AMD's new Ryzen 7 gaming CPU, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, sold out almost immediately and scalpers have already started selling the chips at up to $999.

All the major e-tailers have AMD's new Ryzen 7 CPU 9800X3D sold out. Amazon, Newegg and Best Buy are all sold out. I just checked and nobody has stock!

Some observers believe that the chip, which Dave calls the "new king" of gaming CPUs, sold out within minutes. Other sources claim that Intel's new Arrow Lake processors have been a disasterously slow seller. German retailer Mindfactory claims to have sold no chips in the first week.

Intel Arrow Lake chips, such as the Core Ultra 9 282K, have also sold out at various times. Right now, it's actually sold out on Amazon.

The nuance here is availability. How many chips were available for the launch? It's difficult to say for sure. According to reports, there were 3,000 Ryzen 7-9800X3D processors available for launch in Germany.

Is this a lot of money or a small amount? Even this is difficult to say with certainty. There have been reports about the very low availability of Intel Arrow Lake CPUs. It's hard to know where these new processors fall on the demand and supply curve.

The annoying scalper market is one indicator. If there is evidence that people will pay more than the going rate for something, then there is probably a lot of demand.

You wouldn't believe it, but a Ryzen 7 X3D was listed on eBay for $999 - a price that is far above the $479 suggested retail price. It appears to have been sold yesterday. A recent eBay search shows a number Ryzen 7 9800X3D processors for sale at around $675 for chips on "pre-order".

In fact, "in hand" and ready-to-ship CPUs are more expensive. This eBay listing claims that a 9800X3D is ready to ship for $735. The listing also indicates that 10 units have already been sold.

What about the Intel alternative? eBay also has listings for the items above the list. What about this one at $1,299 dollars? Yes, really. A Core Ultra 9 for $1,299. If you want to order one from the US, it's $899. But that is a pre-order. Suppliers in Israel can make you one for around $760.

All of this means that we can say with some confidence that all of these chips are currently in short supply. Is any of them worth a premium? We'd say no. Not even the AMD Ryzen 9800X3D or an Arrow Lake CPU.

In the end, chips such as these are often scarce just after launch. If you can wait for a few months, there's a good chance that there will be plenty of them available at MSRP. There's no need to pay a lot more than you should.