Edge display has a 2560 x 720 resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate. At this size, that's more than enough for a diminutive display. Connectivity is provided by either HDMI or USB-C DP Alt Mode. There's also a separate mounting arm you can buy.

You can use the Xeneon Edge for a variety of different things. It can be used as a media control center, voice communication screen for Discord, or as a screen for comments and chat while you're streaming.

The AHVA panel should ensure a wide viewing angle, which is especially handy if you want to use it as a PC monitoring tool. With iCue integration, you can use it to monitor all of your PC's vital signs, including temperatures for your GPU and CPU. You can even 3D print your own accessories for the Edge to customize it.

A few people might argue that you should just get one of the best budget 4K monitors or best portable monitors if you’re really intent on getting more screen real estate. But if tabletop space is at a premium for your desktop PC, this might just give you the best of both worlds. It’s also a great accessory for those who simply want to build the best battle station, and you can get the Xeneon Edge straight from Corsair at just $199.99.

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These days, good Wi-Fi signal is a basic human necessity, sitting fairly low on Maslow's pyramid of needs, just above food, water, and shelter. Routers provided by your internet service provider tend to be made by the cheapest contractor, and frequently don't throw Wi-Fi beyond its immediate vicinity, and choke and sputter with more than a couple connected devices. That's why today's deal on the TP-Link Archer BE550 Wi-Fi 7 router is so darn appetizing for just $149.99, thanks to this Amazon Prime Deal, 40% off its regular price, and an all-time low.

• TP-Link Archer BE550 router at Amazon for $149.99

This box o' antennas counts a total of six signal emitters, enough to cover most U.S. households. TP-Link says the array should provide Wi-Fi signals over four bedrooms, but we figure that's a conservative estimate for wooden constructions. The speeds can go up to a combined 9.3 Gbps, split between 5.8 Gbps over the 6 GHz band (Wi-Fi 7), 2.9 Gbps on 5 GHz, and 574 Mbps on good ol' 2.4 GHz. It's worth noting that on recent phones and tablets, the router's Multi-Link Operation will let a device use both 6 GHz and 5 GHz bands simultaneously.

The goodies don't stop there, either. While most modern routers have just the one higher-speed Ethernet wired port, the Archer BE550 comes with a full complement of 2.5 Gbps connectors — one for the Internet connection, and four for LAN devices. Since most PC motherboards in the past few years have 2.5 Gbps or 5 Gbps ports, this router lets you take full advantage of them. More than a few techies buy their own switches for this purpose, and this router obviates that expense and annoyance.

Additional niceties include most you'd expect in a modern Wi-Fi 7 router: support for multiple types of VPN servers, a USB port for sharing a hard drive on the network, mesh network capabilities, per-device QoS (ex, for prioritizing gaming devices), tagged VLANs, and many others. Get the TP-Link Archer BE550 for just $149.99 at Amazon.

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microSD Express cards are quite expensive, but they’re the only solution if you want to expand the storage on your Nintendo Switch 2. So, if you’re looking to play more games on your console, now is your chance to score a 512GB Samsung P9 microSD Express for $80 off at B&H. This is a massive 40% discount from the card’s original $199.99 price, meaning you can get it for just $119.99. However, you must act fast as this is a limited-time deal valid only for today. If you miss out on the B&H deal or don’t need that much extra storage, the 256GB version of the Samsung P9 is also on sale at Amazon. You’ll get an even bigger 50% discount, slashing the price of the microSD Express card from $79.99 to just $39.99 — that’s a savings of $40 if you get it today.

• Check out the 512GB Samsung P9 microSD Express deal on B&H
• Check out the 256GB Samsung P9 microSD Express deal on Amazon

The Switch 2 is Nintendo’s next-generation handheld console, and while it received upgraded hardware that delivered better performance, its on-board storage is a measly 256GB. So, if you want to play several AAA titles, you really need to install external storage. Unfortunately, it requires microSD Express cards if you want to play games directly from the storage expansion slot, and they’re quite pricey. This is especially true since we’re in the middle of the worst memory and storage chip crisis in history, which is now affecting even memory cards and flash drives. So, if you’re in the market for a storage upgrade on your handheld console but the prices seem out of reach, you should take this limited opportunity to get a microSD Express card at a steep discount.

The Samsung P9 might not be the best of the best microSD express cards for the Nintendo Switch 2 you can get today, but it still ranked as the best 256GB budget card in our testing. And now that it’s on sale, its value proposition just went way up for those who don’t mind waiting a few extra seconds when transferring files and games between their console and storage medium. It even comes with a three-year warranty, which is longer than the usual one-year warranty that other brands give.

These microSD Express cards would go well with these other Switch 2 accessories that are on sale to help you save money while leveling up your handheld console gaming experience. However, note that these are available for a limited time only, so if you’ve decided on getting a 512GB microSD Express card for your Switch 2, head on over to B&H and snag one while it’s available. Alternatively, you can also get the 256GB version at a much more affordable price on Amazon.

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Prime Day 2026 is in full swing with discounts on almost every PC part you can think of. To that end, Logitech wasn’t missing out on the fun and has several of its gaming mice on sale. In fact, there are eight, and many of them with a significant 40% (or more) discount. And the best part, these aren’t affected by the AI boom and memory shortage, so it’s not like the pricing is coming down from unreasonable levels, either.

