These past few days, we noticed that the current 10th gen Intel Core processors are getting discounted. We see price drops for CPUs like the Core i9-10900K, i7-10700K, i5-10600K, and even their non-K counterparts. On top of that, Newegg is offering promo codes for some of this 10th gen Intel Core processors. You can get the Core i5-10600K that was originally listed for $269.99 before for as low as $225 today. Check out more details below.
10th Gen Intel Core Processors Price Drops
Below is the list of the 10th Gen Intel Core processors that are currently having discounted prices. Some of these processors have promo codes, while others come with a software bundle. I’m not sure when will this discounted price last. But if Intel plans to reduce the prices of the current 10th gen processors, you can expect them to continue in the next following days or weeks to come.
| Processor | Discounted Price | Cores / Threads | Base Freq | Max Turbo | All Core Turbo | Cache | Integrated Graphics | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| i9-10900K | Check here | 10 / 20 | 3.7 GHz | 5.3 GHz | 4.8 GHz | 20MB | UHD Graphics 630 | 125W |
| i9-10900KF | Check here | 10 / 20 | 3.7 GHz | 5.3 GHz | 4.8 GHz | 20MB | None | 125W |
| i9-10850K | Check here | 10 / 20 | 3.6 GHz | 5.2 GHz | 4.7 GHz | 20MB | UHD Graphics 630 | 125W |
| i9-10900 | Check here | 10 / 20 | 2.8 GHz | 5.2 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 20MB | UHD Graphics 630 | 65W |
| i9-10900F | Check here | 10 / 20 | 2.8 GHz | 5.2 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 20MB | None | 65W |
| i7-10700K | Check here | 8 / 16 | 3.8 GHz | 5.1 GHz | 4.7 GHz | 16MB | UHD Graphics 630 | 125W |
| i7-10700KF | Check here | 8 / 16 | 3.8 GHz | 5.1 GHz | 4.7 GHz | 16MB | None | 125W |
| i7-10700 | Check here | 8 / 16 | 2.9 GHz | 4.8 GHz | 4.6 GHz | 16MB | UHD Graphics 630 | 65W |
| i7-10700F | Check here | 8 / 16 | 2.9 GHz | 4.8 GHz | 4.6 GHz | 16MB | None | 65W |
| i5-10600K | Check here | 6 / 12 | 4.1 GHz | 4.8 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 12MB | UHD Graphics 630 | 125W |
| i5-10600 | Check here | 6 / 12 | 3.3 GHz | 4.8 GHz | 4.4 GHz | 12MB | UHD Graphics 630 | 65W |
| i5-10400 | Check here | 6 / 12 | 2.9 GHz | 4.3 GHz | 4.0 GHz | 12MB | UHD Graphics 630 | 65W |
| i5-10400F | Check here | 6 / 12 | 2.9 GHz | 4.3 GHz | 4.0 GHz | 12MB | None | 65W |
These 10th gen Intel Core processors are not backward compatible with the previous generation motherboards. They use socket LGA 1200 and are compatible with the Intel 400 chipset series and the new 500 chipset series motherboards.
Another thing to note is that “K” processors are unlocked. Meaning, you can manually overclock these processors. Non-K processors are locked CPUs. You are stuck with whatever factory speeds they have. And the “F” processors mean that they don’t come with a built-in graphics processor or iGPU. If you use QuickSync, you may want to get a processor with an iGPU and avoid an “F” CPU.
11th Gen Is Coming, Should You Buy One Now?
I’m not quite sure if Intel is discounting or dropping prices of their 10th gen processors to combat AMD’s Ryzen 5000 CPUs; or perhaps because 11th gen is just around the corner. Well, perhaps both.
But should you buy a (discounted) 10th Gen Intel Core processor knowing that 11th gen is coming? That’s a bit tough decision if you ask me. But let’s narrow it down.
The 11th gen Rocket Lake CPU will have support for the PCIe 4.0 Gen4 interface. This means M.2 NVMe Gen4 SSDs are now fully compatible with an Intel system running with these new CPUs. This is something that AMD has since Ryzen 3000 series. Whether or not it will affect the performance of the latest RTX 30 series and RX 6800 series graphics cards remain to be seen. But I doubt it will.
The USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 seems to be directly integrated with the chipset. So it may not be CPU-dependent. This means, even if you use a 10th gen Intel CPU on a Z590 motherboard, you can still take advantage of the USB 3.2 Gen2x2 connectivity. If so, I don’t think there is a lot to miss if you opt for a 10th gen CPU, instead of 11th Gen.
According to the leaks, the 11th gen Rocket Lake processor will have an improved IPC and single-threaded performance. It will at least match or beat AMD’s Ryzen 5000. On the flip side, there won’t be a 10-core/20-thread 11th gen processor. The top Core i9 and Core i7 will only have 8 cores and 16 threads.
So, perhaps the Core i9-10900K will have an advantage when it comes to multi-threaded performance vs the Core i9-11900K’s. But that remains to be seen. There are also rumors that Intel will release a Comet Lake refresh CPUs as well.
Perhaps it is best to wait for the 11th gen if you are after the IPC gains and Gen4 support. However, I expect that these upcoming 11th Gen CPUs will be priced higher when they first become available in the market. And perhaps they will sell out fast as well; considering it is very hard to get an AMD Ryzen 5000 CPU these days. So, getting a discounted 10th gen Intel Core processor may not be a bad choice either.
