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Very solid, while its not technically the best, its still a near top of the line gaming CPU for most people at an absolute steal of a price.
For example, the best gaming processor you can buy a 9800x3D ($460 CPU only) is only 8% faster at 1440p with a 4090, 3% at 4k. Only at low resolutions with a flagship GPU (aka unrealistic scenarios for most people) will you really see the difference. The Core Ultra 265k is +50% faster in multithread and is more power efficient, so it pulls ahead in other ways while being cheaper.
The closest comparison at this price would be the 9600X ($210+$80 DDR5) and by far is the 265K the better CPU.
At this price, with free RAM, the 265k is the obvious buy if youre looking for a new build. A lot of old reviews will have been comparing products at MSRP but this is essentially a 50% discount... So it completely changes how you perceive the CPU. If I didnt already have a build from last year, I would be jumping on this personally.
The 265K smokes the 9800X3D in many compute tasks, like AI, because it has 20 cores. The 265K is also exceedingly power efficient. I own both, they both have their use cases. FPS per dollar at 4K, the 265K is a pretty great value, also.
AMD upgradability is nice, but I'd bet many AM4 owners are shopping AM5, not a 5700X3D.
what are you doing with AI for all these cores being used?
Im building a PC and have no idea what I'm doing. I got this combo and don't know where to go from here. Any tips to point me in the right direction?
For motherboards, I am personally partial to ASUS as they seem to be quite reliable. I got the Z890AYW board at Microcenter (It was $180 when I got it). It is basically the same as the Z890 PRIME and is a decent board, so you could look at the Z890 PRIME.
Gigabyte is also decent and the GIGABYTE B860 AORUS ELITE is cheap right now. People will dump on it because it's a "B" chipset which means you can't overclock it, so if that's something you want to do, I'd avoid it (forums indicate you can get more out of a 265K if you tweak it). You just have to decide how much you want to invest into this. For $140, it's kinda hard to go wrong, especially if you're not going to tweak. For motherboards, I'd avoid ASROCK for now (they're currently having trouble on the AMD side and not responding to it well), I've also had mixed luck with MSI.
You can spend HUNDREDS of dollars trying to eek out an extra few percent, or build a competent inexpensive machine and save all that money for the next PC you build...or put it towards something that will really make a difference, like a better GPU.
Head over to pcpartpicker, plug in your CPU and it will run you through a builder where you can pick components and it will filter by what is compatible. Sorting by most popular will help narrow things down.
You need:
CPU - You already have it.
Memory - You already have it.
CPU Cooler - Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE performs well and is good value. Avoid liquid coolers, they fail and can leak.
Motherboard - B860 if you are not going to tweak and want value oriented. Z890 if you see one you like.
NVME SSD - Best Buy 'Geek Squad Refurbished' 2TB Samsung 990 Pro is an excellent value.
Case (get one with fans) - Montech XR is good value, Fractal Pop is nice but doesn't have front USB-C (you can buy it), Corsair 4000D is nice and has USB-C.
Power supply - Get 750w or higher, be sure it has the new GPU power connector. EVGA is rated well but that company might go under. Seasonic is expensive but excellent. Corsair RM850e (2025) is somewhere in the middle.
GPU - I'd stick with nVidia, 16GB or more of memory if you plan to game at 4K (you should) with new release games. Never buy less than 12GB. The Asus Prime 5070 is a good value, but the 5070Ti is probably worth the spend, especially if you've saved it elsewhere in the build. This is where to spend the money.
You're looking at ~$550 for the rest of the build which is completely fine for any daily tasks, ~$1400 more if you include a 5070Ti which will run any game you want at very good settings. This would be a very powerful PC for anything you want to do.
If you're on a mega budget, you could pick up a used 3080 or 4070, but you'll be wanting to upgrade much sooner with these options, but based on prices you find, might be a better option. Just be sure the power supply you get has the cables you'll need for the GPU you want.
Last edited by Dreamliner330 May 20, 2025 at 10:19 PM.
I contacted Customer Service and they said once its back in stock just give them a message and they will send me the rams.
So if i order with the free SSD deal, i have a cancelled order on my account with free Rams which i want to reinstate
How to contact? over the phone or email or live chat?
So if i order with the free SSD deal, i have a cancelled order on my account with free Rams which i want to reinstate
How to contact? over the phone or email or live chat?
Too be honest I don't even know if I will get a free SSD. I contacted them through live chat and they said if I placed an order during this promo they will send me the free ram when its avaliable. The live agent said she would leave a note for them to know when I contact them that I should be getting free rams. Afterward, I placed the order for the cpu with the free ssd.
Too be honest I don't even know if I will get a free SSD. I contacted them through live chat and they said if I placed an order during this promo they will send me the free ram when its avaliable. The live agent said she would leave a note for them to know when I contact them that I should be getting free rams. Afterward, I placed the order for the cpu with the free ssd.