• Check out these deals on Amazon

You’ll see budget favorites like the basic G203 wired gaming mouse, which is available for under $19, and others like the high-end G Pro 2 can now be found for $85 (from $150) with several in between, including the popular G502 Lightspeed wireless gaming mouse ($72 - from $120) that I used myself. While these aren't their newest mice, they are all plenty capable, no matter what genre you play.

In short, there's something for almost every gamer in this pile of stellar discounts. Whether you use a claw grip or a palm grip, play FPS, RTS, or other game genres, Logitech has you covered. We've listed all of the Prime Day deals below. If these great deals don’t tickle your fancy, you can look at our Best Amazon Prime Day PC peripherals deals 2026 article for even more options in multiple categories.

If you're in the market for a new mouse, these Logitech deals are some of the best we've seen across all major brands. From a $18 budget ditty to a $114 high-end mouse, there's a mouse for you in these deals. You can also check out our Best Amazon Prime Day PC peripherals deals 2026 article for even more options in multiple categories, like mice, keyboards, headset, and more.

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A prebuilt gaming PC is one of the easiest ways to get a fully assembled system without the hassles of compatibility and the higher cost of sourcing individual components. If you are on the lookout for a fully assembled gaming PC, the iBuyPower Y40 is selling at a phenomenal value of $1,749 over at Walmart. Originally priced at $2,499.99, this limited-period offer saves you $750.99 if you purchase the prebuilt PC online.

• Check out this deal on Walmart

According to iBuyPower, the prebuilt PC is suitable for anyone looking to upgrade their desktop PC for gaming, streaming, and video editing. It is an all-AMD system including the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which is currently our pick as the best gaming CPU on the market, featuring 8 cores, 16 threads, a base clock of 4.7 GHz, and boost speeds of up to 5.2 GHz. It comes with AMD's second-generation 3D V-Cache technology, providing a massive 96MB of L3 cache to improve gaming performance. The Radeon RX 9070XT handles graphics duties, which is currently AMD's most well-rounded graphics card offering performance that is almost similar to the RTX 5070 Ti for far less money.

The rest of the components include 32GB of DDR5 5200 MT/s memory, a 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD, a B650 motherboard with onboard Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and an 850W 80 Plus Gold power supply unit. All of the parts are housed inside the Hyte Y40, which is a fishtank-style case with three 120mm ARGB fans and an iBuyPower AW4 360mm AIO liquid cooler. Included with the prebuilt gaming PC is the iBuyPower Chimera KM7 RGB bundle, which is an entry-level keyboard and mouse combo.

As you can see from our testing, the 9800X3D excels in gaming titles and will serve you well for years to come as the solid foundation of a gaming PC, even paving the way for upgrading the GPU in a few years without bottlenecking it.

Considering all the parts, the iBuyPower Y40 should offer excellent value for anyone looking to jump straight into high-end PC gaming, especially at its discounted price of $1,749. The combination of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Radeon RX 9070 XT makes it particularly appealing for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming and even 4K gaming in certain modern titles. If you've been waiting for a powerful prebuilt gaming PC without spending well over $2,000, this Walmart deal is definitely worth considering.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, gaming chair, or CPU Deals pages.

Chinese companies are paying as much as 600,000 Chinese Yuan ($82,000) for servers built around Nvidia's five-year-old A100 accelerator and modifying gaming GPUs to run AI workloads, as a U.S. smuggling crackdown and a Chinese customs freeze on legally approved chips choke off every other supply route at once, according to the Financial Times. The price of an A100 server has roughly tripled since late last year, while Nvidia's flagship DGX B300 system has doubled to more than 8 million ($1.1 million) on the black market over the past six months.

Servers built on the A100, a data-center GPU Nvidia launched in 2020, have climbed from about 200,000 Chinese Yuan ($22,300) to as much as 600,000 ($67,000) since late last year, the FT reported, citing chip traders. Demand has also pulled in gaming processors that can be modified to run inference.

Nvidia's restricted Blackwell hardware sits at the top of the same market: the RTX 6000 Pro workstation card has risen from roughly 50,000 Chinese Yuan ($5,580) at the start of the year to as much as 130,000 ($14,500), and the DGX B300, which retails in the U.S. for nearly $400,000, now trades above $1.1 million. Renting is no cheaper, with an FT survey finding that GPU rates inside China now match or exceed U.S. prices, reversing the discount that the abundant smuggled supply once provided.

Washington tightened enforcement at the end of last year, and in March, a Supermicro co-founder was charged over an alleged $2.5 billion scheme to route Nvidia AI servers to Chinese buyers. Authorities in Taiwan and Malaysia subsequently opened their own smuggling investigations, drying up the re-export routes traders had relied on. Building data centers from smuggled chips is a "dead-end," Nvidia told the outlet, adding that it provides no support or repairs for restricted products.

Beijing itself closed legal channels from the other side. After the Trump administration approved H200 exports to China, Chinese customs were instructed to block the chips at the border, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later confirmed that Nvidia hadn't sold a single H200 to a Chinese company months later. Both moves push buyers toward the same destination: Huawei, which has positioned its Ascend 950PR, launched in March, as the inference chip of choice for domestic firms.

