This bundle makes building an awesome mid-range gaming PC actually affordable

pcgamer.com:

Intel Arc A770 16GB + Intel Core i5 12600K | GPU + CPU bundle | $577.97$507.97 at Microcenter (save $70)(opens in new tab) Here's an all-Intel bundle worth shouting about. The Core i5 12600K was our pick for the best CPU for gaming last year, and it's still excellent even today. The Intel Arc A770 16GB graphics card is Intel's most powerful gaming GPU to-date, and delivers impressive 1080p and more than playable 1440p, especially now its drivers are a little more stable.

Maybe affordable PC gaming is back on the menu after all. The latest bundle deal over at Microcenter offers up Intel's excellent Core i5 12600K, last year's pick for the best CPU for gaming(opens in new tab), with an Intel Arc A770 16GB graphics card. Bought together both will set you back just $508(opens in new tab)—that's a big saving no matter how you divvy up the money in your head.

As Microcenter sees it, you're grabbing the Core i5 12600K for $228. That's a whole lot cheaper than this chip launched at (around the $280–300 mark) and actually a decent get considering it's dropped in price since then. This is a 10-core chip, but as it's built on the hybrid Alder Lake architecture that's including both six Performance-cores and four Efficient-cores.

In my Intel Core i5 12600K review(opens in new tab), I said of it: «the Core i5 12600K is a good deal. With some decently priced Z690 motherboards, it might even be a great deal for a gaming PC build. And that's a PC that can offer high-end frame rates with the right graphics card—this is a suitably high-end chip masquerading as a mid-range hero, and doing a great job of it.»

Then there's the Intel Arc A770 16GB(opens in new tab). One of the first graphics cards out of Intel's new GPU works, this specific