It's not peak black friday deals time yet, but it's starting to feel like it. The Intel Core i5-9600KF, which debuted at $262, currently sells for $237 thanks to recent Intel price cuts. However, it can be yours today for just $199.99.
The Core i5-9600KF comes rocking six cores, six threads and 9MB of cache. The unlocked chip has a 3.7 GHz base clock but boasts a boost clock that climbs to 4.6 GHz in a 95W package.
Intel Core i5-9600KF | $199.99 ($31 off) @ Amazon
The Core i5-9600KF is an excellent six-core, mid-range processor that will satisfy all your gaming needs.
The Core i5-9600KF slides into a LGA1151 motherboard, preferrably a Z390 or Z370 one if you plan on overclocking. The processor isn't just great for gaming, but performs respectably in other tasks as well. It supports DDR4-2666 RAM natively, and you can have up to 128GB of RAM on a single system with this CPU.
There are two small caveats with the Core i5-9600KF. The chip lacks integrated graphics, meaning you'll have to pair it with a discrete graphics card. But if you're picking the processor up for a gaming rig, this shouldn't be a huge letdown since you probably already have a graphics card waiting for it.
Secondly, the Core i5-9600KF doesn't come with a stock cooler. If you need help on finding the best cooler for your needs, don't forget to consult our best CPU coolers guide that offers both air and liquid options at difference price points.
And for more Black Friday fun, see our article on Black Friday deals to look for and check out our best gaming CPUs page for more recommendations.
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Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.
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mdd1963 With the R5-3600 at $199, the 9600K or KF would be a hard sell indeed at that price. (It would nee to come with a mainboard for almost free, frankly....)Reply