AMD’s Ryzen 5 5500 launched in 2022 for $159 with six cores and 12 threads, offering plenty of performance for a gaming PC or one for a mixture of work and play. Although an AM4 processor that supports DDR4 RAM, this chip shouldn’t be overlooked if you’re looking for an affordable way to build a new system or upgrade from an older AMD CPU. For Prime Day, it’s discounted to just $61. I recall a time when anything above four cores was viewed as a luxury, and here we are with a 6-core CPU for almost $60.
What makes this an epic deal
The processor and graphics card are usually the most expensive parts of any system. Depending on what you need the PC for, it’s possible to use an AMD Ryzen 5 or Intel Core Ultra 5 and enjoy a pleasant experience without any sluggishness. You could pair an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT GPU with this processor and still be able to enjoy butter-smooth gaming at higher resolutions, though I would suggest maybe looking at the also discounted AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D if building a 4K gaming PC from scratch.
This $61 Ryzen 5 5500 is based on AMD’s Zen 3 architecture, and although it doesn’t have an “X” suffix, the CPU is fully unlocked and can be boosted through activating AMD’s Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO) feature and ensuring XMP or EXPO is enabled for your system memory. And because this CPU has a relatively low TDP of just W, you won’t need range-topping liquid cooling to keep temperatures in check. Simply install the chip on an AM4 motherboard, enable EXPO and PBO, and enjoy your favorite games.
We’d typically recommend a mini PC or some other form factor instead of building a PC if on a tight budget, but when you come across discounts such as this, it’s difficult to recommend against buying the 5500 and putting together an impressive PC that can be upgraded further down the line should you eventually require something with slightly more power. And that’s what’s so great about the AM4 platform. AMD is still releasing new processors so there’s plenty of SKUs to choose from without requiring a new motherboard.
Need an AMD AM5 processor?
There’s a great Prime Day deal for you too!
If you’re already rocking an AM5 motherboard or wish to build a slightly more modern PC, Amazon has you covered with these two great Amazon Prime Day deals. First, we’ve got the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X with its 12 cores and 24 threads. It’s an absolute beast, unlocking DDR5 RAM and PCIe 5.0 support with scope to upgrade to the latest and greatest from AMD. This is an excellent choice for those requiring impressive performance at a reasonable price.
But if you are into gaming and wish to build a 4K-capable system, the aforementioned Ryzen 7 7800X3D is where you should land. $338 is a fair price to pay for a modern CPU with AMD’s 3D V-Cache technology, which significantly improves in-game performance and pairs well with more powerful graphics cards.