If you're building a desktop PC and want to balance features and affordability, Newegg has you covered. For $116, you can purchase a bundle that includes the excellent AMD Ryzen 5 5500 processor and ASRock B450M/AC R2.0 motherboard for 25% off the regular price.
The Ryzen 5 5500 is one of the best affordable desktop processors on the market. It's ranked #3 on Newegg's list of desktop processors, and if that's not enough, it's also the best value processor currently on sale anywhere—out of over 1,000 processors—according to PaskMark.
Built on AMD Zen 3 architecture, it offers six cores and 12 threads, a base clock speed of 3.6 GHz and a boost clock of up to 4.2 GHz. With a power rating of 65W and the included Wraith Stealth cooler, it's well suited for compact or budget systems.
AMD's Best Combo Deal Today
For everyday computing, the Ryzen 5 5500 handles multitasking, productivity apps, and general home use with ease.
It lacks integrated graphics, but this is rarely an issue on entry-level gaming systems where the plan is usually to use a dedicated GPU.
Select processor HereSelect “Build with It” from the combo summary, and then select ASRock B450M/AC R2.0 from the motherboard list to get the best deal.
This B450M/AC R2.0 offers PCIe 3.0 support and has an M.2 slot for NVMe SSDs. The kit includes built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, which is a nice touch since many boards in this price range still require a separate wireless adapter.
Memory support goes up to 128GB DDR4, which is far more than most budget systems will ever need.
Storage options include four SATA ports next to an M.2 slot, making it easy to combine fast-boot drives and larger, cheaper storage. The Micro ATX form factor also provides flexibility for smaller cases.
Of course, there are tradeoffs to keep in mind. The platform is limited to PCIe 3.0 and uses the old AM4 socket, which means there is no way to upgrade to new generations of Ryzen without replacing the board. However, with strict budgeting, these trade-offs are easy to justify.
At this price, the package includes a powerful six-core processor, a Wi-Fi-enabled motherboard, and a standard cooler, but that's not much more than the processor itself. This makes it one of the best budget PC deals currently available.
