Memory by 9XXX / Memory by 8XXXG / Memory by 7XXX - What does it mean?

[Tetras]

I have noticed a few sites who sell the B650 Tomahawk have started to show up as out of stock and some even say end of life.
Should I expect it to go up in price shortly in the places that still do stock it?

Possibly, they might be discontinuing the first gen X670/B650/A620 boards? Since X870/B850/B840 replace them.

Choosing a CPU is challenging these days, what do people usually take into consideration?

Usage is the number 1 thing.

Generally speaking, if your only use is office/browsing and some gaming, then you don't need a high-end 12 or 16 core CPU like a Ryzen 9. I'd stick with 6 cores like the Ryzen 7600, or possibly 8.

Also late last evening I was looking at 2 CPU's with the same model number but one had X on the end and am sure one was 65w but the other was 105w.

The base GHz was significantly different but the boost GHz was similar, does boost GHz mean overclocking?

The base number is pretty much meaningless nowadays, you could call the boost a form of automated overclocking, which is one of the reasons why overclocking is pretty much dead now outside of hardcore benchers.

The X CPUs are theoretically intended for enthusiasts and they're often clocked a bit higher and use more power, but there's not a huge difference between them. Keep in mind that X CPUs may not include a cooler (e.g. 7600X has no cooler, but the 7600 does). Personally, I'd always take the non-X unless the X is notably cheaper, since I like free stuff (the cooler) and I prefer that they're a little more efficient and cooler running "out of the box".

Given what you have described, I'd go for something like the following (for near max budget):

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Intel Core i5-12600K 3.70GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-69X-IN) = £149.99
• 1 x MSI PRO B760-P DDR4 II (LGA 1700) DDR4 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-MSI-03380) = £124.99
• 1 x Team Group Vulcan Z T-Force 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (SKU: MY-0AJ-TG) = £55.99
• 1 x Team Group MP33 PRO 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen3 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-TMG-02681) = £43.99
• 1 x Sparkle Intel ARC A750 ORC OC Edition 8GB GDDR6 Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-SPK-03006) = £170.00
• 1 x Intel Holiday Bundle - Assassin's Creed Shadows + Ubisoft Plus (SKU: DIG-INT-03637) = £0.00
• 1 x Phanteks XT Pro ATX Case Tempered Glass Window, Black (SKU: CAS-PHK-01442) = £54.94
• 1 x Phanteks AMP GH 750W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02517) = £84.95

Total: £684.85 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

AMD AM5 alternative (actually max budget):

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core 5.10GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DW-AM) = £199.99
• 1 x Asus TUF Gaming A620M-PLUS WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-ASU-01397) = £124.30
• 1 x TeamGroup Vulcan EXPO 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C40 5600MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (FLABD532G5600HC40BDC01) (SKU: MY-0B3-TG) = £74.99
• 1 x WD Blue SN580 1TB SSD NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-WDC-00540) = £54.94
• 1 x PowerColor Radeon RX 6600 Fighter 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GX-1AD-PC) = £209.99
• 1 x Lian Li A3 mATX Black (SKU: CAS-LIA-02350) = £59.95
• 1 x Phanteks AMP GH 750W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02517) = £84.95

Total: £809.11 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

Closer to initial budget:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Intel Core i5-12400F 2.50GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-6AR-IN) = £98.99
• 1 x MSI PRO H610M-E DDR4 (LGA 1700) DDR4 mATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-MSI-03383) = £59.99
• 1 x Kingston Fury Beast 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MY-295-KS) = £59.98
• 1 x WD Black SN770 1TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (WDS100T3X0E) (SKU: HD-58F-WD) = £62.99
• 1 x B Grade Gainward GeForce GTX 1650 Pegasus 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: BG-09E-GW) = £98.40
• 1 x Kolink Inspire Series K2 ARGB Micro-ATX Case - Black Window (SKU: CA-046-KK) = £37.99
• 1 x Phanteks AMP GH 750W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02517) = £84.95

Total: £503.29 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

If you want a cooler for the 12600K / AM5 7600 options (the 12400F includes one in the box that is fine), then perhaps this:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Arctic Freezer 36 120m Black CPU Cooler - 2x 120mm (SKU: COO-ARC-02420) = £22.99

Total: £26.99 (includes delivery: £3.99)​