It’s understood that the 950PR is currently undergoing testing at large data center clients in China, but output is still limited, and its native CANN software stack substantially trails Nvidia’s CUDA, so domestic supply can’t yet absorb the demand the import freeze has redirected.

Rising memory prices are only compounding all this, with one trader saying that moving away from Nvidia hardware had become harder as component costs climbed, a knock-on from the DRAM and HBM shortage now working through every tier of the AI hardware stack. Until Huawei scales the 950PR, which will take some time, or Beijing greenlights H200 imports, which is highly unlikely, prices for the remaining A100 inventory in China will continue to rise.

The best deal on gaming RAM we've seen so far on Prime Day isn't even on Amazon. You can pick up 32GB of fast DDR5 RAM for the equivalent of just $215 right now, thanks to this Newegg combo bundle, which combines 32GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 memory with a Gigabyte X870 Aorus Elite Wifi 7 Ice motherboard for $479.99.

That's a good mid-tier board for an all-white AM5 build, but let's be honest, it's the RAM you care about. If you want an Intel alternative, though, you can spend a dollar less and pick up the same RAM, in black, for the equivalent of just $214. Alongside the same spec Corsair Vengeance 32GB DDR5 kit, you're getting a Gigabyte Z890 Aorus Master Ultra Core board instead for $563.98.

● Check out this AMD combo deal with RAM for $215 on Newegg ($479.99 total)

● Check out this Intel combo deal with RAM for $214 on Newegg ($563.98 total)

An AMD gaming PC build is the clear favorite among gamers at the moment, so let's focus on that kit deal first.

You're getting a Gigabyte X870E Aorus Elite Wi-Fi 7 motherboard to start off your build or upgrade. This is a solid, mid-tier motherboard with a feast of gaming-friendly features to sink your teeth into. It's AM5, so this will fit all the latest AMD CPUs, and comes with a total of 12 USBs at the rear, including two USB-C ports rated at 40 Gbps. Four M.2 sockets are included for a collection of SSDs (if you've got them), with three rated for PCIe 5.0 over four lanes when you're using a CPU like the 9800X3D. One further slot is rated for PCIe 4.0 SSDs, too. It comes with fast networking capabilities, including 2.5G Ethernet and Wi-Fi 7. You can also install up to 256GB of DDR5 RAM over four DIMM slots, with speeds of up to 8,200 MT/s, although this bundle only ships with 32GB.

The board itself is white, so while it isn't a must-have, it'll go well with an all-white build, including the case. You're getting a fast set of 32GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5 RAM, in a kit of 2 x 16GB, supporting speeds of 6,000 MT/s. Corsair is a popular and trusted brand for RAM, and while it performs well, it also looks great, with ten-zone configurable lighting on top of a matching all-white body.

The total cost of the bundle is $479.99, with the motherboard costing $224.99 individually. That makes the RAM just $215, which is around $135 less than the cheapest equivalent kit on sale, anywhere else.

Intel fans can choose this deal instead, however. 32GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 RAM, this time in black, with a Gigabyte Z890 Aorus Master Ultra Core motherboard, which scored well in our review. As we said then, this is a good choice that gives you everything you'd want from a mid-tier gaming motherboard.

It ships with a good selection of USB ports, with 14 in total on the rear I/O. Ultra-fast 10G Ethernet is included here, along with WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity. You get five M.2 sockets, as well as two that support Gen 5 SSDs. It's a build-friendly board for novice PC builders, too, supporting a number of Gigabyte's 'EZ' DIY-friendly features to help put a PC together more quickly. This'll support Intel CPUs with the LGA 1851 socket type, including the latest Arrow Lake CPUs like the new Intel Core Ultra 270K Plus.

RAM is the big one, though. Again, 32GB DDR5 Corsair Vengeance, split over two 16GB modules, with RGB lighting. Two modules mean this is dual-channel memory, so your PC will have double the available bandwidth between the RAM and CPU. The end result is a boost in frame rates and significantly better load times when both modules are installed. The RAM cost here is equivalent to just $214, a $1 cheaper than the AMD bundle, but the cost overall is higher.

Variety is the spice of life, and you've got two solid RAM bundles from Newegg to choose from here that will save you $135 or more compared to buying any rival RAM with the same specs separately. The AMD bundle for $479.99, which brings the RAM cost down to $215, is almost unbeatable, but the Intel bundle for $563.98, making the RAM $214, is unstoppable, too. Pick either of them fast, though, because these prices are too good to last, and they will sell out quickly.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

If you want a massive OLED gaming monitor for work and play, this MSI 49-inch ultrawide behemoth is now just $699 in Newegg's Prime Day rival sale.

Usually priced at $849, this $150 saving gets you a massive 49-inch panel with HDR 400, 144Hz refresh rate, and more.

• Grab this deal at Newegg

While there are Prime Day monitor sales aplenty, Amazon can't match this Newegg price on the 491CQP. This monitor would be ideal for someone who wants an expansive display for productivity as well as gaming, and it's the perfect alternative to a setup with lots of different monitors scattered all over your desk.

This is a great display solution for someone who wants to just buy one monitor and never think about display real estate for years. While it doesn't have 4K resolution, the 5120 x 1440 resolution is the equivalent of having two 1440p monitors side-by-side.

