With little time to spare, we now know how much AMD plans to charge for Ryzen 9000 CPUs. The manufacturer has kept costs close to its chest until now, even after it unexpectedly delayed its Zen 5 chips. Thankfully, the wait has been worthwhile as this generation of processors is cheaper across the board.
Price and performance go hand-in-hand in any attempt to separate the best CPUs from lesser stock. After all, it’s no good having the greatest chips on the market if your buyers can’t afford them. Clearly keen to see Ryzen powering more PCs, AMD has made the 9000 series its most affordable lineup in five years.
In a post on X, AMD revealed Ryzen 9000X processors will start from $279. For context, that’s the cheapest a launch lineup has been since Ryzen 5 3600X, which retailed for $249. Better still, the flagship Ryzen 9 model has never been cheaper at $649. As a whole, the series is $160 cheaper than the prior two, and just $10 more expensive than Ryzen 3000.
| 9000X CPU | Price (SEP) | Difference (vs. 7000X CPU) |
|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 9 9950X | $649 | -$50 (7950X) |
| Ryzen 9 9900X | $499 | -$50 (7900X) |
| Ryzen 7 9700X | $359 | -$40 (7700X) |
| Ryzen 5 9600X | $279 | -$20 (7600X) |
In terms of value, you’ll need to read our Ryzen 7 9700X & Ryzen 5 9600X review to get that assessment. Wait a bit longer, and we’ll have more observations in our Ryzen 9 9950X & Ryzen 9 9900X review for you.
Whatever our assessment, though, it’s pleasing to see AMD take steps to make its processors more affordable. Here’s hoping the company follows suit with Ryzen 9000X3D processors in the coming months.
Who knows, if priced right, I could be convinced to swap out my Ryzen 7 7800X3D for a Zen 5 chip packing some 3D V-Cache.
