News AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Review: The Pricing Conundrum

[King_V]

That was certainly true of Intel coolers, as they were historically garbage, but AMD has always included rather good coolers in the product they shipped them with. Not that there aren't upgrades available for pushing the clocks up, but would run it as intended anyway for those who don't tweak in the UEFI.

Oh, I agree. That particular argument seemed to be only voiced by those trying to claim that Intel was a better value.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I watched several YT videos comparing the i9-10900K/F vs the Ryzen 5950X and for me where it counts the most i.e. games it was basically a tie. In some games the Ryzen beat the 10900K by a couple of FPS and the 10900K beat the Ryzen by a couple of FPS. Not enough to justify the higher price. AMD made the 10900K look like the better deal with its price points.

I can see the Rocket Lake CPU's retaking the lead where it counts most for gamers.

 

[DMAN999]

I watched several YT videos comparing the i9-10900K/F vs the Ryzen 5950X and for me where it counts the most i.e. games it was basically a tie. In some games the Ryzen beat the 10900K by a couple of FPS and the 10900K beat the Ryzen by a couple of FPS. Not enough to justify the higher price. AMD made the 10900K look like the better deal with its price points.

I can see the Rocket Lake CPU's retaking the lead where it counts most for gamers.

The 5600x can trade blows with the 10900K (or 5950x) if all you want is a Gaming CPU.
Look at the charts here:
AMD vs Intel 2020: Who Makes the Best CPUs? | Tom's Hardware
and here:
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Vs. Core I5-10600K: What’s The Best $300 CPU? (forbes.com)

So why would you spend so much more for a 10900k or 5950x if all you do is play games ?

 

[Gurg]

I wonder if the pro-Intel types who used to argue that the included cooler with the high-end AMD CPUs was worthless, and shouldn't be counted, are going to object to your statement. "Nobody is going to use the stock cooler" they said.

Not quite worthless but not worth much:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=amd+wraith+prism+cooler&_sop=15

 

[King_V]

Not quite worthless but not worth much:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=amd+wraith+prism+cooler&_sop=15

While I can't currently access eBay, do you think that posting a link for a Wraith Prism on sale on ebay proves anything?

I assume you mean to say they're not getting much in terms of sale price. Who on earth would the target audience be? People who already have it, or people with processors that came with the Wraith Stealth looking to upgrade, and who somehow also insist on ONLY considering an AMD original cooler?

If you were trying to make a point, you missed the mark.

EDIT: now that I can see what you linked to, you DO realize that completed auctions might be a bit higher in price, and you might also note that the shipping cost should be considered as well. So, again, whatever point you were trying to make... didn't quite make it.

 

[e_SonOfAnder]

I just picked one up at MicroCenter in Overland Park, KS this weekend for MSRP. As of this writing, they still show to have 3 5800X in stock. Seem to be the about the only Vermeer's available anywhere, but you do have to walk into a store during a pandemic to get them. Haven't gotten it popped into my Gigabyte B450M DS3H just yet, but will in a couple of days in conjunction with the requisite BIOS update.

That's great for people that happen to live within range of one of the, what, dozen? Micro Centers across the US. The rest of us have to deal with etailers, which means never going to happen because we will never be faster than the scalper bots. Also that's the first report I've seen of any MicroCenter having stock of the Zen3 chips at all that wasn't immediately sold the instant the stock came in. Hopefully that's a good sign, but let's just say I'm not holding my breath.

I stand by my point, though; arguing about price is completely meaningless right now, and the article shows a level of tone deafness I've come to expect from someplace like Gizmodo, not THG.

 

[cryoburner]

EDIT: now that I can see what you linked to, you DO realize that completed auctions might be a bit higher in price, and you might also note that the shipping cost should be considered as well. So, again, whatever point you were trying to make... didn't quite make it.

Yeah, there's not much point in linking to auction listings that are days away from completion, when anyone who has used eBay should know that most bids get placed within the final minutes of an auction. It would be better to link to "Buy it now" listings for that search, of which the cheapest option for an actual Wraith Prism is currently $27 used, or $29 new...

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=amd+wraith+prism+cooler&_sop=15&rt=nc&LH_BIN=1

Completed and sold listings also show them selling for around that price...

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=amd+wraith+prism+cooler&LH_Sold=1&LH_Complete=1&_sop=13

 

[mikie tim t]

That's great for people that happen to live within range of one of the, what, dozen? Micro Centers across the US. The rest of us have to deal with etailers, which means never going to happen because we will never be faster than the scalper bots. Also that's the first report I've seen of any MicroCenter having stock of the Zen3 chips at all that wasn't immediately sold the instant the stock came in. Hopefully that's a good sign, but let's just say I'm not holding my breath.

I stand by my point, though; arguing about price is completely meaningless right now, and the article shows a level of tone deafness I've come to expect from someplace like Gizmodo, not THG.

