AMD Ryzen 5000 Zen 3 CPU Pricing Trends Downward Ahead Of Intel Alder Lake Launch

The healthy inventory coupled with the incoming 12^th generation Alder Lake processors from Intel means some of the best deals to date are available for Ryzen 5000 processors. Additionally, all four mainline Ryzen 5000 desktop processors -- Ryzen 5 5600X, Ryzen 7 5800X, Ryzen 9 5900X, Ryzen 9 5950X -- are trending well below their MSRPs, which is good news for gamers.

The flagship Ryzen 9 5950X has an MSRP of $799, but it is currently selling for $749 at Amazon. While this might "only" represent a $50 discount, these processors were selling for closer to $1,000 (or higher) at launch. Amazon (direct seller) doesn't currently have the Ryzen 9 5900X in stock, but the Ryzen 7 5800X is ringing up at $392.99 (versus an MSRP of $449). Finally, the Ryzen 5 5600X is on sale at Amazon for $272.99 compared to an MSRP of $299.

• AMD Ryzen 9 5950X Zen 3 Processor $749 @ Amazon
• AMD Ryzen 9 5900X Zen 3 Processor (Unavailable) @ Amazon
• AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Zen 3 Processor $392.99 @ Amazon
• AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Zen 3 Processor $272.99 @ Amazon

It's a similar situation over at Best Buy, with discounts across the board.

• AMD Ryzen 9 5950X Zen 3 Processor $749.99 @ Best Buy
• AMD Ryzen 9 5900X Zen 3 Processor $499.99 @ Best Buy
• AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Zen 3 Processor $419.99 @ Best Buy
• AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Zen 3 Processor $279.99 @ Best Buy

Not surprisingly, Newegg is also in on the discount action, including the lowest pricing we've seen in a while on the Ryzen 7 5800X (after coupon).

• AMD Ryzen 9 5950X Zen 3 Processor $749 @ Newegg
• AMD Ryzen 9 5900X Zen 3 Processor (Unavailable) @ Newegg
• AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Zen 3 Processor $389.99 @ Newegg After Coupon (9BDYRVSAB5)
• AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Zen 3 Processor $272.99 @ Newegg

With Alder Lake rumored for an October 27^th announcement and November 19^th launch, it's nice to see that prices are dropping on the Zen 3 lineup. However, what will be interesting is how competitive Alder Lake will be against AMD's nearly year-old consumer desktop processors. We'll be especially interested in seeing how the 16-core, 24-thread Core i9-12900K stacks up against the Ryzen 9 5950X. Intel hasn't fielded a core-for-core match for the Ryzen 9 family until now, so it will be an intriguing battle to watch.