It's finally a good time to buy a Raptor Lake CPU during Prime Big Deals Day

Intel's latest Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs have been difficult to recommend over the past few months, as they regularly sold at above-average prices. However, with Amazon's Big Deal Days event underway, these 14th Generation chips are now enjoying better pricing, with some models reaching all-time lows. Check out these deals at Newegg.

Raptor Lake Refresh continues to be a relevant platform due to the rising cost of DDR5 memory. Intel's 14th-Gen chips support both DDR4 and DDR5, making them an easy upgrade option if you don't already have DDR5 memory, though DDR4 will result in about 13% lower gaming performance. Intel's Robert Hallock stated earlier this year that Raptor Lake is a core part of Intel's strategy for years to come, hinting at price stabilization and inventory improvements.

The main Raptor Lake Refresh lineup is currently on sale, with popular chips like the Core i7-14700KF hitting their lowest price ever. The 24-core, eight-performance, and 16-efficiency core Core i9-14900KF is still among the fastest Intel gaming CPUs. It is currently available for $369.99, setting a new record low, and the Core i9-14900K is on sale for $400. The Core i9-14900KF offers exceptional gaming performance and solid productivity capabilities, with single-core boosts up to 6 GHz.

For a more balanced option, the Core i7-14700KF, which lacks integrated graphics, is on sale for $279.99. This chip provides 97% of the gaming performance of the Core i9-14900K for around $80 less, thanks to its core split. The Core i5-14400F, priced at $161.10, is a solid mid-range option that typically doesn't see many discounts. While it only has four efficiency cores, it still delivers 97% of the gaming performance of the Core i9-14900K for around $80 less.