Black Friday CPU deals 2024: The discounts worth buying

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Black Friday CPU deals on a purple background — (Image credit: Future)

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Black Friday CPU deals are continuing to impress as the day wears on, and we're continuing to find deals across every major model out there. Whether you're looking to upgrade your PC or starting a whole new build, there are substantial deals to be found for both AMD and Intel options at every budget level.

The best CPUs for gaming are an absolute steal this Black Friday, and this year is especially great because there are now three generations of processors from AMD and Intel to choose from if you're upgrading to a DDR5 machine for the first time. If you've already got an AM5 or LGA1700 chip and you want even better performance, there's a lot of potential upgrading you could do at the moment.

The last week saw early Black Friday CPU deals kick up a gear, particularly in the previous generation, and those savings are continuing now that the day itself is here. Amazon's selection of 13th-generation Intel processors have all taken their own additional price cuts in the last few days, putting them between $5 and $20 cheaper than they were earlier in the month. Not only that, but AMD is meeting those head-on with 7000 Series discounts as well. Take a look at what's on offer down below, and enjoy upgrading season.

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Today's best CPU on Black Friday

Amazon: AMD from $83
Newegg: Intel from $244
Best Buy: save up to $430
Walmart: Intel from $199

UK

Amazon: AMD from £81
eBuyer: Ryzen 7 from £189.99
Scan: CPU coolers under £100
Overclockers: Ryzen from £49.99

Intel CPU deals

Intel Core i5-12600K | $342.50 $149 at Amazon
Save $193 - Here's a great option for anyone building on an Intel LGA1700 socket and a DDR5-compatible motherboard. One of our hardware editors used to pair this CPU with an RX 4090, which just goes to show how much power there is in it.

Buy it if:

✅ You're building on a budget
✅ You want a solid entry into the DDR5 world
✅ You aren't targetting 4K Max in RTS games

Don't buy it if:

❌ You can afford the 13600K

Price check: $169.99 plus $20 off promo at Newegg

UK: £174.98 at Amazon

Intel Core i5-13600K | $329 $210 at Amazon
Save $119 - The 13th Gen i5 is still our favorite CPU to recommend to most gamers. The previous lowest-ever price was around $225 back in August, but it didn't stay there for long. If you want to make the most of this discount, we wouldn't wait around.

Buy it if:

✅ You want a DDR5-compatible processor
✅ You want excellent value for money
✅ You want to game in 4K

Don't buy it if:

❌ You want the most up-to-date version
❌ You're still working with a last-gen motherboard

Price check: $255.99 at Newegg

UK: £200.38 at Amazon

AMD CPU deals

AMD Ryzen 5 8600G | $229 $160 at Amazon
Save $69 - This is our pick for the the best value DDR5 processor out there, and if you're looking for a great price-to-performance CPU to pair with some speedy memory, you can't go wrong here. The 8600G previously hit an all-time low of $149 earlier this year, but this is still a great deal.

Buy it if:

✅ You're building on a budget
✅ You need the extra speed of DDR5
✅ You want power and cooling efficiency

Don't buy it if:

❌ You need more power

Price check: $209.99 at Newegg | $169.72 at Walmart

UK: £129.98 at Amazon

AMD Ryzen 5 5500 | $159 $83.49 at Amazon
Save $75 - If you're looking to build a budget gaming PC, this is one of the go-to CPU options to choose from. It won't give you much in the way of futureproofing since it isn't DDR5 compatible, but it will offer you solid gaming performance for the money.

Buy it if:

✅ You're building on a budget
✅ You don't care about DDR5
✅ Futureproofing doesn't matter

Don't buy it if:

❌ You want to build on the latest motherboards

Price check: $83.49 at Newegg | $87 at Best Buy

UK: £74.99 at Amazon

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | $124.99 $105 at Amazon
Save $20 - This is our pick for the best budget DDR4 CPU, and it's at an all-time low price this Black Friday. This one is starting to show its age - the AM4 socket this CPU uses isn't compatible with speedier DDR5 memory - but it's a terrific option if you're looking to put together a build on a budget, and want something just a little more robust than the 5500.

Buy it if:

✅ You're building on a budget
✅ You don't care about DDR5
✅ Futureproofing doesn't matter

Don't buy it if:

❌ You want to build on the latest motherboards

Price check: $111.08 at Newegg | $121 at Walmart

UK: £98 at Amazon

AMD Ryzen 5 7600X | $299 $186.97 at Amazon
Save $112 - The 7600X has 4K potential and is a nice middle-man if you want something that won't cost an arm and a leg, but still gives you good futureproofing and compatibility. It could get lower in price as we approach December, but this is still under its average Amazon price.

Buy it if:

✅ You want a solid mid-range processor
✅ You're interested in content creation as well
✅ You want to play games in 4K

Don't buy it if:

❌ You want more cores and threads for your money

Price check: $203.99 +$25 off promo at Newegg | $209 at Best Buy

UK: £182.97 at Amazon

AMD Ryzen 9 5900X | $549 $226.94 at Newegg
Save $322 - Not quite ready to leave your AM4 motherboard behind yet? This will help you get the most power out of the now aging (but still viable) socket. This processor's lowest-ever price is $214, so this really isn't far off and might drop down again when Black Friday properly arrives.

