Intel Core i9-9900KF is down to $440 at Amazon and Newegg
It's a 9900K, but without the integrated graphics.
The Intel Core i9-9900KF was released earlier this year, as an alternative to the 9900K without integrated graphics. That's not a bad idea in theory, but Intel priced it nearly identically to the 9900K, so there wasn't much of a reason to buy it. That's not true today though, as Intel has dropped the price of the 9900KF to $439.99—$50 less than what the 9900K usually goes for.
This is an 8-core/16-thread processor, built on the 14nm Coffee Lake architecture. It has a base frequency of 3.6 GHz, with a max turbo freq. of 5 GHz with the right cooling. It's just a 9900K with the integrated graphics disabled, so you'll need a dedicated graphics card to use it at all. But as long as you're planning to use a dedicated graphics card (which you obviously should be) you're getting the best CPU for gaming at a discount price.
We'll be on the lookout for more CPU discounts leading up to the Amazon Prime Day deals, but if you need a processor right now, this isn't a bad option—and Intel rarely discounts its CPUs.
Intel Core i9-9900KF Processor | $439.99 ($30 off)
This Core i9 chip with dedicated graphics is $30 off the usual price, and around $50 less than the same CPU with graphics. Amazon is already backordered, as of the time of writing. Buy at Amazon, Buy at Newegg
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Corbin is a tech journalist, software developer, and longtime PC Gamer freelance writer, currently based in North Carolina. He now focuses on the world of Android as a full-time writer at XDA-Developers. He plays a lot of Planet Coaster and Fallout and hosts a podcast all about forgotten stories from tech history.