Report: Intel's 9th Gen Chip Prices Leak

If you're thinking of building a new gaming rig this year, then Oct. 1 is probably a date you're looking at with much interest. That's because it's the rumored launch date for Intel's 9th generation chips. If true, then we'll be able to install an eight-core, 16 thread Core i9-9900K chip running at 3.6GHz and turbo boosting to 5GHz in a new rig hopefully before the end of October. But how much will we be expected to pay for this chip?

It turns out probably not as much as you'd expected. Remember the days when new, high-end processor pricing could stretch to almost four digits? Not this time, apparently. As Tom's Hardware reports, prices for Intel's 9th generation chips have started to leak from multiple online retailers.

Three stores leaked the pricing for the Core i9-9900K, Core i7-9700K, and Core i5-9600K, they are Alza.cz, PC21.FR, and Informaticazone. Even if we quote the most expensive price (after converting Euros to US dollars and subtracting the VAT) the Core i9-9900K is expected to cost just $534. Still expensive, but certainly not bank-breaking.

The Core i7-9700K is expected to cost $416. Remember, it's a chip that also offers eight cores but is limited to eight threads and runs at 3.6GHz turbo boosting to 4.9GHz. Then we have the Core i5-9600K (six cores, six threads, 3.7GHz boosting to 4.6GHz), which is expected to cost $257.

We probably have AMD to thank for this level of pricing if it turns out to be correct. AMD's recent resurgence by offering new processors with impressive performance have meant Intel doesn't have the market pretty much to itself anymore. It's a clear reminder of why healthy competition is so important for consumers and the market in general.