The quantum dot OLED panel offers 1.07 billion colors, DisplayHDR True Black 400, and a 144Hz refresh rate. Thanks to OLED tech, you also get a 0.03ms GTG response time.

This monitor also includes USB-C with 90W power delivery, so you can plug a laptop into it and use the monitor like a giant OLED dock. KVM support means you can control multiple devices using one keyboard and mouse. Other ports include two HDMI 2.1 ports, and DisplayPort 1.4a.

MSI's monitor comes with a 3-year OLED warranty to protect against burn-in should the need arise.

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Also, you can join the Tom's Hardware deals Discord for up-to-the-minute hardware deals.

The Prime Day sales give us the opportunity to take a look at gadgets and tools that we probably wouldn't immediately think of or wouldn't necessarily spring to mind, but you absolutely know you'd want to buy them when you see them. This "SinLoon" external power button, on sale and priced at just $11.19, fits into this exact category.

Unlike a CPU or a GPU, there isn't a long list of specs to share for an item like this: it's an external power button for your PC. It comes with a two-meter header cable to connect to your PC's front panel, a splitter to make it work with your existing case cables, and a pair of mechanical keyboard keys for powering down or restarting.

● Check out this deal at Amazon

That's not to understate how much detail has gone into making this. The inclusion of mechanical keyboard keys, made to look like they're straight from a top-spec gaming keyboard, with RGB lighting to boot, is a bit of a showstopper. Unbelievably, SinLoon reckons that these keys are good for over 5 million keystrokes: that's a lot of PC shutdowns and restarts in your future.

Setting it up is easy enough, too, depending on the access to your PC's front panel headers. If you've built a PC, you'll have dealt with this already, connecting your motherboard up so that the power button works. Same process with this, and along with cables for shutting your PC, you've also got connectors for the power and disk access LEDs.

The keys sit neatly in a smooth, black plastic case. The wiring, also black and mostly sheathed in glossy plastic, extends from the back. The wire does eventually split into various colored cables, with easy labels to help you figure out where to plug them in.

One neat addition, if you've wondered how this actually worked, is a 1-to-2 splitter. This lets you connect these cables and your PC's power and reset buttons together, so you don't lose the functionality on your case. This is a physical adapter, so even if the pinout isn't quite as expected, you can move the header cables around to match until it works. That said, if you want to totally bypass your PC's power button, you just need to connect the cables directly to your motherboard instead.

For just over $11, this is the flag bearer for impulse buying. You've never thought about a desktop power button before, but you're intrigued. It looks cool. But that doesn't mean it's just a trinket, a pointless item on your desk. This has practical use. There are plenty of people who'll want a power button setup like this. If your PC is in a difficult-to-reach place, or if you're finding it tricky to press a floor-bound power button.

If you're a maker or builder, you'll find use for it, too. If you're testing components, as we do at Tom's Hardware, you might find yourself with nothing more than a set of components built onto a motherboard: no case, no power button. Having a SinLoon button handy on your desk, to easily plug into your motherboard's headers, certainly makes the process a lot easier.

The $11.19 sale price for this SinLoon external power button is a great price. This won't change your life, but it might make turning your PC on or off a little easier. It looks cool, it's built well, and it'll match the peripherals on your desk if you've got a mechanical gaming keyboard. For yourself or as a gift, grab this cool little desk feature while you can before the stock runs out.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, gaming chair, or CPU Deals pages.

Also, you can join the Tom's Hardware deals Discord for up-to-the-minute hardware deals.

SSD prices are out of control, but the Acer Predator GM7 is near its pre-shortage price right now on a Prime Day sale. The 4TB model is available for $469.99, which is 23% off its $609 MSRP. Although that’s the listed MSRP, the drive has actually sold for well above $700 throughout most of this year.

• Check out this deal on Amazon

This is a PCIe 4.0 drive, so don’t expect the fastest speeds on the market. Still, for most applications, PCIe 4.0 offers plenty of speed. Based on testing in our Acer Predator GM7 review, the drive can rival other popular PCIe 4.0 drives like the WD Black SN850X and Samsung 980 Pro. Further, the drive maintained excellent efficiency throughout our testing.

Although we’ve seen much lower SSD prices in the past, this is a good deal considering the supply crisis the market is in. This drive is down to pre-shortage prices, which is about as much as we can ask right now. At the current price, the drive is about $0.12 per gigabyte, while most drives are selling for north of $0.15 per gigabyte.

The GM7 uses China-fabbed flash from YMTC, along with a Maxio MAP1602A controller. Although the GM7 is an Acer-branded drive, it's made by Biwin. Given the controller, you shouldn't expect the best performance out of the 2TB model, but that's not surprising considering the class of this drive.

In our tests of the 1TB drive, the GM7 managed to outclass the Samsung 980 Pro and Crucial P5 (RIP) in our 3DMark tests, which focuses particularly on SSD performance in games. The fastest PCIe 4.0 drives like the Samsung 990 Pro offer better performance, but they're also much more expensive. The GM7 will still put any PCIe 3.0 drive to shame, and it can hang with popular PCIe 4.0 options.

In a more intensive, sustained scenario, the GM7 still holds up. Although the P5 and 980 Pro squeeze out a small edge in a small 6.5GB file transfer, the GM7 maintains higher performance when transferring a large 50GB folder, perhaps due to the drive's excellent efficiency.

