This gaming powerhouse, packed with its signature 3D V-Cache, has been flying off the shelves faster than a pint at last orders since its January launch. Scarcity drove prices into the stratosphere, with scalpers ripping off desperate gamers willing to pay a premium just to get their paws on one. 

For months, the Red Team assured everyone that they were rolling out fresh stock weekly, yet the CPU vanished when it touched retailer websites.

Finally, after two months of shortages, the 9800X3D is back at its original $479 MSRP across Amazon, Newegg, Best Buy, and B&H Photo.

 Whether it’s due to stock finally catching up or the recent launch of the 9900X3D and 9950X3D stealing some of its thunder, the fact remains: gamers can finally buy this beast without selling a kidney. 

Sporting eight cores, 16 threads, and a 120W TDP, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D delivers a healthy eight per cent performance boost over its predecessor, the 7800X3D. And when it comes to gaming, it wipes the floor with Troubled Chipzilla’s best efforts.

Unlike some power-hungry monstrosities from the competition, it doesn’t require industrial-grade cooling, and it's unlocked for overclocking for those who want to push it even further. 

While CPU prices are stabilising, the same can’t be said for GPUs, where the market is still an overpriced mess.