AMD’s CPU strategy is sure to give a sense of deja vu, as some retailers have already shaved €40 off the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X CPU price tag in Europe. It’s perhaps unsurprising, given the lukewarm reception to the new chips compared to the previous gen, but it’s still shocking given it’s been less than a week.
Released at €539 MSRP, Ryzen 9 9900X is now €499 in some regions, hoping to attract more buyers after a particularly slow start. A 7.4% reduction is surely welcome, but would’ve made a huge change on launch day. After all, we allocate a Club386 Value rating to all our pieces based on MSRP.
This is not a first for AMD. We had the ludicrously expensive RDNA 3-based Radeon 7900 XT graphics card, which sat so close to Team Red’s flagship that it quickly plummeted to something more palatable. The same occurred for Radeon RX 7700X, followed by a last-minute price cut for the RX 7600. Here’s hoping for some lessons learned.
This discount brings another benefit by separating 9900X from 9950X, as the former is much more interesting to professionals now. Gamers should still go with a Ryzen 7 9700X or Ryzen 7 7800X3D instead since the additional CCD (Core Chiplet Die) doesn’t bring any extra fps – quite the opposite, actually.
While these price cuts are welcome, the damage may already be done. You only get one first impression and the cost that sticks in everyone’s mind is the one it launched with, especially since it shapes the opinions you see in reviews. The discount also isn’t substantial enough to shift the dial too much, meaning it might fall under the radar for many. Here’s hoping for another drop soon, and in several regions as the UK and US are still full-price.