AMD Ryzen 9800X3D price rumor: $479 MSRP may leave some gamers regretting not buying a 7800X3D

AMD's Ryzen 9800X3D has become a hotbed of speculation recently, and its potential price is one area where we've seen a fair few theories flying around - and here comes another, with a claim that the new X3D CPU will be $30 more expensive.

$30 more expensive than what exactly? As you can see from the post on X by leaker Hoang Anh Phu, the assertion isn't qualified, it's just displayed as an 'up arrow' to indicate a price hike, followed by the figure of $30.

This can only mean that AMD is set to price the Ryzen 9800X3D at $30 more than its predecessor (despite some theories on X that it suggests a 30% price hike, though we don't see how you arrive at that conclusion).

The Ryzen 7800X3D was $449 when it first emerged, so if we add $30 to that, we get an MSRP of $479 for the Ryzen 9800X3D. Add plenty of skepticism here, naturally, although this doesn't seem an outlandish price tag.

Not when we've already been given a whole lot of heavy hints that the Ryzen 9800X3D will be more expensive than the 7800X3D, and indeed some expectations are that it could hit $499 for its recommended price. In that light, $479 isn't so bad really.

Non-buyer's remorse

However, it's going to be a tough pill to swallow in some ways if, as rumored, the gaming gains for the Ryzen 9800X3D are around 8% on average compared to its predecessor. Bearing in mind that the Ryzen 7800X3D could be had for some storming deals that were way, way below its MSRP not so long ago.

A couple of months back, you could grab the Ryzen 7800X3D for $330 on sale, or even lower (there are some reports of $300, though we're not sure how accurate they are). Compare that to $479 and, well, PC gamers who waited it out through those sales - the 7800X3D price has spiked now, if you can find the CPU at all - might feel quite some remorse that they didn't pull the trigger.

Such is the difference a couple of months makes, what with Ryzen 9000 floundering upon its launch in August, and now Intel Arrow Lake disappointing in some respects, particularly on the PC gaming front.

We shouldn't get too carried away with putting such a heavy emphasis on the CPU as part of the overall gaming FPS equation, mind, as a lot depends on what resolution you're going to be playing at (and many other factors besides). In reality, the difference between well-specced higher-end CPUs may be fairly marginal for gaming - but keener gamers will obviously want to eke out every advantage and frame that they can get.

Read more: AMD's RX 7000 GPUs are getting price cuts left, right and center - so should you buy now?