I am not, I was responding to someone who mentioned it.FPS per dollar is pretty unbeatable with a 265K at some of the prices I've seen recently especially with the free games.After selling the bundle games, the cost of my 265K/mobo was HALF the cost of my 9800X3D/mobo (I have both).
Locally on FB Marketplace, I won't sell them online because of scams.. It was challenging because I had to activate/redeem the Intel code, then convince the buyer to login to their Ubisoft account (for my game bundles), then the license transferred over to their account.
I had a couple Steam keys I sold locally also but was much easier as it was a simple code.
I'll take the Intel code for these games if anyone doesn't want them. I have the hardware but not this particular bundle...
Top Comments
For example, the best gaming processor you can buy a 9800x3D ($460 CPU only) is only 8% faster at 1440p with a 4090, 3% at 4k. Only at low resolutions with a flagship GPU (aka unrealistic scenarios for most people) will you really see the difference. The Core Ultra 265k is +50% faster in multithread and is more power efficient, so it pulls ahead in other ways while being cheaper.
The closest comparison at this price would be the 9600X ($210+$80 DDR5) and by far is the 265K the better CPU.
At this price, with free RAM, the 265k is the obvious buy if youre looking for a new build. A lot of old reviews will have been comparing products at MSRP but this is essentially a 50% discount... So it completely changes how you perceive the CPU. If I didnt already have a build from last year, I would be jumping on this personally.
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AMD upgradability is nice, but I'd bet many AM4 owners are shopping AM5, not a 5700X3D.
If you choose the 265k, the gift-memory will be added automatically.
Im building a PC and have no idea what I'm doing. I got this combo and don't know where to go from here. Any tips to point me in the right direction?
FPS per dollar is pretty unbeatable with a 265K at some of the prices I've seen recently especially with the free games.
After selling the bundle games, the cost of my 265K/mobo was HALF the cost of my 9800X3D/mobo (I have both).
Gigabyte is also decent and the GIGABYTE B860 AORUS ELITE is cheap right now. People will dump on it because it's a "B" chipset which means you can't overclock it, so if that's something you want to do, I'd avoid it (forums indicate you can get more out of a 265K if you tweak it). You just have to decide how much you want to invest into this. For $140, it's kinda hard to go wrong, especially if you're not going to tweak. For motherboards, I'd avoid ASROCK for now (they're currently having trouble on the AMD side and not responding to it well), I've also had mixed luck with MSI.
You can spend HUNDREDS of dollars trying to eek out an extra few percent, or build a competent inexpensive machine and save all that money for the next PC you build...or put it towards something that will really make a difference, like a better GPU.
Head over to pcpartpicker, plug in your CPU and it will run you through a builder where you can pick components and it will filter by what is compatible. Sorting by most popular will help narrow things down.
You need:
CPU - You already have it.
Memory - You already have it.
CPU Cooler - Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE performs well and is good value. Avoid liquid coolers, they fail and can leak.
Motherboard - B860 if you are not going to tweak and want value oriented. Z890 if you see one you like.
NVME SSD - Best Buy 'Geek Squad Refurbished' 2TB Samsung 990 Pro is an excellent value.
Case (get one with fans) - Montech XR is good value, Fractal Pop is nice but doesn't have front USB-C (you can buy it), Corsair 4000D is nice and has USB-C.
Power supply - Get 750w or higher, be sure it has the new GPU power connector. EVGA is rated well but that company might go under. Seasonic is expensive but excellent. Corsair RM850e (2025) is somewhere in the middle.
GPU - I'd stick with nVidia, 16GB or more of memory if you plan to game at 4K (you should) with new release games. Never buy less than 12GB. The Asus Prime 5070 is a good value, but the 5070Ti is probably worth the spend, especially if you've saved it elsewhere in the build. This is where to spend the money.
You're looking at ~$550 for the rest of the build which is completely fine for any daily tasks, ~$1400 more if you include a 5070Ti which will run any game you want at very good settings. This would be a very powerful PC for anything you want to do.
If you're on a mega budget, you could pick up a used 3080 or 4070, but you'll be wanting to upgrade much sooner with these options, but based on prices you find, might be a better option. Just be sure the power supply you get has the cables you'll need for the GPU you want.
I asked and they said once they get it back in stock just send them a message and they'll ship it to me for free ...
But now wouldn't this a waaaaaay better deal now since they're offering the two games AND a SSD card on top of that the rams 👀👀
But now wouldn't this a waaaaaay better deal now since they're offering the two games AND a SSD card on top of that the rams 👀👀
I don't see the RAM?
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So if i order with the free SSD deal, i have a cancelled order on my account with free Rams which i want to reinstate
How to contact? over the phone or email or live chat?
How to contact? over the phone or email or live chat?
I had a couple Steam keys I sold locally also but was much easier as it was a simple code.
I'll take the Intel code for these games if anyone doesn't want them. I have the hardware but not this particular bundle...