Finding a new CPU for your gaming or productivity needs is a challenge simply due to the sheer number of options out there for users to consider. You could spend ages browing through your options, considering your budget, and poring over specs.
Despite that, if you’re looking to spend over $300 in that department, Newegg’soffer for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265Kis hard to beat given that it comes with a discount, an excellent PCI-E 4.0 SSD and $140+ in games as part of the bundle.
Why Is The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K A Good Deal?
It is no secret thatIntel’scurrent generation CPUs have their work cut out for them thanks toAMDoutperforming them in games handily (with its X3D CPU lineup) even as gains versus last-generation Intel Core CPU seem elusive, leading many to paint yesteryear’s Core i9 14900K as the best Intel CPU for gaming, at least for the foreseeable future.
The 20-core 28-thread CPU, which has a recommended consumer price between $394 and $404 is already trading at a small discount on Newegg, where it currently retails for just over $370. When considering the additional hardware freebie that is thrown in, coming in the shape of a 1TB SKU of Corsair’s MP600 CORE XT SSD ($65 value), this means that Intel’s CPU is available for grabs at just over $300.
Intel’s Core Ultra 7 265K is a capable all-rounder that has only become an increasingly well-positioned value purchase for most users since its inception.
This makes it considerably more viable as an option thanks to its proven performance in productivity workloads, even as Intel continues to promise improvements over time when it comes to gaming with subsequent updates to how the CPU handles scheduling (via BIOS and microcode updates) over time. It also puts the Core Ultra 7 265K on a warpath against AMD’s 8-core Ryzen 7 9700X CPU, with Intel’s offering coming with significantly better multicore performance than the latter, even as it holds against Team Red’s offering in most games.
This, however, is further underscored by a $140 bundle in play for gamers currently offered by Intel, something that, if valued at MSRP, could mean that the Core Ultra 7 265K is one of the cheapest CPUs money can buy in 2025.
Intel’s Gamer-Focused Play
Intel seems to have tapped into offering better value than the competition by providing what is arguably one of its most generous PC gaming bundles to date, dubbed the ‘Intel Builder’s Bundle’, which combines two of the most anticipated titles of the year:Sid Meier’s Civilization VIIandAssassin’s Creed Shadows. This represents $140 in value ($70 each) for gamers looking to purchase both or at least half that for users who are likely to have at least one of them on their wishlist.
With Sid Meier’s Civilization VII already released earlier this month, this might be one of the best times to pick up Intel’s latest CPU to get a crack at one of the best strategy game franchise’s latest offerings for free.
