We all saw it coming. According to a new leak from a previously reputable source, AMD’s upcoming Ryzen 7 9800X3D gaming CPU will come with a price hike. Given that it’ll likely end up as one of the best processors, it’s hard to be surprised. The good news is that the increase is really not that bad, although it depends on what you’re comparing to.
The information comes from Hoang Anh Phu on X (formerly Twitter), who used a mix of emojis to indicate what appears to be a $30 increase for the 9800X3D. Seeing as the previous iteration, the 7800X3D, launched with a recommended list price (MSRP) of $449, that puts the new CPU at $479.
9️⃣8️⃣0️⃣0️⃣X3D ⬆️💵3️⃣0️⃣
— Hoang Anh Phu (@AnhPhuH) October 31, 2024
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A $30 price hike translates to just 6% more than the 7800X3D, which is completely acceptable. Of course, we’ve seen the 7800X3D at much lower prices at one point in time, so if that’s what you compare to, it’ll look like a lot. The last-gen top gaming CPU went as low as $350 at the end of 2023, but for the last few months, all we’ve seen were higher prices as the stock levels began to dwindle.
Many retailers saw the Ryzen 7 7800X3D going out of stock, with the CPU being completely unavailable on Amazon at times — the only way to buy it through that platform was to buy from other sellers at inflated prices. I’ve seen it hit $500 and above, and right now, it sits at $476. It certainly feels like AMD may have been planning to silently phase out the 7800X3D in order to set the 9800X3D up for success.
Considering the current pricing of the 7800X3D, the 9800X3D can cost $480 and still be a great deal. Although rumor has it that it may not be as big a gen-on-gen jump as the 5800X3D to the 7800X3D, it should be an improvement over its predecessor. Leaked AMD marketing materials showed a performance increase of 8%, but other sources promise anywhere from 3% to 13% in gaming and up to 25% in productivity.
AMD has announced that it’ll be launching its next-gen Ryzen 9000X3D on November 7. Although it hasn’t specified the model, every source reports that it’ll be the 9800X3D. Once the CPU is officially out, we’ll know whether this pricing claim is true or not.