For some reason, electronics retailer Micro Center wants you to pay extra to own AMD’s Ryzen 5600X processor.
On Tuesday, PC builders noticed that Micro Center was selling the popular CPU for $369, a significant increase from the $299 suggested retail pricing. It appears Micro Center hiked up the price over the weekend before raising it even further to $369, according to users on Reddit.
We reached out to Micro Center, and will update the story if we hear back. But the price change is annoying PC builders, who’ve been struggling to secure parts for their desktop rigs amid the global chip shortage.
“It’s just the latest chapter to the seemingly never-ending frustration that the average PC user/gamer is experiencing right now,” says a reader who alerted us to the price increase.
Indeed, the Ryzen 5600X is supposed to be the most affordable Ryzen 5000 series CPU. However, the processor continues to sell out at all the major retailers, making it hard to buy. To own one immediately, scalpers are trying to sell the 5600X for $330 to $379 on eBay.
AMD didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. However, the company itself continues to price the 5600X at $299 over on its own website. You can find the same price on Best Buy, Newegg, and B&H Photo Video too. Unfortunately, none of the retailers had the chip in stock. (Amazon, on the other hand, redirected us to buy the 5600X from third-party resellers that are charging $415 or more for the chip.)
Ironically, the next entry in the Ryzen 5000 series, the 5800X, is actually being sold on Micro Center for $429, down from the $449 normal price. The discount has sparked speculation from users that Micro Center is trying to clear inventory, and push consumers away from the 5600X to the 5800X, which has remained largely in stock.
