Don’t call it a theme, but just like yesterday, today’s deal is one for the PC builders. Micro Center is currently selling an unlocked, VR-friendly Intel Core i5-7600K Kaby Lake processor for $200. That’s $70 off the sticker price and another $40 down from what you’ll find right now on Amazon and Newegg.
There is a catch: This deal is in-store only. Micro Center’s 25 locations are scattered nationwide, however, so you may be lucky enough to live near one.
The i5-7600K is an overclockable 3.8GHz Kaby Lake processor that comes with four cores and four threads, a TDP of 91 watts, and Intel HD 630 Graphics. Overall, it’s a solid processor for anyone looking to build a standard-use PC, as well as a good choice for budget gamers. AnandTech got into the details with the i5-7600K and found that it performed about as well as a “mildly overclocked Core i5-6600K” from the Skylake era. The only advantage the 7600K had was on power savings, but performance was about equal.
That squares with our look at the Core i7-7700K in January. We found that Kaby Lake chips in general give you a little bit better performance for around the same price as a Skylake chip. When it’s cheaper than a Skylake chip (the 6600K is going for about $220 on Amazon right now), that extra gain is even sweeter.
Micro Center