Buy it if:

✅ You're still on an AM4 motherboard
✅ You're not fussed about DDR5
✅ You want to maximize what your AM4 socket is capable of

Don't buy it if:

❌ You're planning on using DDR5 with it

Price check: $269 at Best Buy

UK: £214.98 at Amazon

AMD Ryzen 7 7700X | $399 $269.99 at Amazon
Save $129 - If you want something a bit higher-end, this is touted by many to be one of the very best gaming CPUs ever made. It isn't as close to its lowest-ever price ($210) as we'd like, but it's still a decent mid-level between that and its MSRP.

Buy it if:

✅ You want a very capable processor
✅ 4K gaming appeals to you
✅ You play RTS games and city builders.

Don't buy it if:

❌ You want the most up-to-date version of this chip

Price check: $269.99 at Walmart

UK: £259 at Amazon

AMD Ryzen 9 7900X | $549 $326.92 at Amazon
Save $223 - The Ryzen 7000 Series flagship isn't at its lowest-ever price, but it is $50 under its average price at Amazon. This isn't a bad deal considering last month it was experiencing a big price leap back up to the four hundreds.

Buy it if:

✅ You want a flagship Ryzen 9
✅ You play CPU-intensive games
✅ You have an AM5 motherboard

Don't buy it if:

❌ A Ryzen 7 would be enough for you

Price check: $351 +$25 off promo at Newegg

UK: £259 at Amazon

Black Friday CPU deals: FAQs

Black Friday CPU deals: What to expect

Black Friday CPU deals in 2024 are sure to be tempting for anyone who hasn't upgraded to a DDR5-compatible system yet. AMD and Intel have multiple generations available that will give your system bona fide performance boosts. The best part? They're all going to be very affordable when November hits, especially since throughout this year, we've already seen CPU prices drop through the floor.

For starters, there's Intel, which has had to navigate a bit of a PR crisis this year due to its Raptor Lake processors facing widespread instability issues. Warranties and refunds have had to be involved, and motherboard patches have had to be rolled out - it really hasn't been a good look. That's all been happening as the 13th generation of Intel's CPUs has been getting cheaper, so with a poor reputation now in place, it's going to take some hefty deals to get gamers to build with their chips again come Black Friday.

That stands for team Blue's 13th and 14th generations, but the 12th gen group is still very viable, has DDR5 compatibility, and will be so, so cheap come November. Of course, you could wait for Intel's next generation, but since that'll be the first wave to adopt a new motherboard socket, you're going to be asking a lot of your wallet.

Then, there's AMD. Team Red's MO is to undercut Intel and Nvidia, and its Ryzen 7000 and 8000G processors are going to be extremely tempting for builders this Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It'll be interesting to see how desperate Intel will be, and how AMD responds, especially since its Ryzen 9000 Series only launched this year, and could face its first batch of deals.

No matter which team you go for, it's going to be an amazing time to buy gaming CPUs this November. Ready your wallets, check out our reviews, and expect some great deals. If you want an idea of prices from last year, scroll down and check out some of our favorite offers we've saved from 2023.

AMD Ryzen 5 8600G's face and branding — (Image credit: Future / Duncan Robertson)

When will Black Friday CPU deals start?

Black Friday officially begins on Friday, November 29 this year. As we've seen in previous years, Black Friday CPU deals will likely start in the weeks leading up to that day. We do see the odd deal pop up from the end of October onwards, but the best deals do start to emerge at the beginning of Thanksgiving week. Cyber Monday will happen again this year, but Black Friday usually brings around more deals, and is the safer bet.

Hand holding 13th-gen intel core i9-13900K in fingers in front of plant — (Image credit: Future / Phil Hayton)

Where will the best Black Friday CPU deals be?

In all honesty, it's fairly even in regards to where you'll be able to find the best Black Friday CPU deals. Taking past years into consideration, we saw some of the deepest discounts come from Amazon and Newegg above the majority of other retailers, so we recommend keeping a close watch on these two online storefronts in particular. Also keep an eye on Best Buy and other big-box stores, as they've been keeping up recently as well.

US:

Amazon: The biggest selection of current and previous generation chipsets
Best Buy: Regular discounts on AMD Ryzen 5000 series and Intel CPUs
Newegg: Deep discounts on must-have Ryzen models and 10th gen Intel
Walmart: Average prices with few discounts available right now

UK:

Amazon: Low prices on well-reviewed Intel and AMD Ryzen CPUs
eBuyer: Massive savings available on high AMD Ryzen chipsets
Currys: Good offers on the latest Ryzen processors
Laptops Direct: Minor but consistent deals on 9th, 10th, and 11th gen Intel

Complete your battle station for less with everything you need to know to get the best Black Friday gaming laptop deals and Black Friday gaming monitor deals.

You can also take a look at our Black Friday RAM deals and Black Friday SSD deals so you have all the bits and pieces you need to build a PC.

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One of my earliest memories is playing SuperMario64 and wondering why the controller I held had three grips, but I only had two hands. Ever since I've been in love with video games and their technology. After graduating from Edinburgh Napier University with a degree in Journalism, I contributed to the Scottish Games Network and completed an Editorial Internship at Expert Reviews. Over the last decade, I’ve been managing my own YouTube channel about my love of games too. These days, I'm one of the resident hardware nerds at GamesRadar+, and I take the lead on our coverage of gaming PCs, VR, controllers, gaming chairs, and content creation gear. Now, I better stop myself here before I get talking about my favourite games like HUNT: Showdown, Dishonored, and Towerfall Ascension.

With contributions from

Dustin BaileyStaff Writer