If you live in Ohio, Maryland, or Texas, you might be able to buy the Ryzen 5900X right now, with other Zen 3 processors being even easier to find. There is a catch, though: you'll have to go outside. While online stock on Zen 3 CPUs is still as hard to find as ever, some Micro Center stores are reporting that they have Ryzen 5000 units ready for in-store pickup. Obviously, this is limited to certain locations and requires adventuring into the wasteland, but it’s a good reminder not to give up on finding the latest tech quite yet.
Right now, Microcenter’s AMD Ryzen 9 5900X online store listing is showing three locations with stock on the units. These are the Columbus, Houston, and Rockville stores. The processors are selling new at their usual $549 price, and they are not available for reservation. So start your engines: it’s first come, first serve.
However, you can check how many units are in stock at your local store before heading out. For instance, the Houston Microcenter has 23 units in stock as of writing, while the Columbus store only has one. You can only buy one unit per household, so this is mostly just to check your competition.
Meanwhile, more than 5 locations had the 5600X in stock, and even more have the 5800X for sale. The 5950X is still not in any of Micro Center's stores. Sales here also appear to be first-come, first-serve.
This stock obviously won’t be available to everyone, whether it’s due to location or health concerns, but even in the pandemic, Micro Center’s determined to keep it's brick and mortar business model alive. This makes it a great place to check for rare gear like Zen 3 CPUs if everywhere else is sold out. Assuming you can safely and easily get to a nearby Micro Center location.
