This 1080p gaming CPU is down to $76 — it doesn't get much better for budget PC builders

Amazon's Big Spring Sale is now live, and I've been searching through all of the discounted items for some quality savings on PC hardware.

One of the most significant discounts I found is on the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 desktop processor (CPU) with six cores and a 4.2GHz boost clock.

While it's a few generations old at this point, it remains a dependable chip for budget builders who don't want to overspend.

The Ryzen 5 5500 CPU has a standard $159 price tag, but it's usually available between $90 and $110.

With Amazon's Big Spring Sale, however, the price has dropped to $76. That matches the previous lows spotted at Amazon, and I haven't found it for less anywhere else.

Cooler included

AMD Ryzen 5 5500
Was: $159
Now: $76 at Amazon

Customer reviews: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ @ Amazon

✅Perfect for: Budget PC builders who want a system that can handle 1080p gaming. It even comes with a cooler.

❌Avoid if: You have more money to spend and can afford to pick up one of AMD's newer AM5 CPUs.

👉 See at: Amazon.com

Return period: 30 days (Most items). Price match? No. Free shipping: $35 minimum. Membership: Amazon Prime w/ free shipping, exclusive deals, music, video, ebook, & audiobook access, & more.

💰Price check: $83.10 at Newegg

Why buy one of AMD's older AM4 processors?

AMD's CPU generations are generally classified alongside the architectural generation on which they're built and the socket they use to connect to a motherboard.

For example, the Ryzen 5 5500 that's on sale at Amazon launched in 2022 for the AM4 socket, and it uses AMD's Zen 3 architecture.

AMD made the switch to the Zen 4 architecture with its Ryzen 7000 chips, and again to Zen 5 with its Ryzen 9000 lineup.

That means you'll need an AM4 motherboard (if you don't already have one) for the Ryzen 5 5500 to work properly.

Although Amazon is the best place to pick up the standalone CPU, Newegg has some competing bundle deals on a Ryzen 5 5500 CPU and a compatible motherboard.

You can pick up the CPU and board for as little as $129.59 at Newegg, with some slightly pricier options also available.

Turning back to the Ryzen 5 5500, it's essentially a Ryzen 5 5600G APU with the integrated GPU removed, making it cheaper for those who have a discrete GPU standing by for gaming.

The Ryzen 5 5500's biggest flaw is its reduced L3 cache, which pulls some potential performance away compared to its Ryzen 5 5600 sibling.

In general, you can expect the Ryzen 5 5500 to be outperformed by the Ryzen 5 5600 in 1080p games.

Even the Ryzen 5 3600 pulls ahead in some instances at 1080p, but for the most part, the 5500 will match or exceed the 3600's potential.

Considering the best price I could find for the Ryzen 5 5600 is about $103.99 at Newegg, the $28 savings should be enough for plenty of budget PC builders.

Match it up with something like an AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, Intel Arc B570, or NVIDIA RTX 3060, and you'll have more than enough power for respectable 1080p gaming without overspending.

I don't know how long the $76 Ryzen 5 5500 deal at Amazon will last, but anyone who's been waiting to build a new budget gaming PC can save big.

Amazon notes that more than 3,000 of these CPUs have been sold in the last month, so rest assured you're not the only one taking advantage of this affordable chip.