Old Ryzen AM4 CPUs top US, UK Amazon charts as DDR5 pricing pushes buyers to last-gen platform — DDR4-friendly Ryzen 5 5800X, XT claim spots in the top 5
PC builders are buying older chips which are still relatively good to save money.
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The AMD Ryzen 5 5800X — launched on November 5, 2020 — recently hit the top spot in Amazon UK’s list of best-selling CPUs. The refreshed 5800XT, which arrived in July last year, is likewise in the top ten most popular processors in Amazon US, with the chip sitting in fourth place.
This is unusual, given that these use the five-year-old Zen 3 architecture and the nearly decade-old AM4 platform. The age of these chips means that they’re often picked by PC builders sticking to a budget and are commonly eschewed by mainstream and high-end enthusiasts for more modern Zen 4 and Zen 5 options.
However, the ongoing memory crisis has enthusiasts flocking to older DDR4 modules as prices have surged to record highs. It has gotten to the point that 64GB DDR5 memory kits now cost more than an entire PlayStation 5 console, even with discounts. Analysts and industry experts are saying that there is no relief in sight in 2026, with prices expected to climb through the first quarter of next year.
That's why demand for decent gaming processors that use older DDR4 RAM has skyrocketed, with AMD’s first X3D chip, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, now costing more than new 9800X3D processors in the secondhand market.
Unfortunately, the 5800X3D is no longer in production, so gamers who want a new processor without paying for the DDR5 premium must settle for the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X or 5800XT. In our review of the 5800X, the chip delivered excellent gaming performance while balancing single-threaded and multi-threaded capabilities. However, it had a high launch price of $450 while offering almost the same numbers as the more affordable Ryzen 5 5600X.
Thankfully, the price of the 5800X has fallen since then, with the Amazon UK listing it for £184.19 or around US$250. On the other hand, the newer AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT is much more affordable in the U.S., as you can get it for just US $199 as per this Amazon US listing. By comparison, the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is also listed for $198.49 in Amazon US at the time of writing. While the 9600X will certainly beat the 5800X and XT in almost all metrics, the fact that the former uses more expensive DDR5 RAM is likely the main reason why many budget and mainstream PC builders are opting for the older processor that uses more affordable memory kits.
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JeffreyP55 Reply
I have AM4 and AM5 rigs. Thanks for extending the EOL of my 5950x.Admin said:The five-year-old Ryzen 7 5800X and its 2024 refresh, the 5800XT, are among the best-selling CPUs this holiday season despite being two generations behind Zen 5.
Old Ryzen AM4 CPUs top US, UK Amazon charts as DDR5 pricing pushes buyers to last-gen platform — DDR4-friendly Ryzen 5 5800X, XT claim spots in the...: Read more
Guess who won't be building a new rig for a few years? -
ohio_buckeye Makes total sense. If you’re on a budget and running a mid range gpu like a 5070 or lower most of those CPUs are more than capable imo.Reply -
Amdlova Got a new asrock H670 Steel legend to keep my 14700T live for anothers years.Reply
With 35w the cpu has same power than the 7700x with 100w all time can beat the 7950x
And you can find these badboys on ebay:) -
ohio_buckeye I’ve been saying 12th and 14th gen intel is a decent option. 14th however should be purchased new imo due to issues Intel was correcting. Running an i7 14700 with 32gb ddr4 and a 9070xt at 1440p. But am4 is certainly a viable option. I can tell you I checked my local Microcenter’s site and any AMD cpu under $100 is gone.Reply -
Notton IDK why anyone would bother buying a 5800X/XT. It's quite a lot slower than a 5800X3D, 13700K, or even the 12700K in FPS titles.Reply
If you buy a CPU with integrated graphics, something the 5800X/XT/X3D don't have, you can also run LSFG (Lossless Scaling, a steam app) to boost frame rates in any game. -
Shiznizzle The 5800X3D's int he UK are extremely over priced. Used ones costing twice as much as the flagship AM5 CPU. Nuts.Reply
Buy the 5800x instead of wasting your money on a few % that is the difference between the two chips.
I am on AM4 and running the 5800x. Bought it last year during xmas for 130 pounds sterling. The same chips are now well above 150 pounds. Good investment i made.
I also bought into DDR5 just before the prices started getting really silly. Instead of a 80 pound kit i had to pay 150 pounds. 1 month later that same kit was 400 pounds. Over 550 dollars.
I can now move up to AM 5 if want as i have a Tomahawk board as well. Looking at the 9600x to start with and then spend more later when they are cheaper. I am not selling my AM4 kit in case i need a backup. -
rluker5 If you are going to AM4 you may as well go to LGA 1200. The CPUs on those 2 are much closer in performance than any AM4 outside of X3D is to LGA 1700 CPUs.Reply
If HWU told these people to buy Comet Lake would they all be doing that? Can't these people read? Oh well, I guess they will find out. Do those old chips still have the TPM stuttering issues with Windows 11? -
alan.campbell99 Hmm, still on my 3700X, AORUS Elite X570. It's got 32GB and a 2080 Super still as well. I recently switched to Ubuntu and I just work through my Steam library as I go along. Only time I ever play online these days is whenever I have a WoW itch and temporarily re-sub. Guess it will do fine for me.Reply -
Amdlova @alan.campbell99 if you don't mind play with stupid refresh rates you are fine.Reply
Some weaks ago I have put the 4060 on the 3770k and have played almost all new games without issues, some games need more cores but the 98% games outhere need 1 core to do the job:) -
Penzi My setup has but one, relatively easily solved, weakness at the moment. The GPU. Gaming at 4K on my 4070 is fine but I do pine for something a chunk faster. I’ll hold my pining for a year. I expect when RTX 60x0 and whatever AMD will call their post 90x0 series and Celestial (7 or even 9 series?) Launch, hopefully late next year, that there will be some decent performance to be had. Mind you, I’ll likely have to scrounge the Sprawl for loose VRAM…Reply