AMD is finally recognizing that Ryzen 9000 is too expensive

AMD is finally cutting prices on its Ryzen 9000 CPUs. After teasing that its long-awaited Ryzen 7 9800X3D will arrive in November, the company revealed that it’ll be slashing prices on its existing Ryzen 9000 range by anywhere from $30 to $50 each. Combined with some impressive performance updates, AMD’s latest chips have a better shot at a spot among the best processors than they’ve ever had.

The company describes the price cuts as an early holiday promotion, though it hasn’t put an end date on the discounts. The flagship Ryzen 9 9950X is seeing a $50 price cut, while the remainder of the range is reduced by $30. It’s a clear jab at Intel’s upcoming Arrow Lake CPUs, which go on sale later this week. Similar to the last few generations, Intel is undercutting AMD on pricing, so this promotion brings the scales back in balance.

AMD’s latest CPUs were too expensive, but the unfortunate reality for CPU pricing is that AMD’s recommended pricing has little bearing on the actual price you’ll pay. For example, the , which is exactly $50 less than its list price. And the Ryzen 9 9900X is , which is $70 below its list price.

Although AMD is describing these price cuts as a holiday promotion, there’s a good chance the prices will live on beyond that. We’ve already seen price cuts on Ryzen 9000 CPUs, and the processors have reportedly seen poor sales since launch. Even a small price reduction, combined with AMD’s performance updates that can boost speeds by up to 17% in our own testing, could bring them back into relevance.

More than anything, AMD’s price cuts here are a message about the upcoming competition from Intel. The upcoming Core Ultra 9 285K will arrive at $589, while the Core Ultra 5 245K is showing up at $309. At the low end, AMD is now undercutting Intel, and at the high-end, it’s coming in $10 more expensive with the Ryzen 9 9950X. That kind of price shifting lays a foundation for a pure performance comparison when Arrow Lake reviews go live later this week.