You can pick up the Acer Predator GM7 4TB at Amazon now.

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Also, you can join the Tom's Hardware deals Discord for up-to-the-minute hardware deals.

There are exactly two things every PC has in common: it needs power and it needs to be cooled. Modern-day desktops mostly scale linearly in cost, with higher-end builds typically opting for liquid cooling over conventional air cooling. As such, today, we've rounded up some of the best AIOs we could find as part of Amazon's Prime Day Deals, along with a nice little cameo of tradition at the end. All of these coolers represent great value, and you can't go wrong with any of them. We also have a much, much more expansive list in our Best Amazon Prime Day CPU Cooler deals 2026 article.

• Check out CPU cooler deals on Amazon

First up, we have the Cooler Master Elite Liquid 240, a 240mm AIO liquid cooler that comes with two 120mm RGB fans and a similarly RGB-illuminated pump block featuring aa frosted hexagonal design. The supplied Dual Elite 120mm fans can spin between 600 and 2,100 RPM, are designed to remain quiet during operation.

The Elite Liquid 240 supports all the major Intel and AMD sockets currently available. Cooler Master usually sells this for around $60, but you can have it for 33% off today for the white version.

If you're tired of all the RGB bling and just need an AIO that works exceptionally well, look no further than the Arctic Liquid Freezer Pro 360. While you don't get even RGB LED, the performance when we reviewed this cost-effective beast was the strongest AIO we've tested, "bar none." It also had chart-topping noise-normalized performance and a long six year warranty.

Maybe you need a deal on a black 240mm AIO. Corsair's iCue Link Titan 240 RX RGB AIO now has a massive price drop and is now found under $80. While it doesn't have a screen, the 2 120mm RGB fans and pump block have enough bling to keep you happy.

The AIO supports a wide range of processors including AMD AM4/5, and Intel's, 115x/1200/1700/1851. The included RX RGB fans run from 0-2,100 RPMs and eliminates noise entirely at low temperatures.

If you're into these large screens and like the look of the new curved versions, the Tryx Panorama SE 360 ARGB is a solid contender, but it's pricey. Normally $279.99, it's on sale at Newegg for $251.99 and it's lowest price since April 2026.

The 2K 6.67-inch rotatable AMOLED screen is the star of the show with high res, 400 nit brightness screens. It comes with pre-loaded animations or you can use your own. According to our review, it performed well with low noise levels and good noise-normalized performance so you don't need to worry about noise, or keeping your processor cool.

Before you leave, there's one more thing. If you want the solid cooling while spending as little as possible, then you can't go wrong with PCCooler RT720 TC ARGB. Unlike the options we've discussed so far, this is an air cooler that eliminates many of the complexities of AIO and replaces them with affordable, reliable cooling.

This dual-tower cooler is said to support up to 265W and comes with two 120mm hydraulic-bearing fans (500-2000 RPM) with 3.28mm-H20 for a nice balance of cooling and quiet operations.

Every cooler on this list is a great choice, offering solid performance at affordable prices that are not often found. Our top pick is the Thermalright Grand Vision because it offers a screen at a price where such novelty is unheard of. However, the options from Cooler Master, MSI, Corsair, and our cameo from Thermaltake will all tame your beastly processors just fine. Make sure to do your research, look at reviews, and don't hesitate to splurge if this is an upgrade you've been holding out on for a long time.

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Whether you’re new to 3D printer or a seasoned pro working with these devices for several years, you need the proper set of tools to use and maintain your 3D printing equipment. So, if you don’t have a complete tool kit yet, it’s high time that you got one with the Creality 3D Printer Tool Kit. This 74-piece set is currently on sale for $25.49 on Amazon, giving you a 15% discount from its original $30 MSRP. This is just one of the deals on 3D printing tools and accessories you can get during Prime Day 2026, allowing you to save while building out your kit. We also have a metric ton of deals (yes, that's the official measurement) on 3D Printers in our Best 3D Printer Deals hub.

• Check out the Creality 3D Printer Tool Kit deal on Amazon

The Creality tool set comes with almost everything you need. It comes with a multi-functional screwdriver with 34 different screwdriver bits, including Philips, flathead, hex, Torx, Pentalobe, and tri-point. A universal swivel hose is included, making it easier to reach tight spaces without needing to disassemble everything around it or contort your arm into weird shapes. You also get a socket wrench, a multifunctional wrench, and an open-ended wrench for handling various nuts and bolts. When you need to clean up your 3D printer, you’ll find one needle and several nozzle cleaners for removing residual filament included in the kit, as well as a spatula and plastic blade for cleaning up surfaces.

Aside from 3D printer maintenance, you also get several items useful for working on your projects after they come out of the 3D printer. These include a chamfer knife with a 360-degree rotating head, an engraving knife, and various files. You also get a pair of bent and straight tweezers for picking out stray fibers, plus a nipper for cleanly cutting small items. There are also several more items that we haven’t mentioned, so you should check out the deal if you want to see everything that’s included.

