AMD's Ryzen 5 5600X Zen 3 CPU Hits New Low at $200

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By Brandon Hill
last updated

How low can the Ryzen 5 5600X go?

Ryzen 5 5600X
(Image credit: AMD)

Just three weeks ago, AMD’s popular Ryzen 5 5600X processor was selling for $229, a new low for the chip. However, Newegg is currently selling the chip for just $200 thanks to a new promotional code that must be entered at checkout. This is a great price for a mainstream gaming chip, but a better fit for an upgrade than a new build, because the AM4 socket this chip uses is getting replaced later this year with AM5.

Newegg’s sale price for the 5600X is $228.99, but entering the code SSBQ2525 at checkout takes $28.99 off the price, which gets you down to the magic $200 mark. To put that price into perspective, the MSRP for the newly launched Ryzen 5 5600 is $199. However, the 5600X is the higher-performing part thank to its 3.7 GHz base and 4.6 GHz boost frequencies compared to 3.5 GHz and 4.4 GHz, respectively, for the 5600.

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X: was $229, now $200 at Newegg after coupon code SSBQ2525 at Newegg

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X: was $229, now $200 at Newegg after coupon code SSBQ2525 at Newegg
Earning 4.5 stars in our AMD Ryzen 5 5600X review, this chip is highly sought after thanks to its strong single- and multi-threaded performance, leading power efficiency and PCIe Gen4 support. It also features stellar thermals, a bundled cooler and overclocking capability, so there’s a lot to love here.

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At $200, the 5600X solidifies its position as one of the best CPUs for gaming. We must also mention that Newegg is limiting customers to just one processor at this new low price, so don’t think about hoarding a stash for yourself. 

The 5600X is based on AMD’s 7nm Zen 3 “Vermeer” architecture offering 6 cores and 12 threads. The processor, which uses the AM4 socket, is also supported by a wide variety of 400 and 500 Series motherboards and is even compatible with some 300 Series motherboards. The 5600X has a TDP of 65 watts and comes with a Wraith Stealth cooler in the box.

AMD has been on a price-cutting spree recently in the face of increased competition from Intel. Intel’s 12th generation Alder Lake desktop processors entered the scene last year and wrested the performance/value crown away from AMD with several SKUs. AMD’s response was to trim prices across the board and introduce seven new chips, including the $99 Ryzen 3 4100.

However, the most intriguing newcomer entry is the Ryzen 7 5800X3D which trades 400 MHz/200 MHz (base/boost) in exchange for an extra 64MB of 3D V-Cache. According to AMD, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is up to 15 percent faster than the Ryzen 9 5900X in gaming performance.

Brandon Hill
Brandon Hill

Brandon Hill is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware. He has written about PC and Mac tech since the late 1990s with bylines at AnandTech, DailyTech, and Hot Hardware. When he is not consuming copious amounts of tech news, he can be found enjoying the NC mountains or the beach with his wife and two sons.

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13 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Jimbojan
    If it reduced to $150, then AMD's gross margin will be in high 30% range. that is, AMD's revenue to go down and profit will be negative.
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    Finally reached the price I hoped it would launch at. Two years too late for me to care about it.
    Reply
  • Math Geek
    hell of a cpu for only $200

    if you're using an older ryzen and have a 400 series board or better, this is as good of an upgrade as it gets on the platform. the other models are coming down fast as well. won't be long as the 5800x will be $300, 5900x will be $400 and hopefully the 5950x drops to $500

    and of course over more time it will get even lower based on the older gen ryzen prices and how they drop
    Reply
  • Alvar "Miles" Udell
    If you're looking to go long on Socket AM4 there's no reason to buy a middling CPU, go with the 5800X or above, and there's no reason to buy it right now, wait for the price to drop. If you're looking to upgrade to Socket AM5 in the next year, there's no reason whatsoever to upgrade your current CPU. Realistically the only people who should be looking at the 5600X and other mid rage, and even low end, CPUs at this time are people who -must- replace their CPU due to failure and don't want to spend too much.
    Reply
  • Oli Baba
    In fact, this is a very nice pick for a new system.

