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Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
AMD is finally cutting prices on its Ryzen 9000 CPUs. After teasing that its long-awaited Ryzen 7 9800X3D will arrive in November, the company revealed that it’ll be slashing prices on its existing Ryzen 9000 range by anywhere from $30 to $50 each. Combined with some impressive performance updates, AMD’s latest chips have a better shot at a spot among the best processors than they’ve ever had.
The company describes the price cuts as an early holiday promotion, though it hasn’t put an end date on the discounts. The flagship Ryzen 9 9950X is seeing a $50 price cut, while the remainder of the range is reduced by $30. It’s a clear jab at Intel’s upcoming Arrow Lake CPUs, which go on sale later this week. Similar to the last few generations, Intel is undercutting AMD on pricing, so this promotion brings the scales back in balance.
AMD’s latest CPUs were too expensive, but the unfortunate reality for CPU pricing is that AMD’s recommended pricing has little bearing on the actual price you’ll pay. For example, the , which is exactly $50 less than its list price. And the Ryzen 9 9900X is , which is $70 below its list price.
Although AMD is describing these price cuts as a holiday promotion, there’s a good chance the prices will live on beyond that. We’ve already seen price cuts on Ryzen 9000 CPUs, and the processors have reportedly seen poor sales since launch. Even a small price reduction, combined with AMD’s performance updates that can boost speeds by up to 17% in our own testing, could bring them back into relevance.
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More than anything, AMD’s price cuts here are a message about the upcoming competition from Intel. The upcoming Core Ultra 9 285K will arrive at $589, while the Core Ultra 5 245K is showing up at $309. At the low end, AMD is now undercutting Intel, and at the high-end, it’s coming in $10 more expensive with the Ryzen 9 9950X. That kind of price shifting lays a foundation for a pure performance comparison when Arrow Lake reviews go live later this week.
Jacob Roach is the lead reporter for PC hardware at Digital Trends. In addition to covering the latest PC components, from…
New Ryzen 7 9800X3D leak: ‘This legend is unbeatable’
AMD may have just released its new Zen 5 lineup less than two months ago, but the processor that all gamers are waiting for is definitely the Ryzen 7 9800X3D — and it seems to be a lot closer than we thought. A few days after an initial report that the 9800X3D would launch this year, another leak reaffirmed this by sharing promotional material about the CPU. It really looks like AMD is banking on the 9800X3D to be the best processor of the year. This isn’t the only sign of an imminent launch.
A leaked slide comes from Moore’s Law Is Dead, who also cited his own anonymous sources as he talked about the CPU. Before we dive in, remember that all of this has yet to be confirmed by AMD, although the promotional material certainly looks legitimate.
AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D might show up sooner than expected
AMD might be moving on 3D V-Cache versions of its Ryzen 9000 CPUs faster than expected. According to a leaker on the Chiphell forums, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which could be among the best processors when it releases, might arrive as soon as next month.
VideoCardz dug up the news, which started on the Chiphell forums. The leaker goes by the name zhangzhonhao, but VideoCardz notes that they went under a different alias previously, and that they have a long history of leaking company road maps. The forum post claims AMD will release the Ryzen 7 9800X3D at the end of October, while the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Ryzen 9 9950X3D will arrive later. The leaker suspects they’ll show up in early 2025 with “some new features.”
AMD’s Ryzen 9000 series faces disastrous sales post-launch
AMD’s Ryzen 9000 series is facing a challenging reception in the desktop CPU market. Just over a month since its release, new reports indicate that the Ryzen 9000 series has experienced low sales, making it one of AMD’s most disappointing launches since the ill-fated Bulldozer architecture in 2011.
This downturn has significant implications for AMD’s fight against Intel, especially given the momentum it gained with its previous Ryzen generations.
Retail struggles and global impact
Retailers across various regions are reporting poor sales numbers for the Ryzen 9000 series. For instance, TechSpot reports that Australian retailers have described this as the worst Ryzen launch since AMD first introduced the brand. Sales were so low that some stores reported single-digit figures for units sold within the first few weeks.
