AMD's 5-year-old Ryzen CPUs are popular again because RAM is too expensive

[Daniel Sims]

Winners & losers: The ongoing RAM crisis has made DDR5 memory a significant obstacle for users upgrading or building PCs. Many have turned to AMD's last-generation AM4 platform, but because the company's lauded Zen 3 3D V-Cache processors are no longer in production, the standard 8-core CPUs of that generation have seen a resurgence at retail.

The Ryzen 7 5800X, which launched five years ago, is currently the top-selling CPU on Amazon UK, while its refresh, the 5800XT, sits in fourth place on the US site. These rankings highlight both the resilience of AMD's aging AM4 platform and the best options available to consumers amid surging RAM prices.

Manufacturers are diverting so much DRAM and NAND to AI data centers that what is left for consumer products has experienced dramatic price hikes. PCs are expected to see higher prices in 2026, Micron recently exited the consumer RAM business, and shipping scammers have begun targeting the crucial component. Industry figures suggest the situation could last through 2027.

Check out our latest benchmark: Upgrading During the DRAM Apocalypse with AMD's $75 CPU

The crisis is particularly acute for DDR5 RAM, which is required for adopting AMD's current-generation AM5 CPU socket. AM5 CPUs, such as the 9800X3D, still considered the best gaming processor, remain at the top of Amazon US sales rankings.

For users already on AM4 systems, however, Ryzen 5000 chips remain the most practical upgrade path. Although 3D V-Cache technology (AMD's biggest advantage for PC gaming against Intel chips) made its debut in this generation with standout parts like the 5800X3D, those processors, along with similar models such as the 5700X3D, have reached end-of-life and are increasingly difficult to find.

The price gap reflects that scarcity. While the 5800X and 5800XT sell for around $250 on Amazon, a 5800X3D often costs at least twice that on eBay. Some listings have pushed the discontinued chip as high as $800, even higher than newer and faster models like the 9800X3D.

This renewed interest in older AMD CPUs extends beyond the flagship models. In the UK, the Ryzen 5 5600XT ranks fifth in Amazon's CPU charts, with the 5600G just inside the top 10.

In the US, the Ryzen 5 3600 – once the go-to value CPU of 2019 – still manages 86 frames per second in Battlefield 6 on the high preset, and currently ranks seventh. At just $74, the venerable budget processor remains compelling. And while AMD has confirmed modest price increases for Radeon GPUs in response to rising memory costs, it says Ryzen CPU prices will remain unchanged for now.

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AMD's 5-year-old Ryzen CPUs are popular again because RAM is too expensive

 

[noel24]

Last decade or so We fall into Middle Ages again. It's no fun build and play on PC. It turns Me off, and I can bet It will turn off millions of others. Nvidia and rest is prepping Its demise. Mobile gaming is already half of the gaming and PC will eventually go the way of the dodo.

 

[themastergoose]

Pricing all relative at the end of the day. I bought my 5800X3D at launch and haven’t upgraded.

At face values, it’s great - my CPU has more than doubled in value at the moment (so has its DDR4 memory). Why sell it tho when the £500-600 the CPU hits on eBay won’t even buy me 32GB DDR5 these days…?

 

[corrosive23]

Last decade or so We fall into Middle Ages again. It's no fun build and play on PC. It turns Me off, and I can bet It will turn off millions of others. Nvidia and rest is prepping Its demise. Mobile gaming is already half of the gaming and PC will eventually go the way of the dodo.

lol every release of a console, people have said the same thing. It's not going anywhere.

 

[Xelions]

This would imply that integrated CPUs are great value considering the GPU, memory and storage markets. A 5600G or 5700G will ultimately become a high demand product for budget systems. It'd be laughable to see a price hike on those products - it's almost akin to the 2nd hand markets post covid

 

[Neatfeatguy]

My 5900X has always been popular with me.

 

[gdavid65]

This would imply that integrated CPUs are great value considering the GPU, memory and storage markets. A 5600G or 5700G will ultimately become a high demand product for budget systems. It'd be laughable to see a price hike on those products - it's almost akin to the 2nd hand markets post covid

An iGPU is still useless without a decent amount of system RAM, even moreso as it’s shared… Also not much good if you can’t get any decent priced storage either.

Whole thing is a shitshow.

 

[VitalyT]

Holy crap, my old 5900X is new again?

 

[airbornex]

The Ryzen 5 3600 still pushing playable framerates in modern games for $74 is the most accidental anti-consumer-RAM-protest imaginable. Just as is AM4 refusing to die.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

I should finally sell my 3900 I keep forgetting to ebay since upgrading 2 years ago…

 

[Yppah]

Pricing all relative at the end of the day. I bought my 5800X3D at launch and haven’t upgraded.

At face values, it’s great - my CPU has more than doubled in value at the moment (so has its DDR4 memory). Why sell it tho when the £500-600 the CPU hits on eBay won’t even buy me 32GB DDR5 these days…?
[/QUOTE
LOL - you high? £500-600 is £100-200 more than actual selling price. And £250 buys 32GB DDR5 on ebay RIGHT NOW.

 

[Gezzer]

I sold a friend of mine a R5 1600x, Vega 64 system about a year after I built it. He was using a 1st gen Intel and wanted a better system but couldn't afford to go brand new, so I gave him a really good deal and built another a year later. Told him he could eventually upgrade and over the years I've sent him links to better CPUs/GPUs, but he just keeps putting off pulling the trigger. Now? The window is closing and I hate to be one to say I told him so. But I did tell him, so...

 

[HofyPC]

My Ryzen5-5600X that I bought 2 years ago for $139 is now $223!

 

[Loadedaxe]

I actually have a 32 GB Corsair 3600 MT/s DDR4 kit sitting unused right now. I picked up an ASUS B550-I Strix Gaming motherboard along with a Ryzen 7 5700G, and I’m planning to build it all into an InWin Chopin mini case.

I’m curious to see firsthand just how capable this little CPU is.

 

[jd666]

The DDR4 motherboard variants of the 12th-13th gen Intel CPUs are quite nifty at this time.

CPU+Mobo for under $200 while performance is still commendable. PCIe 5.0 helps with the 50XX series.

I got a 12700K + Z690 because my 5950X + X570 was a hit or miss with the 5060Ti (PCIe auto negotiate to 4.0 was iffy). With the 12700K, worked right from the get go.

Techspot, do we see a comparison of the DDR4 CPUs coming back soon?

 

[vicsrealms]

Went from my 7 year old 3900x to a 5800x on my old x570 motherboard. Not a bad little upgrade. Went from 25 to 30 fps in downtown Boston (Fallout 4) to a strong 45 fps.

 

[Achaios]

In a few months, the price for desktop DDR5 and DDR4 memory will jump to +300% of what it is now or more.

Then, tech youtubers and websites such as this will start publishing guides on how to put together Haswell and Broadwell DDR3 systems.

It's only a matter of time.

Ppl have proved time and again that they are able and willing to pay any amount of money for PC parts (GPUs up to recently) so that made others in the PC industry jealous, such as RAM manufacturers. You can be sure that the RAM cartel is going to milk the market dry of cash before RAM prices get to normal, if they ever do, which I doubt.

Another interesting observation I have to make is that this perfect storm somehow coincided with the end of support for Windows 10 systems. To me it's all a setup.

 

[Julio Franco]

If you're reading this, don't miss our testing from this morning:

Upgrading During the DRAM Apocalypse with AMD's $75 CPU
https://www.techspot.com/review/3073-dram-apocalypse-pc-upgrade/