AMD's Ryzen 5 9600X ($279) and Ryzen 7 9700X ($359) are the first wave of processors based on the new Zen 5 architecture. This new design brings substantial improvements in IPC (instructions per clock) and overall performance. Despite the performance gains, these processors offer better power efficiency than previous generations at just 65W TDP. Passive cooling is possible using our favorite Noctua NH-P1.
