AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D – Paperlaunch á la carte and Scalpermania 2.0? A self-experiment

Yesterday, the long-awaited AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D landed on the shelves of the three major distributors and their online stores. What do you mean, landed? The low-level flight of a tiny micro-squadron with a hectic take-off in all directions. Once again, this is a CPU that not only makes gamers’ hearts beat faster (and sometimes stop), but also triggers an Olympic competition of patience. Weeks before the launch yesterday, November 7, 2024, there was already buzz everywhere. Hyped technology enthusiasts were dreaming of benchmark records at night, while retailers such as Mindfactory, Caseking and Alternate announced the big moment in glowing social media posts. You could have given it a miss.

And evil tongues still steadfastly claim that a lot of other filler was hidden in the invisible areas of the stacked pallets just to feign more volume for the group picture. A kind of fat suit for the drooling marketing professionals. Because I now know that Mindfactory, Caseking and even distributors like Wave only received a paltry 1000 units each, with other downstream stores and system integrators also having to be supplied from this truly overflowing pool.

The holy simplicity of online retail

Mindfactory, the self-proclaimed temple of hardware disciples, who like to fob them off with the Golden Service Spoon (for a hefty surcharge), announced grandly: “Available from us from 07.11., 3 pm! Who’s that hyped too?” Of course, the enthusiastic buyers were ready on time, mouse pointer on the “Buy now” button, hoping to get their hands on one of the fabled processors. The result? The CPUs disappeared faster than an iPhone left lying around in a pedestrian zone. Even before, because Mindfactory once again arrived far too early. Shortly after 3 p.m., the “hype” atmosphere was already over. The virtual battle for the rarities went into the next round: “Will there be more supplies at some point?” asked the desperate customers – without an answer, of course. But there’s always eBay as a place to re-sell with a mark-up. Scalpermania 2.0 and with a nice 120 euro surcharge:

Caseking also didn’t miss the opportunity to advertise the Ryzen 7 9800X3D with a pith-shattering, social-media drum roll. “The gaming giant is coming!”, it said, while customers were already adjusting their life plans to the hoped-for CPU purchase. But what a spectacle: stocks were sold out in a fraction of a second. “Waiting lists? What’s that?”, the retailer may have thought to himself, because in the end the Caseking waiting community consisted only of disappointed faces and broken dreams. Delivery date unknown. Oh, I love that…

Incidentally, I’m writing these lines from the perspective of a customer who spent almost 1,600 euros on instant bank transfers and PayPal in just one day and who – with a bit of luck – was able to get hold of at least one CPU after all and who received neither an invoice nor an order or delivery confirmation from another retailer despite prepayment and order confirmation. Money gone, CPU somewhere in the virtual void? Something like that costs useless life time and causes gray hair if you at least still had some…

And how could you forget Wave? The retailer behind Alternate, who filled the hearts of his resellers and Alternate end customers with the promise of hardware bliss, also disappointed across the board. The rush was overwhelming – and the CPU stocks were washed away about as quickly as a small sandbox castle by a big wave. But at least there was the option of receiving a reminder e-mail. Because it’s so reassuring to know that you’ll be notified when the next lap of the CPU rollercoaster starts!

Because the Ryzen 7 9800X3D also applies exactly the same truism of the insurance agents: “Cancellation is porn!”. You sit excitedly in front of the screen, click on “Order” and think full of anticipation that the long-awaited piece of hardware will soon arrive. The order is placed, the money is transferred via PayPal in real time, and you imagine in bright colors how you will hold the latest Ryzen processor or the perfect graphics card in your hands. The anticipation is almost palpable and you feel like a winner. But then comes the plot twist. A friendly, automated email arrives from the retailer – with the beguiling subject line: “Your order has been canceled.” Oh yes, and the reason? Of course: “Unfortunately, the item is not available due to high demand.” Oh really? You can’t help but wonder whether the retailer ever intended to manage the stock or whether the order page is simply a digital wish list.

But at least the money will be refunded (hopefully), and that’s some consolation, right? After all, you’re always happy when you get your own money back, as if it were a lost treasure that you get back after an odyssey. Your account is replenished and you can enjoy the fact that the retailer has the incredible generosity to refund you the amount that you would never have had to pay anyway if there hadn’t been this little illusion that the item was actually available. So it only remains for me to thank the retailer for this unforgettable experience. After all, not knowing if you’ll ever actually get the product you want is its own kind of thrill, and the constant juggling act of hoping and being frustrated also has its appeal. Thanks to AMD and the store servants for this consumer entertainment, I too would like to take this opportunity to thank them for “nothing”:

The reasons for this scarce availability? The usual suspects, of course: Supply chain issues, global chip crises and – of course – “unexpectedly high demand”. It’s amazing how surprisingly popular high-end gaming hardware can be. Who could have guessed that the combination of 8 cores, 16 threads and a fabulous boost clock of 5.2 GHz would be met with enthusiasm? AMD must have been completely perplexed. And so customers like me have no choice but to place their hopes in the universe and the F5 button on their browser. But one should remain optimistic. After all, there’s nothing better than looking at the retailer pages every day, reading reviews and imagining how the gaming world will finally be perfect with the magical Ryzen CPU. Until then, you can make do with a little nostalgia – or simply remember the words of a wise technology prophet: “Good things take time. But really now, sooo much time?”

Update from 08.11.2024 – 10:23 am

One of the dealers took pity on me in the end and materialised my money into Lisa’s three-dimensional cache of needles with a CPU kindly provided by a large orderer. At least I now have a delivery note there, even if UPS doesn’t (yet) know anything about this delivery.

The second CPU for the employee is now suddenly on its way to me and the invoice has just arrived.

Hope dies last… And so today, on day two, I’m waiting for an express courier who might ring the bell. Incidentally, I would never have done this to myself privately, but at least I’m trying to get a review together. I owe it to the readers