The best thing about this toolkit is that everything comes inside a simple storage bag that unrolls flat on your desk. That way, you can keep your tools organized while you’re working and ensure that you don’t lose one at the end of the day. And when you’re done with everything, you can just fold it back into a bag with a carrying handle, and you can easily stow it away in a drawer or your toolbox. So, if you’re planning to buy one of the best 3D printers this Prime Day 2026, consider adding this Creality 3D Printer Tool Kit to your cart as well.

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Also, you can join the Tom's Hardware deals Discord for up-to-the-minute hardware deals.

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If you have been eagerly saving to purchase a flagship GPU for your gaming rig, now might be the right time. The Gigabyte Gaming OC GeForce RTX 5080 is available at a limited-period discount of $250 on Newegg, bringing the price down from $1,449.99 to $1,199.99. The discount is applicable by using the promo code ‘SQGIG753S2’ at the time of checkout (There is also a "click to generate code" button on the Newegg page).

• Check out this deal on Newegg

The Nvidia RTX 5080 is one of the best graphics cards that you can get, but ever since its launch, the GPU has rarely come close to its MSRP of $999. It is currently the second most powerful Nvidia Blackwell consumer GPU with 16GB of GDDR7 VRAM using a 256-bit memory bus, and a memory bandwidth of 960 GB/s. It also features a total of 10,752 CUDA cores, a base clock of 2.3 GHz, which can further boost to 2.62 GHz.

The Gigabyte Gaming OC model of the RTX 5080 comes with a triple cooling fan configuration, along with server-grade thermal conductive gel to cool the internal components. It also features RGB lighting around the fans, a dual-BIOS feature, and the ability to boost even higher at 2.73 GHz. The company also offers up to four years of warranty on this GPU after online product registration.

We tested the RTX 5080 and found that it delivers great performance at 4K ultra settings, offering an average of 65 FPS and over 100 FPS at 1440p ultra. Notably, the gains are a lot when compared to the RTX 4080 Super by only 9% at 4K Ultra, and even less at 1440p and 1080p resolutions. That said, the RTX 5080 is one of the best in the business as it offers support for Nvidia’s latest technologies, including DLSS 4.5 with multi-frame generation and upgraded ray tracing hardware for a more fluid and visually appealing gaming experience.

While we have seen a few RTX 5080 cards briefly dip below the $999 MSRP, the Gigabyte Gaming OC GeForce RTX 5080 at $1,199.99 is one of the lowest-priced RTX 5080 models currently available. Don’t forget, you need to login to your Newegg account to use the above-mentioned promo code during checkout.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, gaming chair, or CPU Deals pages.

An external USB DVD drive can still be incredibly handy in 2025. With desktops and laptops now almost certain to eschew an optical drive, keeping one of these peripherals around will help you retain access to your collection of old software and media for years and PC generations to come. So, we've spotted some very attractively priced Cyber Monday drives on Amazon, and we just had to share: the External CD/DVD Drive for Laptop, DVD Player for Laptop, 8 in 1 USB 3.0 Ultra-Slim Portable at $26.99, and the CD DVD Drive External, Portable CD DVD Driver +/-RW Burner with 2.5" SATA, SD Card Reader and USB A Type C 2.0 Hub at $36.60.

The latter adds the convenience of SATA drive docking to the equation. Plus an External SUIDEK portable CD/DVD burner with USB Hub and M.2 Dock for $39, adding an M.2 SSD dock.

• Check out the SUIDEK portable CD/DVD burner with USB Hub and M.2 Dock
• Check out the BPAKDU Ultra Slim Portable External CD/DVD drive
• Check out the SUIDEK External CD/DVD DVD +/-RW Burner, Card Reader, and USB Hub

The BPAKDU drive gets you lots of media connectivity options. This attractive portable device, with a metallic honeycomb finish in four colors, can read and write optical media at CD 24X and DVD 8X speeds. That's not all, as it also offers a USB 3.0 hub, 3x USB 2.0 ports, SD and TF card slots readers, and a USB-C port.

Compatibility of the BPAKDU External CD/DVD Drive for Laptop, DVD Player for Laptop, 8 in 1 USB 3.0 Ultra-Slim Portable is also pretty extensive. For optical media, you can use CD±R/RW, CD-ROM, DVD±R/RW, DVD-RAM, VCD, and SVCD, the listing claims. Then, for systems/OS, you can plug this into Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, XP, Vista, Linux, MacOS 10.6 or above computers.

Those who feel that some SATA docking functionality will be useful might want to look closer at the Suideck optical drive and dock. For your $36.60, you will have one portable device which can be used to read and write optical media at CD 24X and DVD 8X speeds. Again, there's a basic USB hub built in with 2x USB 2.0 ports, a USB-C port, plus SD and TF card readers. Extra appeal comes from the SATA 2.5-inch slot atop, which can be used for quick access to your old laptop hard drives or SSDs in what was once a very popular form factor.

This product listing isn't specific about things like DVD±R/RW, DVD-RAM support, but the exact same list of system/OS support is given: Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, XP, Vista, Linux, MacOS 10.6 or above.

All of the deals look like useful and bargain-a-licious Prime Day purchases. For $26.99, you can get the External CD/DVD Drive for Laptop, DVD Player for Laptop, 8-in-1 USB 3.0 Ultra-Slim Portable, and it will read/write most of the common optical disks you will have lying around from the 2000s.