Depends on your definition of "in-range." Just got lucky that the only 2 stores in the country that had any in stock of only 5800X's (and none of anything else Vermeer) were within 6 hours. Picked the closer one within 4 hours after their website stated that they were in-stock with 1 5800X, but was readying myself to redirect to Brentwood part way for a couple hours longer drive each way if it dropped to 0 midtrip. Got past the logical turnoff to Brentwood and was checking the stock level at Overland Park. Stayed steady at 1 remaining, so rolled the dice and continued north since it was only 2.5 hours away at that point. Pulled into the lot after refreshing the page on my phone every stoplight and was elated to see there was still 1 available. Masked and sanitized up and headed in to find out that the 1 they had was "quarantined". Asked how they could show an unavailable processor to be in stock, however the sales guy stated they wouldn't sell me the processor due to "policy". Asked to speak with the store manager, who said it would only be available at end of day, which was 10PM. Not a reasonable request to make of me due to drive time that would put me home well into the twilight morning hours, so I proposed just buying the processor from them and just have them ship it home to me so I wouldn't have to touch it until it arrived and any potential covids died off. Wouldn't do it. Policy. Told him how far I drove to get there based on the information both they and the public had, but then he had the gall to tell me someone else had driven 6 hours, like that was something for him to be proud of or something that would shame me into just going away. Asked to speak with his supervisor to attempt to work out an exception to the policy in this case due to their mistake, and he wouldn't assist me getting in touch with him, so I proceeded to let him know if things ended this way, it was a lousy way to run a business and I'd have no choice but to use every avenue available to crucify the store online. He did the typical "handling" thing and just grumbled that he was "sorry you feel that way" before just walking away. Frustrated, got into my car and attempted to reach a human at corporate by phone, but no answer, no IVR, and no voicemail, so the 4 hour trip home emptyhanded was much less hopeful than the trip up had been. Prayed for something positive to come out of the crummy experience and prayed over the store manager, and when I got home, went onto MicroCenter's website and found a Chat option. Described my ordeal of the day and the experience with the store manager who was clearly having a bad day in that madhouse of a store. Included a screenshot of the inventory level on the website which STILL showed the 1 on-hand processor. They stated that quarantined processors should not be showing up as available, they needed to escalate this to their web department, and that I had not been dealt with appropriately by the on-duty manager, who clearly must have been having a bad day the way he handled my issue. They created a ticket for me and I pressed them on how long would be an appropriate grace period to give them a chance to work out a resolution of some kind (as I was still at this point skeptical I wasn't just going to be blown off). At this point I was just hoping for a discount on a 3950X or something. Made the same offer that I was trying to make in the store just to ship the 5800X processor to me after handling payment details, but they talked to their leads and politely requested that I give them a little time to work out something equitable. Thought that was it and was going to pray over it at church the next day, so tucked the kids in and went to bed and got everyone ready to head to church the next morning when I got a call from MicroCenter. It was the opening store manager at Overland Park who apologized for the way things were handled the day before by the other manager, and they offered to overnight ship the processor to me after taking payment info over the phone, so both MicroCenter and the Lord did indeed make for a positive end to the story. And, for the record, they made it very clear that they don't ship processors, so this was an extremely rare incident. Just got the Noctua heat sink and processor in today, and typing this post up after updating the BIOS and installing the beast. A 3600X wasn't particularly sluggish, but it was immediately noticeable how snappy this one is with PBO and XMP re-enabled after the swap. Just waiting on some faster memory and fixing to see how Microsoft Flight Simulator handles now that there's more grunt. There's a Merry Christmas end to this story after all, but wish like the dickens that everyone else could share in it with me, at MSRP.

 

[e_SonOfAnder]

Depends on your definition of "in-range." ...

You're still significantly closer than I am to any of them; there is exactly 1 MicroCenter on the entire West coast, and it's down in Southern California, well away from the two largest tech hubs in Silicon Valley and the greater Seattle area. Frankly, AMD's claims of "releasing more stock every day" are patently ludicrous because, if it is true, (and there is no way to corroborate their claims) it's being done in such small numbers that they might as well not bother. Keep releasing them at a trickle like that, and all it does is feed the scalpers; none of those chips are going to see the hands of a legitimate customer.

 

[mikie tim t]

If you want an AMD 5800X, which seems to be all that's available this year, you can find them at MicroCenters in the middle of the country. The coasts only have a single available, and it's in New Jersey, so certainly nothing's changed for the west coast at all. All 3 stores in OH have 25+ in stock this morning each, as well as Houston and also Madison Heights, MI, so the midsection of the country's MicroCenters are surprisingly well stocked this morning.

 

[Gurg]

If you want an AMD 5800X, which seems to be all that's available this year, you can find them at MicroCenters in the middle of the country. The coasts only have a single available, and it's in New Jersey, so certainly nothing's changed for the west coast at all. All 3 stores in OH have 25+ in stock this morning each, as well as Houston and also Madison Heights, MI, so the midsection of the country's MicroCenters are surprisingly well stocked this morning.

25+ 5800x but zero 10900Ks in Columbus MC today. Also 25+ 9900ks which had been sold out days earlier. Actually have limited EVGA 3090s for $1799. Crazy world.

 

[mikie tim t]

There is a whole lot more stock in MicroCenters today on the east half of the country. Mostly 5800X that seems to be the most commonly available SKU, but Sharonville, OH and a couple of the NY stores have 5600X in stock in small quantities finally and there's a 5900X actually in stock in Flushing, NY, but I'm sure it'll be rapidly snapped up at opening this morning.

 

[mikie tim t]

Looks like AMD is getting more stock out as most MicroCenters across the country, including both coasts, have 5600X and 5800X CPUs in stock today.

 

[mikie tim t]

Woh, I actually have spotted a couple of unicorns this morning at the Overland Park, KS MicroCenter. A 5600X at MSRP, and for the first time, a 5950X at MSRP. Probably won't last more than an hour after store opening, though.