In brief: It had been anticipated that AMD's new Zen 5 CPUs would arrive at lower prices than Zen 4 did at launch. While Team Red's official announcement confirmed the suspicions, the final Ryzen 9000 MSRPs didn't land exactly where tipsters had predicted. Time will tell if the small performance improvements are worth the extra cost compared to current Ryzen 7000 chips.

Launch-day MSRPs for AMD's first four Ryzen 9000 desktop processors are now public. The two mid-range CPUs begin shipping this week, while the high-end models will become available next week. Although the top two processors are a bit more expensive than some predicted, all Zen 5 chips are a little cheaper than their Zen 4 predecessors were at launch.

Team Red's flagship Ryzen 9 9950X, with 16 cores, 32 threads, a max boost clock of 5.7GHz, a 170W TDP, and 80 MB of cache, starts at $649. Its theoretical maximum boost is 5.58 GHz, but extreme overclocking can bring it past 6.5 GHz.

Next on down is the Ryzen 9 9900X, a 12-core, 24-thread, 5.6 GHz chip with a 120W TDP and 76 MB of cache launching at $499. With availability starting August 8, the two Ryzen 9 CPUs are $50 below corresponding Ryzen 7000 launches.

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However, previous predictions were right on target regarding the mainstream parts. The Ryzen 7 9700X, with 8 cores, 16 threads, a 5.5 GHz max boost, a 65W TDP, and 40 MB of cache, is making its debut at $359.

Finally, the Ryzen 5 9600X is launching at $279. It features 6 cores, 12 threads, a 5.4 GHz max boost, a 65W TDP, and 38 MB of cache. It and the Ryzen 7 CPU begin shipping on August 15.

AMD said that Zen 5 can achieve a roughly 16 percent IPC performance improvement compared to Zen 4 and around a 14 percent general performance advantage over 14th-generation Intel chips. Independent reviews are now testing those claims.

Zen 5's strongest competitor in the short term will likely be Zen 4, as the Ryzen 7000 CPUs are currently available for significantly lower prices, likely until lingering stock clears. A 7950X can be had for $522, the 7900X now sits at around $358, the 7700X is available for $286, and customers can find a 7600X for under $200.