AMD Ryzen 5 3600 with Wraith Stealth Cooler drops to all-time low $67 on Amazon
This 6C/12T CPU on the AM4 platform might be a good choice for your budget, repair, or refurb PC build.
AMD's Ryzen 5 3600 processor has hit its lowest ever price on Amazon, according to popular price tracking websites. This 6C/12C chip may be getting long in the tooth, over five years since launch, but it can still hold its ground in a budget PC build, thanks to its new $67 price tag. For the price, you will also get AMD's Wraith Stealth Cooler in the box. Or, choose the beefier Wraith Spire Cooler for an extra $4!
This AM4 chip is also a prime candidate for system repair or refurbishment projects. If you acquire, inherit, or are asked to upgrade an older-gen processor on AM4 system, with an earlier Ryzen or a weaker 3000 series processor such as the popular 4C/8T Ryzen 5 3400G or 3200G, this would deliver a noticeable improvement, for example.
All-time low price
Get a 6C/12T Ryzen CPU and matching air cooler bundle for your AM4 project for under $70.
The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a Zen 2 architecture processor, manufactured on TSMC's 7nm process. This 6C/12T chip has a base clock of 3.6 GHz, and boost of up to 4.2 GHz. AMD fitted this processor with a 32MB L3 cache, and it has a TDP of 65W. It doesn't feature an iGPU.
For a closer look at the Ryzen 5 3600 and its capabilities, you can take a look at our 11-page review and deep dive. Some of the benchmark charts, like those above, show you how the Ryzen 5 3600 competed against its peers.
Of course, more modern, newer-gen processors can easily eclipse the humble $67 Ryzen 5 3600. But you'll have to pay about 3x the price for the newest-gen AMD Ryzen 5 9600X for socket AM5, for example, even though that's also on offer at 30% off right now.
In summary, AMD's Ryzen 5 3600 might be a great deal if it fits in with your situation - budget build, repair or refurb. Remember, if you are on a particularly tight budget, it comes with a usable new air cooler in the box, easily coping with the 65W thermal load, helping you minimize expense.
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, or CPU Deals pages.
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Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
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Pemalite The 3600 is a little long in the tooth as we enter 2026... Only great for the super budget gamers, even then the Ryzen 5500 will give you more performance for only $8 more.Reply -
King_V Reply
Agreed.Pemalite said:The 3600 is a little long in the tooth as we enter 2026... Only great for the super budget gamers, even then the Ryzen 5500 will give you more performance for only $8 more.
Though, you'd be surprised how many people say the 3600 either equals the 5500 or, insist that the 3600 outperforms the 5500. -
quilciri For an all around PC, I'd agree. From a *strictly* gaming perspective, however, the 3600 does offer a bit better experience than the 5500. Entirely due to L3 cache; it edges out the 5500 in 1% and 0.1% lows.Reply -
thestryker I fail to see who exactly this (or anything this performance level) is for unless someone is already on AM4 and is running original Zen.Reply
If you're building new and on a budget saving more for LGA 1700 is a better choice and if you're looking long term saving up for AM5 would be best. -
Moxylite I've always really liked AMD's stock coolers & absolutely hated Intel's "4 Twisty Springs" pin design :devilish: There, finally off my chest- hehe!Reply -
Third-Eye Reply
I would think this is for people looking to upgrade their AM4 systems without spending $75-100+ to do it. Probably people still using some quad core Athlon or Ryzen 1000 on a A320 or B350 motherboard. It may also be more appealing to someone that doesn't trust used parts.thestryker said:I fail to see who exactly this (or anything this performance level) is for unless someone is already on AM4 and is running original Zen.
If you're building new and on a budget saving more for LGA 1700 is a better choice and if you're looking long term saving up for AM5 would be best.
It's not a bad CPU, it's just old. -
Neilbob Far cry from the £169.99 I paid for mine back in early 2020. I guess that would have been about $200.Reply
It still clings on for me, but I do wonder when it, or another component, will give up the ghost and I'll have to decide whether I've been priced out of the market or not. -
RodroX After some unfortunate events, I came back to my old R5 3600 for my main PC.Reply
Where I live PC part prices are a mess, even more now with AI boom.
I have to admit, for 1440p gaming (high settings), with a RTX 4060 ti, the R5 3600 still offer a solid performance.
Of course the 5500, 5600, and above will show better numbers, but for 1440p I don't think its worth the investment if you already own the R5 3600.
For a new PC do go with the 5xxx chips. -
King_V Reply
Normally, I'd say the price of DDR4 creeping up would support your statement - but with the price of DDR5 seeing what DDR4 is doing, and responding with "hold my beer," for a budget system or someone who wants to game without the need for the latest and greatest, it's not a bad proposition at all.thestryker said:I fail to see who exactly this (or anything this performance level) is for unless someone is already on AM4 and is running original Zen.
If you're building new and on a budget saving more for LGA 1700 is a better choice and if you're looking long term saving up for AM5 would be best. -
pug_s I brought this CPU with an Gigabyte B450 mobo for $100 more than 2 years ago so I don't think it is a deal. Considering that this CPu is realeased more than 6 years ago, I am surprised that they are still selling this CPU new when there are Ryzen 5000, 7000 and 9000 cpu's released.Reply