Micro Center is offering an amazing deal on the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X processor, now available for only $159 – the lowest price since its launch. This budget-friendly Zen 5 chip, originally priced at $279, has dropped significantly from its usual retail price of over $200, making it a fantastic option for building or upgrading your gaming PC. 
It’s been almost a year since AMD introduced the Ryzen 9000 series Zen 5 processors, and the 9600X, one of the most affordable options in the lineup, is now available at an unbeatable price.
For just $159, this 6-core, 12-thread processor offers impressive base and boost clocks of 3.9 GHz and 5.4 GHz, respectively. In terms of multitasking and productivity, it’s one of the fastest processors in its class and outperforms almost all sub-$200 CPUs in gaming. If you’re in the market for a budget gaming rig, this chip is an excellent value, especially when paired with budget or mid-range GPUs like the GeForce RTX 5060 or RX 9060 XT.
While the Ryzen 5 9600X doesn’t come with a stock heatsink, you can easily get started with a basic air cooler. If you plan to overclock, however, a dual-tower air cooler or a 240mm AIO cooler is recommended for optimal performance. Additionally, this processor features RDNA 2-based Radeon Graphics, making it versatile for both light gaming and general computing tasks.
Aside from the deal at Micro Center, the Ryzen 5 9600X is also on sale at other retailers, like Amazon for $174 and Newegg for $189 with free DDR5 memory. While these prices are still great, the Micro Center deal offers the most significant savings, allowing you to allocate that extra cash toward other components like memory or a GPU. Overall, the Ryzen 5 9600X is an excellent choice for anyone looking to build or upgrade a PC on a budget.