If your wants/needs expand to 2.5-inch SATA drive docking, then the $36.60 gets the CD DVD Drive External, Portable CD DVD Driver +/-RW Burner with 2.5" SATA, SD Card Reader and USB A Type C 2.0 Hub is going to be hard to resist.

If the requirements expand a further stage to needing an M.2 SSD dock, the Suideck portable CD/DVD burner with USB Hub and M.2 Dock for $39.99 is the ultimate Swiss Army knife of portable external optical drives. We're also happy to see both brands' peripherals score 4.3/5 or better on the Amazon reviews, as we haven't tested these ourselves.

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We're keeping a close eye on all the best SSD discounts and keeping a constantly updated list here. Buying SSDs is not as cheap as it used to be, but there are still savings to be had, especially on newer drives.

External factors, such as tariffs and geopolitical issues, along with chip shortages, are pushing prices upward. In fact, it appears that shortages driven by AI data centers could persist for several years. That means prices will go up significantly in the foreseeable future. Luckily, for now, there are discounts available on some SSD models.

As always, you'll need to stay alert when you're choosing SSDs, as not every drive is born equal and worthy of your money or a place of honor in your PC or PS5. We're constantly combing through the best deals across multiple retailers, selecting the best of them based on the in-depth knowledge we've gained from our thorough reviews, extensive benchmarks, and comprehensive historical price analysis.

Best SSD Deals: Quick Links

• Amazon: Best SSD deals on Amazon
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Best External SSD Deals

SSD Deals: What to Look For

• SATA or NVMe: SSDs either use the SATA or NVMe interface, with the latter being as much as six times faster (or more). All 2.5-inch drives are SATA, but M.2 drives could be either NVMe or SATA interface, though the latter is now rare. If you have a desktop or laptop that was built in the last 5 years, it almost certainly supports NVMe, which is faster. As SATA is old news, most of the best SSD deals are on NVMe drives.
• 2.5-inch or M.2: Most internal SSDs are either 2.5-inch or M.2 form factor. 2.5-inch drives connect to SATA ports and can replace old-school mechanical hard drives. M.2 drives look like RAM sticks and plug into dedicated M.2 ports. You won't find that many deals on 2.5-inch drives, but they can be useful for bulk storage, as many motherboards have a ton of SATA ports but only two M.2 slots.
• PCIe 3, 4, or 5: If you're buying an NVMe SSD, you can choose among PCIe 3, 4, or 5 interfaces with speeds increasing from a maximum of around 3,500 MBps sequential reads and writes to 8,000 MBps and 14,000 MBps. At this point, PCIe 4 drives are mainstream and offer the best value. PCIe 5 drives are extraordinarily expensive, require a newer-gen platform that supports them, and also generate a fair amount of heat. We're seeing the best SSD deals on PCIe 4 drives, which is the best standard for most people.
• Capacity: Price increases have upended the market in recent months, so it's going to be tricky to find a decent 2TB NVMe drive for less than $140, with high-performance models going for even more. 4TB drives are an even worse proposition, costing $250+, with some reaching over $400. If you really need to save money, a decent 1TB drive can still be found for $70 or $80.

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Also, you can join the Tom's Hardware deals Discord for up-to-the-minute hardware deals.

We're keeping a close eye on deals that pop up, looking for any and all RAM bargains to be had and adding them to the constantly-updated list below. RAM is expensive right now, but the brutal fact is that it is only going to get more expensive in the months ahead. Inflation on prices is making it hard to find value in the memory market, but there are some deals you can still buy. You might be holding off for the market to stabilize, but signs indicate this problem is going to get worse in 2027, not better. You can also find good deals, often yielding the lowest overall RAM pricing, if you check our RAM bundle page. There, we list combo deals that involve buying multiple items, like a CPU, motherboard, and RAM together, that then yield lower overall pricing.

Because the RAM market is very volatile right now, these deals tend to move quickly, so it's a good idea to act sooner rather than later so you don't miss out on a great opportunity. We're updating this page constantly to keep the deals fresh, but you will have to act fast to snag the last deals on memory we will likely see for at least a year, if not longer.

We've put together a handpicked list of the best options to make your shopping easier. We carefully review offers from different retailers to find the best value for you, drawing on our extensive experience from thorough reviews, detailed benchmarks, and analysis of past prices. We keep a close eye on the latest RAM deals as they come up, highlighting the top choices we've found across various stores.

Top RAM Deals: Quick Links

• Amazon: Up to 18% off RAM at Amazon

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Best Tech and PC deals | Best gaming PC deals | Best RAM combo deals | Best 3D printer deals | Best RAM deals | Best gaming laptop deals | Best monitor deals | Best Wi-Fi Router deals | Best GPU deals | Best SSD deals | Best hard drive HDD deals | Best CPU deals | Best gaming chair deals | Best PC building tool deals | Best PC peripherals deals | Best filament and resin deals | Best motherboard deals | Best CPU cooler deals | Best PC case deals | Best Dell and Alienware deals | Best USB charger deals | Best gaming and productivity laptop deals under $1,000 | Best laptop PC deals

Also, you can join the Tom's Hardware deals Discord for up-to-the-minute hardware deals.

