Hello, Intel Core i7-14700K Cyber Monday deals now already live:

• 14700K Cyber Monday deals at Amazon

Helpful thread 👍

Ok so, just saw this thread and wanted to add something based on what I’ve seen in the enthusiast communities lately. One trick that gets overlooked is watching for the "open-box" wave right after the big sales. Basically, a ton of people impulse buy the Intel Core i7-14700K during the Cyber Monday hype and then return them a week later when they realize there wife might kill them for spending the money. I actually scored my last chip that way for way less than the actual "sale" price. Also, honestly, keep an eye on r/buildapcsales or similar Discord servers around that time. The community usually finds these weird coupon stacks—like combining a Newegg "Zip" payment discount with a site-wide promo—that can actually get you closer to that $330 mark. (at least thats what worked for me). One thing to remember though: if you're sticking with your current board, make sure you've got the latest BIOS flashed before you rip your 12700K out, otherwise that 14th gen chip wont even boot and you'll be stuck. It's a total headache if your board doesnt have a BIOS flashback button!

Late to the party but here is my take. Basically, by late 2025, the Intel Core i7-14700K is going to be a legacy part since Intel will be way into the LGA 1851 cycle. This is actually a huge advantage for you because retailers hate sitting on old high-end inventory. Here is what I have noticed from doing this for years:

• Inventory Clearance: Unlike the 13th gen, the 14th gen is the absolute end of the road for your Z690 board. Around Cyber Monday 2025, shops usually do these last call clearances to make room for newer sockets. You might see the price hit $320 or so if you are lucky.
• The E-core factor: The jump from eight to 12 e-cores is the main reason I would go for it. It definately makes a real difference in DaVinci Resolve renders even if gaming gains are smaller at 1440p.
• Stability: Just make sure your current board has the latest BIOS/microcode updates for those voltage issues before you swap!!! I had a buddy who didnt and it was a total mess. Honestly, waiting for 2025 is a solid plan because by then the platform is fully matured. Its the best way to max out that Z690 without buying a whole new build.

Hey,

I totally get planning way ahead – I’ve been burned by bad timing on CPU upgrades more than once.

So, quick background: I went from a 10700K → 12700K → 13700K over the years, and I’ve watched Intel pricing pretty obsessively every Black Friday/Cyber Monday for the last 4–5 years.

**1. How big are the discounts really?**
In my experience, a 14700K‑class chip a year or so after launch usually sees:
- "Normal" sale price that’s already ~15–20% under launch MSRP
- Cyber Monday/Black Friday on top of that is often just another **$20–$40 off**, not some crazy $100+ drop

There *are* exceptions, but they’re usually:
- Micro Center in‑store only
- Limited-quantity doorbusters that sell out in minutes

So if you’re hoping for a $150 haircut just because it’s Cyber Monday 2025, I’d say that’s unrealistic. Your $350–$380 target is possible, but more as the *regular* street price by late 2025, not some magical one‑day deal.

**2. Combo deals vs CPU‑only**
Over the years, I’ve actually saved more on **combos** than standalone CPUs:
- Micro Center 13700K + Z790 bundle I grabbed for a friend: the board was effectively $80–$100 cheaper than buying separately
- Newegg tends to do "code + mail‑in rebate" style bundles where the real savings are hidden in the board, not the CPU price tag

However, with your **12700K + Z690 + DDR5‑6000** at 1440p, I’d be very cautious. In most of the games you listed (especially shooters at 1440p), the jump from 12700K to 14700K is honestly not life‑changing. You’re more GPU‑bound than CPU‑bound in a lot of cases.

**3. BF vs Cyber Monday**
From what I saw with 13700K/14700K this year:
- Best prices usually hit **Black Friday weekend** (Fri–Sun)
- Cyber Monday is more like a re‑run with slightly worse or equal prices + different bundles

I actually tell friends: **watch prices from early November**, and if you see your target price, don’t try to “out‑galaxy‑brain” the exact day. I’ve waited for Cyber Monday before and watched the price go *up* again.

**4. Is it worth planning *specifically* around CM 2025?**
My cautious take:
- Don’t lock yourself mentally into “Cyber Monday 2025 or bust”
- Instead, set a **mental target price** (e.g. $360) for the 14700K and:
- Track prices monthly starting mid‑2025
- Be ready to pull the trigger if it hits that during any decent sale (back‑to‑school, random coupon, early BF, etc.)

Also, if you’re mainly gaming at 1440p with that 4070 Ti, I’d seriously consider **skipping this gen entirely** unless:
- You’re doing more heavy DaVinci work and need the extra cores
- You find a *really* good bundle that effectively gives you a board or cooler for peanuts

If you want to be super safe and money‑efficient, I’d:
- Stick with the 12700K for 2025
- Plan a bigger jump when you’re ready for a new platform (DDR5 is already good, but a future GPU upgrade will likely give you more noticeable gains than 12700K → 14700K).

