CPU shortage heats up
Beyond RAM, the CPU market is tightening — reporting shows Intel and AMD raising prices on select lines amid constrained supply, which could be the next bottleneck after memory ( ). That combination—expensive RAM plus pricier CPUs—threatens entry‑level builds the most and may force some buyers to delay upgrades (xda-developers.com).
Nikkei Asia reported that Intel and AMD notified customers they will raise CPU prices by roughly 10%–15% on average, with Intel’s increases beginning in March and AMD’s slated for April. (PCMag) (pcmag.com) Intel vice‑president David Feng confirmed the company has implemented price increases for OEMs, citing ongoing supply constraints in remarks to CRN. (CRN) (crn.com) Distributors and server manufacturers told Nikkei that typical CPU lead times have jumped from one–two weeks to about eight–12 weeks on average, and in some extreme cases orders face waits up to six months. (Yahoo/Tech) (tech.yahoo.com) Broadcom and other industry players have warned that TSMC is hitting production capacity limits, a foundry bottleneck that executives say is intensifying shortages for data‑center and AI chips. (TechSpot) (techspot.com) Gartner’s February briefing projects a 130% surge in combined DRAM and SSD prices by the end of 2026, driving memory to about 23% of a PC’s bill‑of‑materials, a 17% rise in average PC prices versus 2025, and a 10.4% decline in worldwide PC shipments in 2026. (Gartner) (gartner.com) Counterpoint Research’s market forecast, cited by industry press, offers a milder outlook that still shows contraction—global PC shipments are expected to fall about 5% year‑over‑year to roughly 262 million units in 2026 due primarily to rising memory costs. (ElectronicsForYou) (electronicsforyou.biz) Equity markets reacted to the reports: shares of AMD and Intel jumped after the story, with contemporaneous reporting showing roughly a 6.6% rise for AMD and about a 7.6% rise for Intel on March 25, 2026. (CoinAlert/market reports) (coinalertnews.com)
