Question Price war heating up? Or is the market about to crash?

[lopri]

Some amazing deals are going on at Microcenter.

13600K for $250
13700K for $330

7900X + ASUS B650E-F + 32GB DDR5 for $600

There are more. Check them out. 13600K for $250 in particular is an almost unbeatable value, because that CPU works reliably well with B660/B760 boards unlike higher end SKUs.

These are quite generous even by Microcenter's usual standard. I wonder if this is a price war accelerating or a symptom of rough times? It seems like the last holdouts are the mobo makers + NVIDIA. (Their greed is duly noted.)

 

[lopri]

Actually, they are dumping ALL ASUS Z690 boards priced below $260 for $70, so maybe it's the sign of motherboard price moving, finally. Good job, consumers.

 

[MrTeal]

I don't know, for value that Z690 TUF-Plus Wifi for $368 with a 12700k or especially $307 with a 12600k is pretty nuts. If you go with the D4 version and pick up some $60 32GB kit of 3200 that's a great platform upgrade for a lot of people for a very reasonable price. It's not even the F version.

 

[IEC]

Demand in the DIY space has dropped off a cliff and supply is increasing despite cutbacks by AMD among others...

Even RTX 4090s are easily obtainable at MSRP now in the USA. I've had several days-long opportunities to pick one up at $1599 if I wanted to, and several B&M options within 12 miles of me for low-end all the way to high-end (e.g. MSI Suprim Liquid).

And with a Zen 4 X3D, RTX 4090 Ti/Titan, and Raptor Lake Refresh coming... the bleeding-edge folks are less keen on upgrades at this point if they haven't already.

 

[Markfw]

Demand in the DIY space has dropped off a cliff and supply is increasing despite cutbacks by AMD among others...

Even RTX 4090s are easily obtainable at MSRP now in the USA. I've had several days-long opportunities to pick one up at $1599 if I wanted to, and several B&M options within 12 miles of me for low-end all the way to high-end (e.g. MSI Suprim Liquid).

And with a Zen 4 X3D, RTX 4090 Ti/Titan, and Raptor Lake Refresh coming... the bleeding-edge folks are less keen on upgrades at this point if they haven't already.

After my Disneyland vacation with my son and the grandkids, I will be building a 7950x3d and a 4090 system, just for fun (I don't need any more horsepower.) Just about March 1st

 

[APU_Fusion]

After my Disneyland vacation with my son and the grandkids, I will be building a 7950x3d and a 4090 system, just for fun (I don't need any more horsepower.) Just about March 1st

this is my exact plan too maybe mid march 👍❤🥳

 

[A///]

@Markfw Don't forget to hot glue some Mickey ears to the top of your case.

People need to stop referencing microcenter as a chain reaction for any pricing war. They're a small retailers with a very limited number of locations. They run deep discounts on hardware and combo deals you won't see elsewhere. They launch Intel processors at million pricing (thousand unit pricing) also known as tray, while other retailers won't sell that low. They don't sell 99% of their products online. You need to be in a physical store to attain their deals. You'll buy more than you need. Their store only credit card helps them get people to spend more than they have to.

 

[scannall]

@Markfw Don't forget to hot glue some Mickey ears to the top of your case.

People need to stop referencing microcenter as a chain reaction for any pricing war. They're a small retailers with a very limited number of locations. They run deep discounts on hardware and combo deals you won't see elsewhere. They launch Intel processors at million pricing (thousand unit pricing) also known as tray, while other retailers won't sell that low. They don't sell 99% of their products online. You need to be in a physical store to attain their deals. You'll buy more than you need. Their store only credit card helps them get people to spend more than they have to.

I would *LOVE* to be able to shop at a Microcenter. But the closest one is a mere 1400 miles away. Same for MarkFW. One of my daughters lives near one, but as much as I love her, she's... unreliable.

 

[A///]

I would *LOVE* to be able to shop at a Microcenter. But the closest one is a mere 1400 miles away. Same for MarkFW. One of my daughters lives near one, but as much as I love her, she's... unreliable.

I must have lost the thread of this discussion because I didn't see anything about realiable family.

 

[Sulaco]

You'll buy more than you need. Their store only credit card helps them get people to spend more than they have to.

And this differs from 99% of other retailers…how? I don’t exactly get a popup before checking out with Newegg or Amazon saying, “Wait! Are you sure you NEED to buy that? Why don’t you remove some things from your cart and ponder your financial decision making”

I love MicroCenter. Some of the best deals out there, with the wonderful convenience of having it the same day and being able to return to the store anything that doesn’t work instead of a drawn out RMA process.
Everything except the case and cpu contact frame in my signature were purchased @ MicroCenter and I saved a bundle against buying online.

 

[MrTeal]

Everyone loves Microcenter. It's just that for a large percentage of the US and for everyone outside it, that love is unrequited.

 

[Harry_Wild]

I think Intel produce way to many high wattage K 13000 series CPU and not enough gamer demand (discounted now oversupply) while the regular business and nongamer markets 65W 13000 are on backorder.

Did buy a 13700 65W at Microcenter at a $70 discount, however!😁

 

[DrMrLordX]

If anybody is likely flooding the DiY market, it's Intel. Which admittedly isn't a terrible strategy.

 

[Mantrid-Drone]

In the UK you'll be hard pressed to find a i5-12600K much below £270 ($330) now and some well known online specialist IT retailers here have it close to £300 ($365). In other words the cheapest UK i5-12600K is higher than the typical i5-13600K cost in the US.

As another comparison illustrating the huge differences in CPU costs around the world: you can get an i5-12600K via Amazon US for $239, at Amazon UK its £281 ($340) ie. $100 more expensive.

