Intel 10th-gen Core CPUs get big price cuts: would you pick more cores or better single thread performance?

Highly anticipated: In preparation to the launch of 11th-gen Core processors a.k.a. Rocket Lake, Intel has made significant price cuts in order to clear inventory of current-gen CPUs, providing some interesting alternatives to consumers, especially for gamers looking for a 6 or 8-core CPU.

As we've discussed in recent weeks, stock of AMD Ryzen processors is not as good which means that some models are completely unavailable or they might be selling for less attractive pricing, even above the MSRP, depending on where you live.

The Core i5-10600K has been brought down to $189 and you can find them in Micro Center at that price, while at Amazon and Newegg they're going for a somewhat less aggressive $225. As usual pricing in Europe is a little higher, but you can still get the 10600K for €208 at Mindfactory, one of the biggest retailers in Germany. This 6 core, 12 thread CPU comes with a 4.1 GHz base clock, 4.8 GHz boost clock, integrated graphics and is fully unlocked given that you have an appropriate board.

The Core i7-10700K has been discounted as well, with new price reductions this 8-core comes down to $250 at Micro Center, or €299 on Mindfactory. With 3.8 GHz base and 5.1 GHz boost clocks, it brings the competition to the Ryzen 3700X/3800X models from AMD. For US shoppers this presents a good value, but in Europe prices are comparative, and it is down to the users to make a choice based on platform and performance in a specific scenario.

If 8 cores are not enough and you can use 2 more cores in your workloads, the Core i9-10900K can now be had for $400 at Micro Center, this makes an interesting situation where in the US the 10900K is now cheaper than 5800X, but in Europe where 10900K is priced over €400 it is undercut by 5800x which currently can be had for €399 here. At Amazon, the 10900K is not as affordable coming in at $460, or $420 for the 10900KF model.

With these new prices it seems that the choice for consumers is getting harder, but in this case it is a good thing as there's more choice between cores, power and single thread performance and users can fine tune their choice depending on their needs.