time there’s a product refresh, are more likely to

tack newer parts onto aging motherboards in

order to squeeze out as much value over the years

as they can.

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during its CES presentation, which showed some

select games running faster on an Intel Core i9-

11900K than an AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, by a couple

of percentage points.

Now mind you, citing Intel’s own numbers, even

in titles that favor Intel, the most players can

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Far Cry: New Dawn. Suddenly, the cost of

upgrading to a Z590 motherboard and an Intel

Core i9-11900K doesn’t look so good when a

bleeding-edge CPU like the Ryzen 9 5900X can

slot into a B450 board, if need be (pending,

perhaps, a BIOS update at most).

For PC builders and upgraders who are watching

every dollar in their Amazon, Microcenter, or

Newegg shopping carts, the Z590 may seem

largely overkill. The launch of Z590 is promising

some of the boldest designs we’ve seen in

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