What's odd is that even in the UK for <£40 ($50) more than the cheapest i5-12600K you can get the i5-13600K. That makes the UK i5-12600K pricing look way out of line now.

The supposed Intel price drop for 12th gen CPU is said by Intel themselves to be fake news so whether they will ever go down to a more sensible price before stocks deplete..................who knows?

 

[A///]

And this differs from 99% of other retailers…how? I don’t exactly get a popup before checking out with Newegg or Amazon saying, “Wait! Are you sure you NEED to buy that? Why don’t you remove some things from your cart and ponder your financial decision making”

I love MicroCenter. Some of the best deals out there, with the wonderful convenience of having it the same day and being able to return to the store anything that doesn’t work instead of a drawn out RMA process.
Everything except the case and cpu contact frame in my signature were purchased @ MicroCenter and I saved a bundle against buying online.

Amazon will recommend me stuff based on my search history through whatever search engine. Sometimes it's wrong and sometimes it'll recommend something I had been looking at many months later. Everything is damn shiny and interesting at a Microcenter. I would compare it to a nice casino except the house and client always win.

 

[Mopetar]

DIY is probably happier with a cheap 5800X3D (and the cheaper AM4 platform) that still is trouncing both RPL and Zen 4 in many titles.

I also think a lot of people panic built during the pandemic and may have overspent on some components. Upgrading after that is a lot less likely for anyone on a budget.

 

[Schmide]

DIY is probably happier with a cheap 5800X3D (and the cheaper AM4 platform) that still is trouncing both RPL and Zen 4 in many titles.

I also think a lot of people panic built during the pandemic and may have overspent on some components. Upgrading after that is a lot less likely for anyone on a budget.

I have a 5800x3d, I somehow randomly drove through beltway traffic* to pick up the 7900x + 32gb + 650E-F combo + the 3600 + B450 combo. (~$730).

*I drove to the dump today and was 1/3 way there but there really is no excuse for my actions.

 

[aigomorla]

DIY is probably happier with a cheap 5800X3D (and the cheaper AM4 platform) that still is trouncing both RPL and Zen 4 in many titles.

I am waiting on HEDT from both Intel and AMD.
But the promise dates are all vaporware so far, and intel's HEDT is not a true HEDT, its a workstation.

 

[Kocicak]

I am waiting on HEDT from both Intel and AMD.

7950X is not HE enough for you? If not, what do you need, more PCIe lanes? More memory? You have Threadripper for that.

How much performance do 7950X or 13900K offer in comparison with HEDT processors of the past, for example with Intel CPUs for 2066 socket?

The only void in this area has been Intel not having anything to compete with Threadrippers, they are apparently about to change that.

EDIT: I just quicky checked, UserBenchmark claims, that 13900K is 50% better than i9-10980XE in everything, only in heavy MT just 30% better. 13900K costs half of what 10980XE costed. i9-9980XE used to cost 2000 USD.

HEDT of the past is DEAD.

 

[MrTeal]

Probably exactly those things. 20 CPU PCI lanes isn't that much, it's a GPU and one SSD tied to the CPU. Sure for the vast majority it's not a big deal, but some might want that extra BW or extra lanes without moving to servers.

 

[aigomorla]

7950X is not HE enough for you? If not, what do you need, more PCIe lanes?

Exactly that... with a functional ability to customize overclocking.

I want the ability to run a bifurication card with 4 nVME's and 2 GPU's as i run 3 large resolution monitors and typically have 2 dedicated videocards to them, so i don't get much impact on gaming performance on my primary.

That means without me having to run my cards at a 8x, which i hate to do, as i only run top tier card, i feel like it would do a bad service to run such a videocard at 8x instead of unlocked 16x.

That means a total of 48+ pci-e lanes are required to run what i am wishing for, which is way more then what the current consumer line has.

And no HEDT is not dead, its shelved in limbo, as they are more meshed with workstation, telling people consumers if you want that, get a workstation.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Let me provide a quote from the PCMR bot, since we don't have one here -

"You seem to be linking to or recommending the use of UserBenchMark for benchmarking or comparing hardware. Please know that they have been at the center of drama due to accusations of being biased towards certain brands, using outdated or nonsensical means to score products, as well as several other things that you should know. You can learn more about this by seeing what other members of the PCMR have been discussing lately. Please strongly consider taking their information with a grain of salt and certainly do not use it as a say-all about component performance. If you're looking for benchmark results and software, we can recommend the use of tools such as Cinebench R20 for CPU performance and 3DMark's TimeSpy (a free demo is available on Steam, click "Download Demo" in the right bar), for easy system performance comparison.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns."

As Harry Potter and Hogwarts is the hotness du jour, I will borrow from it. The sooner that site becomes the equivalent of "He who shall not be named." the better.

 

[Kocicak]

They who shall not be named offer a convenient quick comparison of CPUs and graphic cards, and if they claim, than one CPU of their favourite brand is 30-50% better than the other one, this information is most likely not completely pointless.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

They who shall not be named offer a convenient quick comparison of CPUs and graphic cards, and if they claim, than one CPU of their favourite brand is 30-50% better than the other one, this information is most likely not completely pointless.

Trust me when I advise you; don't pick this particular hill to die on. It is worthless, and undeserving of your consideration.

 

[Kocicak]

... some might want that extra BW or extra lanes without moving to servers.

Threadrippers are intended for amateur cheap workstations. You do not need to buy a server for 20 grand to get the performance you need.

After the performance and prices of the new Intel workstation products are revealed, Threadrippers may get a price cut, if needed. It may not be needed at all, we will see.