Heads up, gents. A great combo sale from Newegg you won't catch on BPCS. Today only. This is a phenomenal starting block for anyone considering a new build right now.
($368) i5-10600K + Gigabyte Z590 UD ATX Motherboard + Death Stranding (Epic Games code)
https://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails?sdtid=15006250&ItemList=Combo.4243332&nm_mc
For some reason, the Gigabyte Z590 UD still isn't showing up on PCPP-- only the WiFi variant (
UD AC). They're otherwise identical. The "UD" is Gigabyte's entry line, but of course, this is a Z590 motherboard. Here are the major specifications via the manufacturer:
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z590-UD-rev-10#kf
Concerning more advanced considerations, while the UD line has been lackluster for other chipsets, for example the Z490 rendition, which was awful, this one is really good. The VRM gets a "B" tiering from unofficial builder enthusiasts online for the VRM (only A, S, and S+ are above this). It boasts a 12+1 phase design with a Vishay SiC651A (50A) vCore MOSFET & Vishay SiC649A (60A) UNCORE MOSFET. The speculated peak ceiling current tolerance is 120A. It is overall the best performer among budget Z590 boards:
https://www.anandtech.com/show/16347/the-intel-z590-overview/38
Note: the clickbait thumbnail is directed at ASRock whose Phantom 4 failed the basic thermal test outright.
The lone disappointment of this pairing is that the first m.2 slot, the PCIe 4.0 x4 one, will be disabled because the 10600K isn't a Rocket Lake chip. That's true for all Z590 motherboards. However, the board has two other m.2 slots, and the #2 slot will work at PCIe 3.0x4 speeds since the first m.2 slot won't be populated. While it's disappointing Intel didn't engineer it so that the first slot simply downclocks with a Comet Lake CPU, letting you operate three m.2 drives, practically speaking, I don't think this matters, because PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs are still overpriced, and any budget build likely won't boast 3x NVMe SSDs, anyway. Besides, 2 x m.2 slots is the most common number among $150-$200 B560 motherboards (or B550/X570 motherboards on the AMD side).
Otherwise, apart from the usual bells and whistles, yada yada, perhaps the most attractive feature of this board are the 2 x Thunderbolt AIC connectors.
Gigabyte was coy with MSRP quotes at launch like everyone else because they wanted to wait and see how much they could gouge gamers for, but the initial release at Microcenter indicates a $189 and $209 intended MSRP for it and the WiFi variant, respectively. Thanks to a "sale" quote lasting for the next 17 hours, serendipitously coinciding with this combo deal, Newegg has it priced at this MSRP before the combo discount.
Right off the bat this is favorable start in today's motherboard market. Just getting a high-end ATX board at its intended MSRP is a win, and at this price Newegg matches Amazon/B&H/Microcenter as the best currently available from any reseller on the market. There's no Z590 ATX MoBo that is cheaper, new, and as you can see from the HUB video above, the only competitors that are equally priced are significantly inferior in thermal performance except for the MSI Z490-A
. That board for $190 and the MSI B560 MAG Torpedo
for $170 via Wal-Mart are the only other ATX options worth mentioning in the same sentence below $200 that I can find.
Consequently, this means the price of the
i5-10600K is effectively $223 - $45 =
$178.
The free digital copy of
Death Stranding (for Epic Games) is just the icing on the cake. After all, this game is still $60 on Steam and Epic alike, and the current low anywhere
is $33.
*Edit* Upon further reflection, I noticed the new value king CPU i5-11400 is still available for $189 from B&H (they also have the iGPU-less 11400F for $175). This CPU beats up the 10600K in terms or raw editing processing power. More recent benchmarks also show the frametime issue in games is almost entirely resolved, and it appears to to trade blows with the 10600K in gaming, though perhaps winning the preponderance of races, especially the 0.1% and 1% lows, I noticed. With this CPU you could use all three m.2 slots, and you'd also net the Thunderbolt 4.0 support + A.I. improvements. Since the Gigabyte Z590 UD is available for $189 discretely via Amazon, it's difficult to accept the free copy of Death Stranding as preferable given the price difference.
The i5-10400F for $141 from Staples I highlighted days ago with the MSI MAG B560 Torpedo for $170 I mentioned above is the more sensible among thriftier alternatives. Another motherboard to keep your eyes peeled for is the ASRock B560 Steel Legend which at its initial intended MSRP of $140 was underpriced-- can't get that anymore; sells for $180 even at Microcenter. The lesser Asus PRIME B560-Plus for $120 is even more frugal, and ought to prove more obtainable at this price, though it went on back order as of several days ago.