Update: AMD has commented on the slide.

Rumors abounded earlier this year that AMD would be ditching high-end / enthusiast-class CPUs in favor of a heavier focus on APUs and mainstream CPUs. With large thanks to its console adaptation, AMD posted its first profit since 2012 in Q3 this year, making for a promising future for the company. The same earnings report indicated that AMD's desktop computing solutions have dwindled in profitability over the course of the last year, meanwhile their GPU and APU solutions have nearly doubled in revenue.

Given this information, the rumors earlier this year made sense: If AMD can pump its R&D into graphics and hybrid solutions (Mantle, HSA, and Hybrid Graphics are all promising), then perhaps the best move would be to cut the FX line. Intel hasn't produced a mainstream mid-range or better processor without an IGP in several years (the i-series CPUs are effectively APUs, though Intel doesn't define the fusion as such); buying one of the go-to Intel CPUs (4670K or 4770K) also means you're getting an IGP with it that, frankly, very few readers in our audience even want or care about.

A new leaked slide allegedly from AMD could indicate that the company is terminating their FX line of CPUs and the AM3+ socket type, and with speculation whirling, let's bring some reality to the scene.

Having written many PC build articles this year -- and building even more on our forums -- we've seen just about every CPU + board combination out there right now. For anyone looking to swoop in on the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, we've rounded-up a list of the best processors for gaming as of 2013. These CPUs span the budget spectrum up through high-end video editing and production rigs, so we should have your price range covered.

A quick table of what's below:

This weekend's hardware deals round-up is, from our perspective, a lot more exciting than the last few weeks; we found refurbished Corsair H100s for $50, a decent Corsair 430W PSU, a Dell UltraSharp 23" IPS monitor, AMD 7950, and FX-8320 CPU all on sale. And, because deal hunters also like free things, be sure to check out our FORCED game giveaway.

As part of our recurring weekend-ly hardware sales round-up, this weekend sees the arrival of monitor, video card, and CPU discounts; for something a bit different, we also included a power strip (often overlooked) to protect your systems from power surges.

Our regular "Mik's Picks" piece sees a break for Michael Mann this weekend -- I'll be filling in for the hardware sales. For this weekend's hardware sales, we've located sound-dampening case mod materials, an SSD, open air case, CPU, and Intel NUC.