Intel’s 9th generation Coffee Lake CPUs get prices slashed by 25 percent, but waiting for Ryzen 4000 Zen 3 might still be worth it

Intel has evidently slashed prices on a number of Coffee Lake processors by as much as 25 percent. The flagship Core i9-9900K, usually on sale for US$499, is now selling for US$434. The 8-core, 8-thread Core i7-9700K is down to US$339. Meanwhile the mainstream Core i5-9600K is below the US$200 mark, at US$194.

While, in a statement to Tom’s Hardware, Intel claimed that this is promotional pricing, it’s unclear as to how long the discounts will last. The timing of this price cut is interesting for a couple reasons. Coffee Lake is a bit long in the tooth now, and Intel is likely aiming to clear out old stock to focus on Comet Lake and its Rocket Lake chips, expected to arrive at the end of this year. 

Another key factor, though, is AMD. The rival CPU maker is expected to release its Zen 3-based Ryzen 4000 desktop CPUs in the coming months. Ryzen 4000 promises both substantial IPC gains and higher clocks. Leaked benches of engineering samples indicate that high-end Ryzen 4000 parts might actually clear 5.0 GHz. 

While the Coffee Lake sale prices are appealing — especially the Core i5-9600K at US$194 — we’d advise waiting a few months to see what both Intel and AMD have in store.