If you’re trying to buy PC hardware, specifically RAM, storage, and video cards, over the last several months, you’ve been greeted by abhorrently high pricing due to the AI boom. Newegg combos have saved the day for some, and we found another awesome 3-item combo to help save money. For only $1,082 ($446.98 / 29% off), you get a massive (and fast!) 4TB Samsung 9100 Pro SSD, 32GB (2x16GB) V-Color Manta XSky DDR5-6000 RAM, and an Asus TUF Gaming X870E-Plus motherboard. Together, this is a great start for a build based on the AM5 platform.

• Check out this deal on Newegg

The RAM included in the combo is V-Color Manta XSky. We’ve seen some kits from them before, but none with this speed and low timings. The sticks sport black heat spreaders and a frosted RGB element across the top and match well with the Asus board. Specs-wise, it’s a 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 kit with tight timings (CL30-38-38-96 @ 1.35V). Under the hood are SK Hynix ICs, so you do have some headroom if you want to overclock past their rated speed or to tighten them down. AMD’s sweet spot (Price/performance) for AM5 processors is around 6000-6400 MT/s, so these fall into that bucket. V-color may not be as popular as Corsair, GSkill, or Kingston, for example, but their memory is just as fast and stable, looks good, and is an excellent overall option.

Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB is one of the fastest M.2 drives around. Based on PCIe 5.0 x4 connection, it boasts speeds up to 14,800 MB/s reads and 13,400 MB/s writes (sequential) with 2,200K IOPS read, and 2,600K IOPS writes. In other words, it’s fast, and the benchmarks (below) show it. Samsung stands behind these speedy drives with a 5-year limited warranty and lists Terabytes Written at a typical level for the capacity, 2,400 TBW.

The Asus TUF Gaming X870E-Plus Wifi 7 is a solid all-around motherboard for the AM5 platform. It delivers sufficient power to support flagship-class processors and easily handles the 9850X3D in the combo, even with some overclocking. It comes with four M.2 sockets (one PCIe 5.0) and two SATA ports for storage, fast networking with integrated Wi-Fi 7 and 2,5 GbE, ample USB ports on the rear IO (13, including two USB4 40 Gbps Type-C), and a quality audio solution based on the last-gen Realtek flagship (ALC1220P). Asus’ AI solutions (AI Cache Boost, Overclocking, Cooling II, and Networking II) and the DIY-friendly design make it easy to build and get the most out of your system.

If you’ve been looking for a cheap way into the AM5 platform and need a lot of storage, this is one of the best Newegg combo deals we’ve seen. No matter how you apply the 29% / $447 discount (which essentially amounts to either free RAM or a really cheap 4TB PCIe 5.0 x4 SSD), it’s a great deal on high-quality hardware that will get your rig updated without completely cleaning out your wallet.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, gaming chair, or CPU Deals pages.

Pricing for computer hardware, specifically memory, storage, and graphics cards, has spiraled out of control due to the ongoing shortages. The cost has risen to the point where it often makes more sense to pick up a prebuilt system than to build your own. The Dell Slim Desktop is a great compact system, but if you’re really limited on workspace, the Dell 24 All-In-One Desktop comes to mind. Gamers, on the other hand, may find something like the Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop a better fit.

• Check out the Dell Slim Desktop deal on Dell
• Check out the Dell 24 All-In-One Desktop deal on Dell
• Check out the Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop deal on Dell

The Dell Slim Desktop is the system you want if you need a small-footprint option. Despite the compact size, the system doesn't compromise on performance or versatility. It comes with a Ryzen 5 150, a power-efficient 54W chip with six cores and 12 threads. The processor features integrated Radeon 660M graphics for light gaming, video streaming, and other entertainment purposes.

Unlike other systems that don’t allow upgrades, the Dell Slim Desktop comes with standard DDR5 memory slots and an M.2 slot for storage. Future expansions aren't off the table. The configuration on sale includes 8GB of DDR5-4800 memory and a 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD, enough for fast boot times and less demanding workloads.

The Dell 24 All-In-One Desktop features a 23.8-inch display with a crisp FHD (1920 x 1080) resolution, anti-glare treatment, and dual speakers with Dolby Atmos support. For convenience, the system comes with a Dell Pro keyboard and mouse, so you don’t need to shop for peripherals, which could end up saving you a few bucks.

A Core 3 100U processor, with six cores and eight threads, powers the Dell 24 All-In-One Desktop. Complementing the processor is 8GB of DDR5-5200 memory and a 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD. The combination of hardware is more than sufficient to power through daily tasks, such as web browsing, checking e-mail, or hanging around on social platforms.

The Alienware Aurora is one of Dell's most popular prebuilt gaming systems. This iteration leverages a 20-core Intel Core Ultra 7 265F paired with a GeForce RTX 5070 graphics card for a great gaming experience. The system also has 32GB (2x16GB) of DDR5-5200 memory and 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD, which are appreciated given the current market situation for memory and storage products.

The gaming system's other specifications also include a 1,000W 80 Plus Platinum power supply and ultra-fast Wi-Fi 7 connectivity. Dell includes a no-frills wired keyboard-and-mouse combo with the Alienware Aurora.

The Dell Slim Desktop, Dell 24 All-In-One Desktop, and Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop are just some of the juicy deals available in Dell's big sale. There are other very attractive offers on gaming laptops, notebooks, and monitors. Who knows? Your next upgrade may just be a click away, and what better way to do so than to save a couple of hundred dollars?

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.