    Don't fall for the "future proof" aspect of a new socket. I was among the early adopters of the AM4 platform and had to switch mainboards twice on my way from Ryzen 1600 to 5600X, because either the new CPUs were not supported or some of the functionality like PCIe 4.0 was missing.

    Your AM5 board will not last you several generations of CPUs.
    Reply
  • Math Geek
    i always laugh at folks who use "future proof" or other similar words. there is not such thing. there's always something new just around the corner and folks love to proclaim "wait for the new __, and it will last forever. buy this now and it'll be dead/obsolete/useless/a paperweight/worthless in a month!!"

    lol such nonsense
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    Oli Baba said:
    Don't fall for the "future proof" aspect of a new socket. I was among the early adopters of the AM4 platform and had to switch mainboards twice on my way from Ryzen 1600 to 5600X, because either the new CPUs were not supported or some of the functionality like PCIe 4.0 was missing.
    Yup, and this is exactly why I really don't mind that Intel's motherboards are only compatible for 1-2 generations. When I build a system, I slap on a CPU powerful enough to serve for the board's useful life and that is the end of that. I haven't upgraded CPUs on one of my motherboards in 20 years as by the time I want a new CPU (4+ years), I want/need new everything else anyway.
    Reply
  • cryoburner
    Alvar Miles Udell said:
    If you're looking to go long on Socket AM4 there's no reason to buy a middling CPU, go with the 5800X or above, and there's no reason to buy it right now, wait for the price to drop. If you're looking to upgrade to Socket AM5 in the next year, there's no reason whatsoever to upgrade your current CPU. Realistically the only people who should be looking at the 5600X and other mid rage, and even low end, CPUs at this time are people who -must- replace their CPU due to failure and don't want to spend too much.
    If you intend to upgrade to a new CPU down the line, neither the current motherboards from AMD or Intel will support the latest processors at that point. Intel will almost certainly be requiring new, incompatible motherboards for the CPUs they release next year, and I doubt this year's Raptor Lake processors will be enough of an upgrade over existing models to make an upgrade worth considering. And really, how many people even upgrade the CPUs in their systems, outside a minority of tech enthusiasts?

    And it's hardly like 6-core, 12-thread CPUs are showing signs of struggling at this point, either in games or applications, outside of some niche usage scenarios. Arguably, both the "mid-range" models from AMD and Intel are viable options right now, and will likely remain rather capable in demanding tasks like games for years to come. It's questionable whether AM5 will even be suitable for mid-range systems when it first launches (likely more than half a year away), since DDR5 is a terrible value right now, and pricing may not improve much by then. We may see AMD hold out on launching mid-range AM5 processors and motherboard chipsets until some time later. They might keep AM4 as their current socket for mid-range to lower-end builds alongside AM5 for a while, at least until DDR5 pricing gets competitive.

    Of course, current GPU pricing is a much better reason to hold off on building a new system right now, at least for those requiring dedicated graphics. The long-term upgrade-ability of motherboards is far less of a concern for a value-conscious buyer than the fact that graphics cards are priced hundreds of dollars over MSRP.
    Reply
  • Alvar "Miles" Udell
    Hence why I didn't use the term "future proof", but instead "going long".

    PCIe 4.0, multiple PCIe 4 NVMe slots, integrated WiFi 6 and 2.5g ethernet, and 8 or 16 Zen 3 CPU cores is much better equipped for the next few years than an Intel 9900K based system was 4 years ago, and that system is still plenty fast for UHD60 or QHD120, and a GPU with those capabilities (3080 FE or higher) is still years away for most people, and even faster for those people who use rendering resolution reduction and upscaling settings.

    For the first time in a long time, and I can say this as a user of exclusively AMD CPUs since 2004, AMD actually has a platform with a long lifespan ahead of it, and for anyone expecting 4+ years of use out of it, I wouldn't for a second suggest they spend $120 less on a 5600X than a 5800X the same way I wouldn't recommend anyone looking for multiple years out of a cell phone get a Galaxy A or Pixel A series instead of the Galaxy S or Pixel non-A, it's a small amount of money that pays off in the long run.
    Reply
  • javiindo
    Maybe for un upgrade from first or second ryzen gen. Most people will still have a bottleneck in the graphics card.
    For a new system, intel system with 12400, is a much better way.
    Reply