Intel’s announcement from last week is now being followed by AMD, which indicates a 15% increase in the price of its chips compared to 2025. This means that the chips sold by AMD will not only be 15% more expensive at retail. This price hike will likely have various cascading effects. This is the recommended sale price by AMD, but in these scenarios, in-store prices are usually significantly higher. Particularly because wholesalers may not necessarily change the amount allocated for chip purchases. With a 15% increase, there will be 15% fewer chips, resulting in fewer processors distributed to retailers. Furthermore, those who offer the most or place the largest orders will be delivered, and with less supply, prices will also change.
One of the key side effects of the current component crisis is that customers are holding back on investments. Between RAM, processors, and other components, prices have skyrocketed. Another issue is the scarcity of certain products like memory, making many investments impossible, leading to a sharp decline in hardware sales.
Integrators like Lenovo, HP, Dell, and others will see their costs rise while facing a decrease in sales, pushing them to try to offset the revenue erosion. Not only will directly sold chips in stores become more expensive, but even pre-built machines like laptops or desktop PCs will see prices significantly above those in 2025. This means buyers will have to bear the increases in RAM, storage, and processors, as well as rising transportation costs due to the situation in Iran. The total cost of purchasing a complete machine will be much higher compared to 2025.
Starting at the end of the month, Intel and AMD’s prices will increase, and lead times will also extend, as both manufacturers focus more on the server market. Previously, there was a two-week lead time between ordering and receiving a batch of processors in 2025. Today, it takes ten to twelve weeks to achieve the same result, posing significant challenges for manufacturers who now have to make impossible decisions.
Increasing prices and lead times: the recipe for failure
Consider having to launch a product for the back-to-school season in September. By ordering processors in April, you will receive them in June, leaving only July and August to assemble the parts, start production, test, package, ship, and distribute the equipment to retailers. Machines ready to be shipped at the beginning of September are usually stocked by retailers at the beginning of August or by the 15th at the latest since many purchases are made during the back-to-school shopping season. This leaves only June and July for manufacturing, assuming a fast transport by air. This transport further increases the cost of the machines.
Combine this with the risk of pricing positioning. To develop a laptop for delivery in 12 weeks, you need to anticipate the prices of RAM and storage for that period, which is currently impossible. Buying before a price drop in RAM would disqualify your equipment, but ordering RAM today betting that it will increase in the next 12 weeks is also very risky.
In the MiniPC market, everyone is concerned. Prices have already changed significantly, and the most affordable components have almost disappeared from the catalogs. Basic chips from AMD and Intel are now hard to find, and some are resorting to alternative chips, while others are reducing their orders.
And each passing week seems to further complicate the situation.
