Get AMD's best gaming CPU for just $479 this Black Friday

For a balanced gaming system, a good CPU is just as important as a good GPU. For those of you out there who managed to get their hands on a powerful graphics card and are looking for an equally good CPU to complete your new gaming rig, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is a fantastic option.

While the launch price of the 5900X was $549, it has come down quite a bit since then, thanks to some healthy competition from Intel. Those of you in the US looking to purchase the 5900X can now buy one for $479 from Best Buy.

The 5900X is a 12-core/24-thread CPU based on AMD's latest Zen 3 architecture. AMD had called it the world's best gaming CPU, which was true at the time. Even though AMD makes the much more powerful 5950X for workstation PCs, the 5900X is faster in many games, as the two CPUs hit very similar frequencies and most titles don't take advantage of the 5950X's higher core count.

What makes the 5900X particularly appealing is its wide motherboard support. Whether you have the newer X570 or B550 motherboards or the older X470 or B450 models, you will be able to just plug in the 5900X and start using it without having to spend extra on a new motherboard, new RAM or a new cooler. On older motherboards, you may need to update the BIOS, but this is a simple step that can be performed without a CPU on many boards from the likes of Asus and MSI. The 5900X also runs very efficiently, using minimal power, so it produces relatively little waste heat and doesn't require a beefy power supply either. This makes it a great choice if you're currently running an older Ryzen processor, especially a Ryzen 1000 or Ryzen 2000 series CPU, as you'll enjoy a mighty performance boost with the 5900X.

However, the 5900X isn't the only good option out there for gamers looking to maximise their GPU performance. The newly launched Intel Core i7-12700K is also an excellent new CPU. This 12-core/20-thread beast features an innovative core architecture with separate performance and efficient cores. The 12700K is able to match and even beat the 5900X in some gaming and productivity workloads. And best of all, at $420, it's even cheaper than the 5900X.

The catch is that the 12700K (or the similarly priced 12700KF) currently only works on the new Z690 motherboards, which can be an expensive investment, especially if you already have a motherboard that can just work with the 5900X. The 12700K also has higher power requirements, which ends up producing more heat and thus requiring a more robust and expensive cooling solution. In comparison, you can cool the 5900X with even a basic tower cooler.

So the lower price isn't much of a factor in the end. Still, depending upon your requirements, you could go with any of these CPUs and make an excellent decision either way. Both are great at productivity and gaming workloads but while the 5900X makes sense for someone upgrading their PC from an existing Ryzen build, the 12700K may be the more sensible choice for someone building anew.

You can check out our review of the Ryzen 9 5900X. Also, if you are in the UK, you should check out the 12600K and 12700K deals over here. And don't forget to follow us on @dealsfoundry for instant notifications on great new deals.