The current state of the gaming market is pushing budget gamers to cut corners on RAM, SSDs, and even CPU prices. AMD's long-running AM4 platform is single-handedly saving budget gamers by bringing its most affordable X3D chip to the UK market, offering higher gaming performance at a budget price.
AMD's Ryzen 5000 series has been one of the company's strongest sellers, but it discontinued its more powerful Ryzen 5000 gaming processors, the Ryzen 7 5700X3D and 5800X3D, last year. It kept the more affordable Ryzen 5600X3D and Ryzen 5500X3D available, though both remained limited to certain regions. The 5500X3D was initially limited to Latin America, but earlier this month, AMD launched the 6-core CPU in China. Turns out, that launch is still slowly expanding as we speak.
The Ryzen 5 5500X3D has now appeared at UK retailer PC Tec UK, spotted by VideoCardz. The retailer has listed the chip for 179 pounds, which works out to be around US$237. Unlike the China launch, this is an OEM tray version rather than a boxed retail part. PC Tec estimates orders will dispatch in the week of March 30, with the listing showing limited availability.
Worth noting that this isn't a broad UK launch. PC Tec states that other UK retailers do not sell the processor, and it is available exclusively through its store for now. Still, it does suggest the chip is beginning to reach channels outside the markets AMD originally targeted. An EU listing may not be far behind.
Either way, more AM4-compatible gaming options in the market are a good thing, especially at times when budget PC builders are tight on choices. The Ryzen 5 5500X3D packs 96MB of total L3 cache and delivers gaming performance on par with the 5600X3D at a lower price. While AMD is reportedly planning a CPU price hike of up to 15% across its SKUs, this UK listing gives gamers in the region the perfect opportunity to build a capable gaming PC around the 5500X3D before the Red Team pulls the trigger.
