AMD Might Be Cutting Ryzen CPU Prices

AMD CPU Pricing Date Indicates Minor Price Cuts

Earlier in the month, Intel launched their new Coffee Lake Refresh processors. After a year of just 6 cores CPUs to pit against 8 core AMD chips, Intel has struck back. With the new lineup, the company now has 8 cores mainstream CPUs as well. In anticipation of the release of the processors, AMD reportedly planned on reducing Ryzen prices. Now that the launch is largely over, we can look back see the effects of the launch.

The earlier report indicated that AMD was looking to cut prices on their 2nd Generation Ryzen CPUs. The price cuts would be in the area of 5-10%, to be done both by the company and retailers alike. The company likely wanted to keep market share up with the lower prices. The main price cuts would target the higher end 8 core Ryzen 7 2700 and 2700X CPUs. Due to their 8 core nature, they are the ones to face the most competition.

Minor Price Drops Reflects Weak Intel Competition

Based on pricing data over the past couple of weeks, we have been able to see a noticeable price drop. As expected, the price cuts have only really hit the high end of the market. Mainly, the 6 core Ryzen 5 2600 and 2600X and 8 core Ryzen 7 2700 and 2700X have all seen their prices drop. All 4 CPUs have seen a price drop by about $15 which is about ~5% or so. More localized price drops have seen bigger savings but only for a short while.

While it would be nice to have cheaper CPUs, at this point, they aren’t really necessary. While Intel has responded with Coffee Lake Refresh, AMD’s position is still quite strong. The main reason is that the new Intel CPUs aren’t all that price competitive nor always available. Due to the ongoing 14nm shortage, Intel prices are quite elevated in some markets. Until prices drop to a more reasonable level, AMD can stick with their prices and still be a great value option, with almost the same performance.