8-core CPUs dominate new sales stats, and PC gamers will start needing those extra cores soon
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Every week, detailed sales reports for PC hardware are shared online, giving us a clear look at what gamers are buying. Recently, they revealed that B650 motherboards were dominating sales at German retailer Mindfactory. Now, fresh numbers (courtesy of TechEpiphany) focus on CPU sales from Amazon Germany in July 2025. The results clearly show that 8-core processors are leading the way, and there’s a good reason why.
AMD is leading the DIY CPU market by a wide margin. In July, AMD sold 77.6% of all CPUs listed on Amazon Germany, while Intel managed only 22.4%. When it comes to revenue, AMD grabbed nearly 80% of the share, thanks to its higher-priced models. On average, AMD CPUs sold for about €288.85, compared to Intel’s €257.04.
AMD is on top, and 8-core CPUs are the best sellers
| CPU core count | Units sold |
|---|---|
| 4 | 200 |
| 6 | 2400 |
| 8 | 3850 |
| 10 | 450 |
| 12 | 350 |
| 14 | 350 |
| 16 | 850 |
| 20 | 900 |
| 24 | 250 |
The biggest takeaway is that 8-core CPUs are now the most popular choice. They made up 40% of all units sold and almost 45% of the total revenue, with AMD’s Ryzen 7 processors taking the lead. Six-core CPUs still hold a quarter of the market in terms of units sold, but they generate less revenue because of their lower prices. At the same time, high-end chips with 16 or more cores brought in 32% of revenue, even though they made up just 21% of total sales.
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This shift toward 8-core CPUs could be happening because modern games are becoming more demanding. A great example is the upcoming Borderlands 4, which will release on September 12 with an 8-core CPU as the minimum specs requirement. That’s a problem for many, since over half of Steam users (50.42%) still have 6-core processors or less, including popular models like the Ryzen 5 5600X or its successors (most recently, the Ryzen 5 9600X).
So, it seems that 8-core CPUs are becoming the new standard for gaming PCs. As games continue to get more demanding, players using 6-core or lower CPUs will soon need to upgrade if they want to keep up and enjoy the best performance. Popular choices like the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and 7800X3D are likely tilting the favor towards 8-core.
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