FWIW, I’ve been happier when I upgraded *for a clear bottleneck* rather than for a sale date on the calendar.

If you want, drop your exact monitor refresh and typical FPS targets and I can be more specific on whether the 14700K would actually move the needle for you.

Hope this helps!

Hey,

I did almost exactly what you’re talking about a few years back: went from a 8700K to a 12700K and tried to “time” Black Friday/Cyber Monday. I watched prices for ~3 months, made spreadsheets (yeah, I’m that guy), and in the end I realized something a bit boring: the *big* CPU price drops usually didn’t land on BF/CM, they happened gradually as new gens launched and retailers adjusted inventory.

So, to your questions:

**1) How big are 14700K Cyber Monday discounts likely to be in 2025?**
If Intel stays on its usual pattern, a 14700K a year+ after launch is more likely to:
- Sit permanently lower (like $340–$380 normal price)
- Get **extra** BF/CM cuts of maybe $20–$40 on top of that

You almost never see a $450 chip suddenly go to $280 for one day unless it’s a clearance fire sale because the next gen just dropped hard. In my notes from the 12700K/13700K era, the biggest “real” drops were more like 10–15%, and they weren’t always strictly Cyber Monday.

**2) Combo deals vs standalone CPU**
If you actually **need** a new board, combos can absolutely be better value:
- Micro Center especially: in-store bundles (CPU + mobo) can effectively knock $50–$100 off vs buying separately.
- Online (Newegg/Amazon), combos are a mixed bag; a lot of them are just MSRP CPU with a slightly discounted or meh-quality board.

But in your case, you’re already on **Z690 + DDR5-6000**. That’s important. A 14700K will drop straight in (after BIOS update) and you avoid:
- Overpaying for a Z790 that doesn’t give you a big practical benefit for 1440p gaming
- Burning budget on stuff that isn’t giving FPS

So I’d be careful planning on a combo unless there’s a *specific* Z790 feature you need (better VRM for heavy AVX loads, more USB/PCIe lanes for extra devices, etc.). For gaming + light DaVinci, your current platform is already very solid.

**3) BF vs Cyber Monday, based on the last few gens**
From what I’ve tracked:
- Real price moves usually **start** 1–2 weeks before Black Friday
- Cyber Monday tends to be either recycled deals or minor variations (e.g., same CPU discount but different game bundle / different retailer)
- The better discounts I saw on 12600K/12700K/13700K were often **week-of-Black-Friday**, not Cyber Monday-only

So if you’re aiming at late 2025:
- I’d monitor from **early November 2025** through Cyber Monday
- Set a mental target like: “If 14700K hits $350–$370 from a good retailer, I pull the trigger, doesn’t matter if it’s BF or CM.”
- Don’t wait for some mythical ‘extra $30’ on Cyber Monday if it’s already in your range earlier.

**4) Bigger picture: is the upgrade even worth it?**
This is the part people tend to gloss over. From 12700K → 14700K you’re mainly getting:
- More E-cores and slightly higher clocks
- Nice uplift in heavy multi-thread stuff, yes
- But at 1440p with a 4070 Ti, a lot of your gaming will still be pretty GPU-bound in the big cinematic titles

In competitive shooters at high FPS, yeah, you’ll see some uplift, but it’s not like going from a 4-core to a 16-thread chip.

So, in your shoes, I’d:
- Treat the 14700K upgrade as a **nice-to-have**, not something worth obsessively “timing” a single sale day over
- Watch for **overall trend** in 2025 pricing, and use BF/CM as an accelerator rather than the main plan
- Make sure your Z690 BIOS supports 14th gen and that your VRMs/cooling are ready; 14700K can run hot and thirsty under all-core load

**Realistic expectation for Cyber Monday 2025:**
- Normal shelf price maybe around $340–$380 by then (depending on what Intel releases next)
- Extra CM discount: ~ $20–$40 tops, unless there’s some clearance or bundle gimmick

Lesson I learned the hard way: it’s usually smarter to define your **target price range** and a **time window** (e.g., “Nov 10 – Cyber Monday 2025”) instead of betting everything on a single date. If the 14700K hits your budget during that window, don’t overthink it.

Hope this helps! If you want, closer to that time you might want to post again with current prices and we can sanity-check whether it’s actually a good deal or just marketing fluff.

Hey,

One angle I haven’t seen mentioned yet is the *safety / reliability* side of chasing these big Cyber Monday upgrades.

