AMD’s Ryzen 7000 processors recently hit the retail market on September 27. According to Chinese publication Expreview (opens in new tab), the Zen 4-based chips have already seen their first price cuts in less than two months. In addition, Ryzen 7000 chips, among the best CPUs, are now cheaper in China than in the U.S., which is a rare sight since the hardware is typically more expensive overseas.
It’s unknown if AMD issued the price reductions to bolster sales in China or whether it was a retailer-specific decision, which in this case, was JD.com, one of the biggest e-commerce sites in the country. There’s still an abundant inventory of Ryzen 5000 processors on the market; therefore, Ryzen 7000 sales probably aren’t booming.
The Ryzen 9 7950X launched at $765 but now sells for $557 (opens in new tab) on JD.com, 27% cheaper than when it first came out. That’s a 27% price reduction, which is very steep considering that it’s the flagship Zen 4 chip. In addition, the Ryzen 9 7950X is 20% cheaper in China than in the U.S., where the 16-core part still maintains its MSRP ($699).
On the other hand, the Ryzen 9 7900X saw a slightly smaller price cut, albeit still a significant one. The 12-core chip, which used to sell for $598, retails for $459 (opens in new tab) at JD.com. The new price tag is 23% lower than the original and 16% lower than the U.S. pricing.
| New China Pricing | Original China Pricing | U.S. Pricing | Cores / Threads (P+E) | Base / Boost Clock (GHz) | Cache (L2+L3) | TDP / Max | Memory | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 9 7950X | $557 | $765 | $699 | 16 / 32 | 4.5 / 5.7 | 80MB | 170W / 230W | DDR5-5200 |
| Ryzen 9 7900X | $459 | $598 | $549 | 12 / 24 | 4.7 / 5.6 | 76MB | 170W / 230W | DDR5-5200 |
| Ryzen 7 7700X | $320 | $417 | $399 | 8 / 16 | 4.5 / 5.4 | 40MB | 105W / 142W | DDR5-5200 |
| Ryzen 5 7600X | $236 | $313 | $299 | 6 / 12 | 4.7 / 5.3 | 38MB | 105W / 142W | DDR5-5200 |
Similar to the Ryzen 9 5900X, the Ryzen 7 7700X costs 23% less. The chip, which used to sell for $417, goes for $320 (opens in new tab). Chinese consumers are saving up to $79 or 20% as opposed to U.S. buyers that still pay the $399 MSRP. The Ryzen 5 7600X saw a 25% decrease in pricing, dropping from $313 to $236 (opens in new tab). The same chip is 21% less expensive in China now than in the U.S.
Overall, the Ryzen 7000 and AM5 platform is an expensive ecosystem. AMD X670 motherboards range from $250 to $1,300; even the more budget-friendly B650 models start at $190. The more premium B650 motherboards cost up to $450, effectively crossing into X670 territory. Furthermore, AMD’s decision to forsake the DDR4 standard in favor of the more expensive DDR5 memory doesn’t help alleviate adoption, either.
It’s not hard to see why Ryzen 7000 may need a little push to help improve sales. For example, Micro Center started offering free 32GB DDR5-5600 memory kits with Ryzen 7000 purchases. The memory kit alone has a $189.99 value. It’ll be interesting to see whether the juicy Ryzen 7000 price cuts from China make their way to the U.S. market. If not, we can always look forward to Black Friday, where we’ll no doubt find some good deals on Ryzen 7000.
