In brief: As most people know, the Ryzen 3900X is an excellent chip that's great for both gaming and productivity. Not surprisingly, demand for AMD's third-generation processor is through the roof, leaving it sold out pretty much everywhere. You could turn to eBay for one, but be prepared to pay a massive mark-up.

We praised the 12-core, 24-thread Ryzen 9 3900X in our review, giving the $499 CPU a score of 90. But its popularity has led to shortages from virtually every retailer--- Amazon, Best Buy, Fry's Electronics, and Newegg are all sold out. It's even listed as out of stock on AMD's own website.

As is usually the case with hard-to-find products, consumers willing to pay extra have the option of eBay. The auction site has several Ryzen 9 3900X chips available, which currently range from $600 up to one seller's optimistic $999 'Buy it now' listing. Based on recently sold CPUs, it seems most people are willing to pay around $650 to $680 for one---nearly $200 more than the MSRP.

Even the next model down in AMD's new processor lineup---the Ryzen 7 3800X---is proving difficult to find, with many of the same retailers also listing that CPU as out of stock. There are some sites taking pre-orders for both chips, with shipping dates (where given) ranging from 1-2 months. Those living near a Micro Center are in luck, as both the Ryzen 7 3800X and Ryzen 9 3900X are available for in-store pickup.

In a statement to PC World, AMD said: "This is a historic launch for AMD with eight CPU and GPU products for gamers launching simultaneously."

"We are providing significant product volumes to our retail and e-tail partners. We're excited to see the overwhelmingly positive reaction to Radeon 5700 Series and Ryzen 3000 series desktop processors. AMD is working quickly to restock e-tail and retail partners globally following significant demand."

Processor shortages are far from a new phenomenon. Intel had similar issues of its own last year, which contributed to a decline in the PC market. Hopefully, AMD will be able to get its CPUs back in stock quickly.