I’m pretty new to this too, but I learned the hard way with my 13600K last year. I grabbed a “crazy good” BF bundle, and:

- The board had a sketchy VRM and ran my chip super hot at stock. It technically worked, but long‑term it freaked me out.
- The “free” cooler in the bundle was barely enough. Temps spiked into the 90s in games, which isn’t great for longevity.

With a 14700K specifically, I’d *definitely* factor in:
- **Power/heat**: it’s a hot, power‑hungry chip. Don’t rely on a random bundle cooler; plan for a solid air cooler or AIO that can handle heavy loads safely.
- **Motherboard quality**: some discounted Z790 boards cut corners on VRMs and BIOS support. Stable power delivery matters a lot for reliability, especially if you run XMP.
- **Return/warranty**: Cyber Monday “doorbusters” sometimes have stricter return policies. If you get coil whine, weird crashes, or overheating, you really want easy returns.

So IMO it *can* be worth waiting, but I’d treat Cyber Monday as a chance to get higher‑quality parts for a safer build, not just the lowest price. If a bundle looks too good to be true, I’d rather grab a known‑good board + cooler on a smaller sale than risk a flaky setup.

Curious: what cooler and PSU are you running now? That might decide if a 14700K upgrade is even a safe move for your system.

Hope this helps!

Hey,

Quick market / brand angle for you:

**1. Don’t just track Intel – track AMD too.**
In my experience, Intel’s big drops on parts like 14700K usually happen when:
- a) a new Intel gen lands **and**
- b) AMD undercuts them with a strong Ryzen promo.
If AMD runs aggressive Ryzen 7 7800X3D/8800X3D deals in 2025, Intel tends to quietly match or rebate 14700K pricing to stay competitive.

**2. Cyber Monday vs “normal” promos.**
Historically (watching 8700K → 12700K → 13700K/14700K gen), the *headline* Cyber Monday Intel CPU cuts are often modest ($20–40), but:
- AMD sometimes does bigger % drops or game bundles.
- Intel responds more via **ongoing price adjustments** and Micro Center combos than one-day blowouts.

**3. Where combo deals actually win.**
Intel: Micro Center CPU + mobo is usually king (effectively $60–100 off vs buying separate).
AMD: more likely to see CPU-only discounts or game bundles that tilt overall value.

**My tip:**
Set your 14700K target around **$330–350** and watch **both** 14700K *and* Ryzen 7/9 pricing. If AMD slashes prices, that’s your signal Intel will follow, Cyber Monday or not. Don’t lock yourself mentally into that single weekend.

Hope this helps!

Hey,

Since others already covered pricing trends, I’ll throw in a more DIY‑angle that can actually *control* your upgrade cost, instead of just hoping Cyber Monday is good.

**Tip 1 – Treat it as a DIY platform tune‑up, not just a sale hunt.**
Between now and late 2025, dial in your 12700K: undervolt, tweak LLC, optimize fans, clean/repaste, and maybe tighten RAM timings. At 1440p, that’ll keep you very close to a 14700K in most games, so if Cyber Monday deals are weak, you’re not forced into a bad buy.

**Tip 2 – Prep your own “bundle” instead of paying for shop combos.**
Combo deals are usually just lazy pre‑selection. If you DIY:
- Watch for **separate** sales: a solid Z790 board on one sale, 14700K on another, cooler on yet another.
- Use PCPartPicker / CamelCamelCamel to set price alerts now (e.g. 14700K ≤ ~$360, specific Z790 models, AIO/air coolers).
You can often beat the advertised “combo” price by stacking your own micro‑deals.

**Tip 3 – Plan your own ‘upgrade window’, not only Cyber Monday.**
Historically, there are quiet but really good DIY‑friendly dips 1–2 months *around* BF/CM (Intel rebates, retailer clearance). If you’re hands‑on and willing to swap parts yourself, you can pounce on those instead of waiting for one specific weekend.

So yeah, I’d absolutely *watch* Cyber Monday 2025, but build a DIY plan + alerts so you’re not locked into hype‑sales only.

Hope this helps!

Honestly, with a 12700K at 1440p, I'd be careful banking your whole plan on a Cyber Monday 14700K deal – the GPU’s usually the limiter there. Based on past gens, by late 2025 the 14700K might just be at ~$350 “everyday” price with only extra $20–30 off on BF/CM, and the real value tends to be in Micro Center‑style combo deals (CPU + mobo) rather than big CPU-only cuts. I’d suggest watching pricing all year with something like PCPartPicker / Keepa, set a target (e.g. 14700K hits ~$350 or a bundle that effectively knocks $60–80 off total), and pounce when it shows up instead of waiting strictly for Cyber Monday hype. If you don’t need more cores for Resolve, you might even want to consider skipping the upgrade entirely or reallocating that budget toward a future GPU instead – better fps per dollar for your use case.