If you have a first, second or third-gen Ryzen desktop CPU, you can now get a really great processor upgrade for less than $130, without swapping motherboards or RAM. And, if you're building a new budget-friendly PC, this deal is definitely for you. Today only, Newegg has the Ryzen 7 5800X for a mere $128 after you apply promo code FTT354. That's an all-time low price by $38, according to our records.
This Zen 3 architecture chip has 8 cores, 16 threads, 32MB of L3 cache and a max boost clock of 4.7 GHz. For those doing math, you're paying just $16 per more or $8 per thread. Best of all, this chip uses an AM4 socket it's compatible with inexpensive motherboards going back several years. If you have a Ryzen 1000, 2000 or 3000 CPU now, this can pop right into the same socket, after you make sure you have the latest BIOs for your motherboard.
To be sure, this is an older chip that has since been displaced by newer models such as the Ryzen 7 7700X and Ryzen 7 9700x. But both of those processors not only cost more but also require pricier, AM5-socketed motherboards and DDR5 RAM.
As you can see in the charts below, which come from our original Ryzen 7 5800X review, the 5800X significantly outperforms the Intel processors of its time and, more importantly, the older AMD CPUs many users will want to upgrade from.
If you're building a PC from scratch and are trying to keep your budget under $800 or even under $500, the 5800X is a strong choice. You will need to buy some kind of CPU cooler, perhaps an inexpensive air cooler like the $29 Cooler Master Hyper 212, because there's no stock cooler in the box. However, once you do that, you can get a motherboard for as little as $84 and get 32GB of RAM for less than $50.
So that's $165 for your motherboard, cooling and RAM to go with your $128 CPU, a combined price of $293. You then can spend the rest of your budget on a case, PSU, storage and a GPU.
