When putting together a PC, it helps to have parts with a little versatility, and the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is definitely one of those options. This high-powered processor not only comes with plenty of juice to fuel your gaming needs but also has integrated graphics, so you don't even need a graphics card to get started. It's usually priced around $499, but right now, you can pick it up for just $439.
Overall, this is a pretty beefy CPU, but it's worth noting that we haven't had the opportunity to review this exact model yet. That said, you can check out our CPU hierarchy guide to see what's leading and shaping the processor market in 2024, which can help you better understand how it stacks up.
The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is built around Zen 5 architecture and has 12 cores and 24 threads. Its base speed is 4.4 GHz, which can be boosted to 5.6 GHz. This processor doesn't need a GPU, as it comes with an iGPU. However, it's only useful for basic output, so we still recommend pairing the Ryzen 9 9900X with a discrete graphics card for serious gaming.
The Zen 5-based chip offers 28 high-speed PCIe 5.0 lanes, of which 24 are usable. It also supports 4 USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports and one USB 2.0 port. By default, the Ryzne 9 9900X supports memory up to DDR5-5600, and with two memory channels, you can have up to 192GB of DDR5 RAM.
Visit Amazon's AMD Ryzen 9 9900X CPU product page for more details and purchase options. As of this writing, it's unclear how long the processor will be available at this price.
